Contemporary Literary Review India | Print ISSN 2250-3366 | Online ISSN 2394-6075 | Impact Factor 8.1458 | Vol. 9, No. 2: CLRI May 2022
Book Review on Mohamed Thaver’s "In Plain Sight” by Shridhar Naik
Three girls, all minor have been raped and brutally murdered. The incidents have sent shock waves through as well as petrified the community in Nehru Nagar, Kurla a densely populated area in Mumbai. The body of the first victim was found at a construction site, the second in victims own house, and the third interestingly was found on the terrace of the policemen’s residential quarters.
All three locations were within reasonable proximity to the Nehru Nagar Police Station. The modus operandi is the same in all three cases. Evidently, a serial killer is on the prowl. The staff at the local police station is totally baffled, neither able to determine the motive nor make any concrete headway in the investigation.
Deputy Commissioner of Police [DCP] Sawant in charge of that zone, in some state of desperation eventually calls in Senior Inspector [SI] Waghmare, known to be an ace investigator with a track record of “Zero Cases Unsolved”.
Waghmare is entrusted with the responsibility of heading the investigation team, something which ruffles several feathers in the higher echelons of the police force. The killer apparently has covered his tracks well. Hence with no concrete evidence or leads to go by, soon Waghmare too appears to be coming up against a stone wall.
The story becomes the prime focus for the entire media. Crime reporters across the board take a stand strongly critical of the police force. Simultaneously there is pressure from the higher ups to crack the case as soon as possible. The next session of the state legislative assembly is round the corner. Naturally, neither the top brass of the police force nor the elected representatives want to face any flak on the floor of the house. A depressed Waghmare is on the verge of recusing from the case.
Suddenly a glance by chance at an old news report about the case sets him thinking. It sparks off a thought process that leads him to explore the case from an entirely new angle. Waghmare is his old upbeat self once again, now confident that he should be able to zero in on the killer.
In Plain Sight by crime reporter Mohamed Thaver, in his fictionalized account of an actual crime that rocked the city in 2010 and remained unsolved for a decade, presents an approach totally different from the normal crime fiction or detective novels that one is used to reading. The novel brings before the reader the world of crime as viewed from the perspective of a rookie reporter Rohan, who has been assigned the task of covering the case.
In his inimitable style ensuring the narration flows without a hitch, the author portrays the amazing scenarios that occur behind the curtains. The rivalries and friction between various police officials, together with an insight into the working of the media as also the handling of investigations by the police is extremely well brought out as the narrative unfolds. Equally evident through the pages of the novel is the equation between the media and the police, a love hate relationship of sorts working towards mutual benefit.
Rohan is on probation, always under pressure to get exclusives and miss no stories, with the Damocles’ Sword hanging over his head. This is his opportunity to prove his mettle. Initially lacking in confidence, Rohan quickly moulds into the role of a crime reporter by observing ad mingling with his colleagues from other media. At the same time he starts developing a rapport with the police officers while gaining their confidence.
A part of his daily agenda now is a visit to the Nehru Nagar Police Station where he gradually picks up the art of extracting information from the police. This is not an easy task considering that the approach of the police officials is of two types both attitudes being diametrically the opposite. One set of policemen are very open and communicative, while the other tend to keep the media at bay.
Waghmare belongs to the second category having given instructions to his colleagues and subordinates to have a “no communication policy” with media persons. Waghmare’s instructions pose a problem for Rohan as there are days when there is nothing new to report about. Rival newspapers start relegating the story to the inside pages but Rohan and his boss are determined to grab a slot on page one.
Police investigation apart, Thaver also brings out the way media persons work in dealing with cases of crime, cultivating different police officers and staff, cashing in on rivalries to get some kind of lead or scoop to prove their one upmanship.
Finally the case is cracked. Rohan gets a confidential from one of his carefully cultivated. The caller however, does not reveal the identity of the killer. The fact that he has been nabbed is confirmed and is good enough for Rohan to get his scoop onto the front with his byline of course. When the identity of the killer is later disclosed at a press conference, it comes as a rude shock to all. Nevertheless it has been worth the suspense.
In Plain Sight, gripping from the very start is a healthy blend of insight set in the surreal world of crime, suspense with the police struggling with the investigation on one side.and the media continuously tracking the progress made. The author has a knack of ensuring that reader interest does not wane at any point through the narrative. Young or aspiring reporters in particular, should look at a novel like this rather seriously!
About the author: Mohamed Thaver has been a crime reporter in Mumbai for over 11 years. He has worked with leading publications like the Free Press journal, the Hindustan Times and the Indian Express. In the course of his career he has come across a variety of policemen, officers, accused and hardened criminals to name a few. Contact with all these categories of individuals have stood him in good stead while writing the novel.
About the reviewer: Shridhar Naik has been a journalist and Public Relations Professional. He currently leaches Media and Journalism at different colleges attached to the University of Mumbai. In addition, he is a free lance writer.