Mohammed Ataur Rahman explains a mystery which is not so mysterious after all.

The Muzaffarnagar police are a befuddled lot these days over a case of “honour killing” that was not.

On May 9, the family of 23-year old Ajit Saini cremated his dead body, who was killed by his girl friend Anshu’s brother for eloping with her.

In this part of the country young lovers are routinely killed for doing something that is quite natural and innocent: choosing a spouse and eloping with him/her.

The police were sure it was a case of honour killing. The first suspect, the girl’s brother, was nabbed and interrogated in (possibly) the usual policia way.

The honourable brother, who had been dishonoured as Ajit Saini ran away with his sister, had to retrieve his lost honour by killing the offender. He confessed his guilt. The body of the victim was duly cremated as mentioned earlier.

The next day Ajit and Anshu came back and surrendered themselves before the police, which left the police aghast. The police, naturally, were thinking if this was Ajit then whose body was cremated yesterday.

The police are also perplexed over the confession of Anshu’s brother about killing Ajit. Why did he confess to killing a man whom he had not even touched?

That reminds us of the Russian dictator Stalin’s lost watch. One day Stalin telephoned his intelligence chief Laverentiy Beria and told him somebody had stolen his watch. Beria, one of the most cruel and vicious intelligence chiefs of all times, set about arresting and interrogating suspects.

Soon he got another call from the boss. Stalin told him that he had found his watch in the bathroom where he had left it and forgotten. To that Beria replied, “But, comrade, eight people have already admitted having stolen your watch”. How come?

It is quite simple. Catch the most innocent person and drag him to the thana. Give him the beating of his life and ask whether he had murdered so and so. He is sure to admit it even if he has never seen that man in life. As simple as that.

But that still leaves us with the mystery of who was the man whose body was cremated. That is for the Muzaffarnagar police to work out. But, please don’t catch another innocent person and beat him to pulp to extract a false confession out of him.