The Emerald Mystery

This time it is Purulia, South of Bengal –  Ekendra Sen, the self evasive, eccentric detective of Calcutta Police Force with his two friends, Bappaditya Dasgupta aka Bapi, a Professor of English and passionate photographer and Promotho Bapu, a research scholar, are out on vacation. But can there be a holiday for the sleuth without a mystery to solve?

The Upasana Ashram,  a highly disciplined and guarded spiritual centre founded by Kaliprasanna Sen, is now run by Amiyanath Sen, his son. Amiya is assisted by his friend, Shubimal Bagchi. Both have left their jobs in the US and joined the Ashram after the death of the founding father.

Every year Poush Parab, an annual function is held at the Upasana Ashram. As per ritual Amiya  garlands the statue of his father with an emerald necklace, valued in millions, to mark the beginning of the auspicious ceremony. The day the function ends the necklace is kept back in the locker. The locker is in the Ashram itself and its password is only known to Amiya.

However, this year when Amiya opens the locker he is shocked to find that it is empty. The necklace, apart from its material value, has immense sentimental value for Amiya as it is a cherished inheritance from his late father. But is the necklace truly a family heirloom? Surprisingly, nobody seems to have broken in and the doors and windows of the room where the locker is located are all locked from inside.

There are many suspects who have an eye on the necklace. Monika Mandi, the head librarian, Dr. Shubhankar Kundu, Amiya’s  late father’s and now his physician, Shubimal and Anukul , an ashramite who has an odd habit of extracting information from the other inmates. Then there is Shreemoyi, the physician’s daughter, who is in love with Ajay Hembram , the rebel Santhal leader,  whose father was once an employee of Amiya’s father at the Ashram. But why does she keep on getting the same book issued in her name from the Ashram library? And who is that masked man who has attacked Amiya more than once?

Eken babu, as usual, unintendedly gets involved in solving the case of the missing necklace when Anukul recognises him as the ace detective and requests help. So the trio is invited to stay in the Guest House maintained by the Ashram to facilitate the investigation. But will Eken be able to nab the culprit when, according to him, his cerebral abilities slow down if he has to have strictly vegetarian food served in the Ashram’s guest house?

However, when a dead body is found floating in the nearby lake a simple theft turns into a mind bending  case of homicide. Now, even an unwilling Eken cannot remain disinterested. More so, if a little genius named Shombuddha, one of the students at the Ashram, keeps on challenging him with riddles and puzzles pushing him closer to the perpetrator and the truth.

Puruliyaya Pakrao (Caught In Purulia) is the latest adventure of Eken (Season 9) this summer streaming on Hoichoi.

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