Novels by Chetan Batra

December 30, 2013 Apollo Hospital At 4:00 pm Aditi’s condition had become critical. The chief executive officer of the Apollo Hospital said that she had suffered brain damage, an attack of pneumonia, and abdominal infection. The hospital said she was ‘fighting for her life.’ The doctors carried out many procedures on her to stabilise her condition, but she continued to deteriorate. She had been without pulse and blood pressure for nearly three minutes. She never regained consciousness. Her heart stopped beating. She died. The soul that spread joy had left the body. A short but a well-lived life will surely earn her a beautiful place in heaven. She was a brave girl who had put up a brave struggle till the end. She left us the memories that will never fade away from our lives. She was beautiful and she was like no one else. She was Aditi. I would never see her again, nor see her beautiful eyes, nor hear her sweet voice. I would nev

'I have experienced this urge and this feeling many times. I do not suffer from any mental disorder. I do not know why I have it. I seem to enjoy being cruel to people. I am a sadist, or you may call me a psychopath. I get pleasure when I hear a woman screaming with pain and begging for her life. I enjoy inflicting pain. It seems abnormal but I am like that. It has been part of me for many years now. I am a sick man. I am a wicked and a spiteful man. I have an evil mind and I believe in seeking violent revenge over small issues. Inside my head it’s all dark.’ ‘When I saw blood stains of my brother, it made me very angry. My blood boiled when I saw those stains. I vowed to take revenge. I wanted to crush the two young people who had destroyed my family. My brother stepped out and I stepped in. You guys arrested my brother and killed him. I returned the compliment. I did the same in the same way. I avenged my brother’s death. I destroyed

December 23, 2013 Tihar Jail, Delhi The dark shadow of crime never leaves the soul of a criminal. Your dark deeds catch up with you. That is the law of providence. You always pay the price. You have to settle the accounts of your misdeeds. If you have committed any crime, you will pay the price for it. Anup was in his cell. He was lost in his thoughts. There was a sound at the gate of the lock up. The key turned in the lock and the door of the lock up opened. Three men entered Anup’s cell. Anup did not recognise any of them. They shut the door behind them and locked it. They switched off light in the lock up. Anup tried to get up and shouted, ‘Who are you?’ His voice froze with fear when he saw one of the three men take out a pistol and point it at him. ‘Do not ask any questions. Get back,’ the man with the pistol said in a stern voice. One person brought in a lantern. Anup tried to see their face

December 18, 2013 Apollo Hospital 4:00 am Time changes the course of our destiny, but it still moves on. It stops for no one. Aditi went through her first surgery. Post-surgery she was under observation for several hours as doctors waited for her to regain consciousness. Her body was connected to various machines and tubes which displayed her condition on vital parameters. A team of doctors was watching over her. She was not showing any signs of improvement. Doctors said her condition was critical. The government appointed a team of physicians to ensure she received best medical care and attention. Doctors told us that she was running high fever of 103 °F. There was internal bleeding in her body and infection had set in. The doctors were trying to control the infection, but her body was not responding to any treatment. It was very important to bring the infection under control

The police team received information about a man who had travelled in the same car a little while before the attack on the victims took place. His name was Mayank. He was a part-time labour. He was returning home from work when he boarded the car. He told the police about all the drunken men and abusive language they used while talking. He also informed that they robbed him of his money and took his mobile and then ordered him to get out of the car. Police asked him why he did not report the incident to the police station. He said he tried to inform the PCR police present near the site of the incident when he got out of the car. But the PCR did not listen to his complaint. December 18, 2013 9:00 am The police got information about the owner of ‘Red Hat Travels’ taxi car which operated from Ghaziabad. The name of the owner was Prashant and he lived in Ghaziabad. The police knew the address of the company. ‘He will tell us the locati

Vineet was waiting outside the hostel gate. More than forty minutes had passed. He had been trying to call me and Aditi. He went back to Ruchi’s home. It had been too late, and he was seriously worried now. ‘Vineet, they are not picking up the phone. Should I call Aditi’s father?’ she asked. ‘No, Ruchi, not now. Something is wrong. I can sense it. We should find them first. Then we will call Aditi’s father,’ he replied. Vineet was with Ruchi and her mother in their car. They headed to Saket where we met last. Vineet was restless, entangled with horrible thoughts. ‘Vineet, if we cannot find them, we must call the police and inform Aditi’s father too,’ Ruchi was getting very worried. She feared for the worst. ... Two of the goons dragged Aditi to the front of the room and tied her with a thick cloth. Everyone was giggling and laughing like madmen. They were pointing their hands towards us and laughing at us. ‘Bara hero ba