It was a day of mouni amabasya. Seventeen days before Chandan had applied for a job of stenographer in a reputed company. Just today around 8am he got an interview call from that company which is scheduled to be held just next day in the afternoon. With his parent’s permission Chandan went to reserve only one berth on Manik nagar bound train for the company was located at Maniknagar. Any way Chandan got that reservation only for one night journey.
It was a first class four berths compartment. Chandan reached the station in right time and boarded the train in due time. Train’s departure time was 6.45pm. Before riding the train Chandan watched the reservation chart tacked outside the entrance of the compartment with one glance and noted that the compartment in which Chandan got reservation doesn’t have any other passenger to travel for that night.
However, Chandan boarded the train and the train started running in right time. After few minutes when chandan took his seat on the lower berth the T T staff reached the compartment to check up Chandan’s ticket. Then Chandan asked the gentleman whether other three berths are alotted to any passenger? The T T answered,”No.” So at 10pm after dinner when Chandan climbed his own berth he locked the door of the compartment. It was upper berth which was reserved for Chandan.
Chandan does have a good habit to fall asleep very quick in a moving train. When he went to bed he left the compartment dark except the night lamp on. But suddenly his deep sleep got thwarted by a bright light. At once Chandan opened his eyes just to see that three passengers sitting on opposite side lower berth. Chandan got stunned with that scene because Chandan knew well that compartment door was properly locked and the passengers who were sitting on the opposite side lower berth were all dead because they were all close relatives of Chandan.
Before five years when Chandan went to take a holy dip in Ganges river at Howrah on a mouni amabasya his paternal cousin brother Bhombol and his two maternal cousins had followed Chandan but a high tide washed them away and only Chandan survived. That day Chandan took no risk to save them because it was quite impossible for him to save the three collectively.
Chandan got so frightened that he slowly got up on his berth just to get down and to open the door to raise an alarm outside. But before it he was thrashed by a tremendous push had a great fall on the floor senseless.
Next morning when the conductor guard had come to Chandan to call him to make him alert about his arrival time he couldn’t get any response from Chandan. Then railway authority broke the compartment door lock and found Chandan senseless.
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