[insects trilling]
[axe thumps]
[grunts]
[branch rustles]
[eerie music]
[gasps, falls]
[eerie music rises]
[embers crackle]
- Stay away! Move aside, sir. - [camera clicks]
- We have to send it to the lab. - [rustles]
- There is no other evidence. - This is a crime scene. Move!
- Checked the surrounding area? - Step back!
Don't you get it? Aren't you from the press?
Analysing the DNA in this condition
- might take time, right? - Yes, sir.
Sending it to the lab and getting it processed
- will take some time. - Hey, blue shirt!
What's the approximate age of the skeleton?
Don't you understand? I'm yelling!
- Step back, madam. Check there! - Judging from the size,
- must be around 10-12 years. - [sighs]
- Madam! - [siren wails in distance]
Do you need special instructions? What are you peeking at?
Don't step forward! Hey, you!
Why do I have to repeat it?
Sir, please send the reports soon.
It's a sensitive case.
Please try to make it quick.
[sirens wails]
- [faint chatter] - [sinister music playing]
In the forest area of Paduppur,
a 12-year-old's skeleton has been found,
stirring up fear and panic.
Police authorities have secured it
Sent it to forensic department in Chennai.
A few days earlier, in a neighbouring village,
a girl called Mercy went missing.
Moreover, the frequent mysterious disappearances of girls in that area
has put everyone in distress.
[dark music playing]
Be careful.
Jesus, it shouldn't be Mercy.
Oh my! [cries]
I made a mistake. I left my daughter behind.
Jesus, it shouldn't be Mercy.
[sobs] Oh, god! I made a mistake by leaving Mercy behind.
She didn't believe you that day and you let it go.
I wanted her to know. That's why I took her there.
But I didn't expect this to happen.
How can that person speak so disrespectfully to you?
Does wearing the khakee uniform
make one oblivious to the fact
that they're ill-treating someone?
Do they lose their humanity?
What's the problem? Why do they treat you like that?
My grade is lower than his.
That is reason enough for him to ill-treat me.
[sniffles]
'The operation was successful.'
'But Rahul hasn't regained his consciousness yet.'
If doctors can't explain then what do you think happened to Rahul?
Children bear the burden of their elders' sins.
Hey, Esther.
Hey! What...
- [effort grunts] - [soft groan]
What are you doing?
Why, dear?
[sobs]
Because of me...
My daughter went missing because of me.
Had I not gone to church that day,
I wouldn't have lost my daughter. [cries]
Oh, god!
It's not your fault, dear.
[sobs]
As a woman, I didn't get the life I desired.
And now, I've failed as a mother too. [cries]
[sobs] Oh...
Papa, everyone is saying that the skeleton is Mercy's.
I'm scared, Papa.
When she went to the church that day,
god ensured
that you saw her for one last time.
But what's the use?
It didn't lead to anything. [cries]
Oh, god! [wails]
[sobs]
[emotional music playing]
Sir.
To be honest, it's a mystery.
Everything is fine but nobody knows why he hasn't woken up yet.
Sir, you don't have to keep him here.
You can take him home.
Sorry, sir.
[emotional music playing]
[siren wails]
- Take him carefully. - Careful.
Sorry, I couldn't come to the hospital to meet.
Hmm.
- Yes, two, three, four, five, six... - Sister.
- Sister, I want to play too. - Eight.
Hey, let him play too.
- Can he come out in the open? - Why?
He has some disease in the head.
He said that he will die soon.
No, I didn't say it.
[emotional music playing]
Are you mad? He's going to the hospital to get well.
What happened, dear?
Huh? What happened, dear?
- Huh? Are you unwell? - Um-hmm.
- Do you have a headache? - Uh-huh.
- Did you get hurt? - No.
- Then what is it? - Then why do you look upset?
Mercy, what happened?
What happened?
- Tell me. - Tell me what happened.
He said that I'll die soon.
Who said that to you?
Hey! Don't you know how to speak to kids? Scram!
- I didn't do it. - Get lost!
- Let's leave. - Nothing will happen. Okay?
I'm here with you.
- All will be well. Okay? - Hmm.
You must not believe what he says.
Your grandpa, grandma, Aunt Esther, and Mercy.
We're all here for you.
Will we let anything happen to you?
Hmm. Yes. Do you know? I was unwell yesterday.
They took me to the hospital.
They performed an operation.
Look, I'm fine today.
It's the same for you. You'll be fine after the operation.
- Okay? - Okay?
[soft music playing]
Okay, come here.
[effort grunts] Come here.
No matter what others say,
Aunt Esther will always be with you. Okay?
Hmm.
I heard that you were asking others for money.
Sorry, Papa. I didn't know.
Had I known earlier, I would've helped you.
I saved money for Mercy
for when she grows up.
It doesn't matter whether it helps Mercy or Rahul.
- Keep it. - Um-hmm.
You've helped Mercy and me so many times.
You've been my father-figure for years.
I have nobody but you.
Don't treat me like an outsider. Keep this.
There's a letter for Mercy from the town church.
She had prayed and offered money when Rahul was unwell.
He will get well soon.
I'll leave now. Bye.
Hey.
Was the food good enough?
My mom was unwell. So, I cooked.
It was nice.
Brother, it will be foggy at night. Wear this.
I have a small head, so, I don't know if this will fit you.
- No, it's fine. - Hmm.
Okay, brother. Call me if you need anything.
- Okay, I'll sleep now. Go to bed. - Okay, brother.
Listen. From the bank...
Hey! [stutters, sighs]
What are you doing?
Oh, god! Blood. So much blood...
Why are you doing all this? I don't understand.
[heaves]
Oh, god! Why are you doing this?
Why?
Wash your hands. Wash them!
[squishes, mumbles]
Huh? What?
No, it's gone.
Huh?
- There's blood. - It's gone.
- There's blood.
There's no blood on your hands.
- It's gone. - There's blood.
- They're clean. - No, it's there.
[swishes] It's not going away.
The blood doesn't go. Look!
- It's gone. - There's blood.
- It's gone. Your hands are clean. - Look!
It's gone.
- It's gone. Come on. - [sobs]
Come on.
When Esther gave me money yesterday,
it felt as if she's saying...
"Isn't this why you did this to my child?"
It felt like she was asking me to
return her daughter in exchange for money.
I can't live here.
Let's shift to the new house.
Okay.
But the house isn't ready yet.
We'll use the retirement money
to lay the floor.
It will be done in 3-4 days. We can move after that.
- Hey, Jacky! - [dog barks]
- Jacky! Hey! - [dog barks, pants]
Jacky! Stop! Don't run!
Jacky! Don't run!
'Father, please save my son.'
[gasps] Hey!
'I couldn't save my daughter.'
[pants]
You're not in uniform and have come on your bike.
He told me never to see his face again.
You couldn't gather a bit of evidence. What does it mean?
Sir, we're doing our best.
It seems like we're looking for a ghost.
Don't talk rubbish.
If you can't solve a case, you must know how to close it.
- Where's the skeleton report? - It's not ready yet.
It would be nice if you give protection to the temple festival
- Hello? - Yes, tell me.
The test results are out.
The blood sample you gave
and the DNA on the pencil belongs to the same person.
Hey, can you hear me?
What happened?
Nothing, brother.
Just a moment.
Wait.
Where are you off to?
- To give my statement. - What statement?
About Mercy.
What is your new lie?
Mercy didn't disappear.
Only I knew that she's dead.
I've made a few mistakes too.
That's why...
I'm going to speak the truth.
Tsk!
- Come here, sir. Let's speak. - What...
Listen to me. Come on.
Tell me.
When my grandson and I were returning from the temple,
we didn't meet Mercy.
Solomon brought Mercy, sir.
Someone had sexually assaulted the kid.
'My child must've been tormented, sir.
I won't spare anyone, sir.'
I tried to make Solomon understand.
'I can't do anything.
- Only a doctor can help. - Please help, sir!'
I didn't have a way out. I touched Mercy
and performed CPR on her.
Still,
that kid died.
[woman screams]
- Brother! [screams, cries] - [crashes]
Solomon committed suicide because of that.
Do you think the police would've believed me
if I had told them earlier?
You tell me.
My grandson's operation
depended on my retirement money.
If there's a police case, I won't get the money.
I did it with the selfish motive of saving my grandson, sir.
But even after the operation,
he hasn't recovered.
Whenever Esther says that her daughter is missing,
my guilt...
kills me, sir.
She trusted you, sir.
- What happened to my kid, sir? - Don't cry, madam.
My Anjana! [cries]
She said that you will escort her safely.
[wails]
Anyway, hiding this truth won't help. That's why,
I came to the police station to tell them the truth.
'No, sir. Those men who raped her, run her over with the truck.
There are eye witnesses to this accident.
Sir, there was nobody around.
Brother, it's sir's order.
- Just report it as an accident. - Come on, sir.
Your statement is important.
Tomorrow's verdict depends on it.
Sir, she was going to speak in court tomorrow.
That's why they planned to kill her with this accident.
I entrusted you with a witness
and you couldn't escort her safely to court. Why are you even a cop?
- Hey! - Yes, sir.
File a complaint against him stating recklessness
in witness protection duty leading to death of witness.
Set up an enquiry commission upon him.
I'm suspending you immediately.
That's why I warned you not to. Did you budge?
Poor girl!
Hiding the truth is equivalent to wronging her.
Sir! Sir...
I've spoken the truth, sir.
Sir, what do you think will happen if you report at the station?
The truth will come out, sir.
I'll be punished for my mistake.
I'll be rid of my guilt, sir.
It's true that you won't get the money if implicated in this case.
It wasn't wrong of you to do first aid.
But you tried to hide it later,
that's your biggest mistake.
They are waiting to close the case.
If you tell them the truth now,
they will accuse you of that girl's murder and close the case.
I don't care if I'm hanged to death to atone for my sins.
Don't be naive.
This is not about a case.
Three girls have disappeared.
If you go inside and tell them the truth,
you will be rid of your guilt.
But will the dead get justice?
Moreover,
everyone will say that you raped and killed her.
Is that acceptable to you?
This is not a favour on you.
If my daughter and other girls of the same age need to be safe,
then the real murderer must be caught.
Not just that,
if there's a problem in this system,
then anyone can be sacrificed to protect it.
I'm an example of that.
You are definitely going to jail.
If you truly want to get justice for Mercy's death
then don't report anything to the police.
Do you have any idea who might be Mercy's culprit?
I don't know, sir.
But I've spoken to him.
Before I got the retirement money,
we had to suddenly get the operation done.
That's when I received a phone call.
Didn't sound like his original voice.
Give me the number.
I received it as a private call on some app.
- Where are you? - I came to town.
- What's the matter? - When will you come?
- At 3 p.m. - Okay.
Come to the location I'll give at 3 p.m.
Do we need to add to our troubles?
Even after his operation was successful,
why is he suffering this way?
For money, I kept Mercy
on a slab... [weeps]
[sniffles]
We can escape anybody after committing a sin,
but we can't escape ourselves.
Do you hear me or not?
Look at our child.
Look at his condition.
Both of us need you more than ever.
Whom did we do this for?
For our kid.
But he won't wake up anymore.
Whom are you going to do this for hereafter?
I'm going to do it for myself.
For Mercy.
Sir.
I could smell spirit on Mercy.
The one that's used to clean during a surgery.
That chemical. I can identify it.
Some people use it to get high.
I think the person who did this
to Mercy must be addicted to it.
This is the original number.
Which city? Whose name is it registered in?
Wait. Hmm...
In the KYC details of that number,
the registered name is Princy Manoranjitham.
Princy... What's the address?
It shows an address in town.
Hmm. I've texted it to you.
- I think it's this house. - Okay.
Sir!
Who is it?
Do you know this girl?
This girl? A year ago, she was living here on rent.
Was she living with her family?
No family, sir. She was a student and living alone.
When did she vacate?
Lakshmi, come here.
When did this girl vacate?
It's been two years since this girl vacated.
She said that she's planning to live in the college hostel.
There's a college near Kootu road signal.
ATR College?
- Yes, sir. That's right. - Yes, that one.
Thanks.
- Ma'am. - Tell me, sir.
- I'm from V4 police station. - Okay.
I want to meet Princy with regards to a case.
Only the warden has details of the hostel students, sir.
- Please meet her at the hostel. - Hmm.
Oh! That girl?
She studied here.
She didn't continue after the third semester, sir.
Didn't continue...
I informed her family too.
- But there was no response. - Family?
A guardian would visit her often.
Do you know his name?
How can I suddenly recall it, sir?
Let me check the old ledgers.
- Okay. Please check. - Please wait, sir.
Sir.
She's here.
Look, sir.
Show me.
Princy Manoranjan.
Our town.
Do you know anyone called Anton in our village?
No.
Thank you, madam.
- Okay, sir. - Okay.
Seems like a Christian name.
We can look, although there are few Christians in our town.
Why don't we ask Pastor Samuel?
- Let's go. - Okay.
Around 2000 years ago,
Jesus was addressing a gathering.
There were thousands of people.
It was time for lunch.
- But there wasn't enough food... - Greetings!
- for everyone. - How can I help, sir?
- Please wait in the office. - Someone from the crowd...
- Okay. - offered to share
his food with everyone.
What do we learn from this? Sharing.
Greetings, Bhaskaran.
- Greetings. - Sit down.
- Greetings, Pastor! - Sit down.
How is your grandson, Bhaskaran?
Not much progress, Pastor.
Don't worry. Your prayers won't be wasted. God is there.
What brings you here? Tell me.
We want to know details about someone related to a case.
You might know that person.
I don't know who you're talking about.
Mercy's case.
- We found a suspicious number. - Hmm.
When we searched, he turned out to be from our village.
Hmm.
So, he could be one of our community members.
- That's why we came to ask. - Pastor.
Just a moment.
- If you sign this, I'll post it. - Okay.
Anything else?
Just a moment.
This too, Pastor.
Please take it.
Sorry. Go on.
What's the matter? Tell me.
No, Pastor. The other day
you brought home the parents of the first child who went missing.
Yes.
Do they belong to this church too?
They are not Christians.
But that girl who went missing is a part of our Sunday school here.
For how long have you been here?
[sighs] You...
don't seem to be questioning anybody else.
It feels like you're investigating me.
- It's not like that. - No, Pastor.
It's okay. You can ask me openly.
Pastor, we went looking for a girl called Princy.
We don't know where she is now.
Her phone number is also unreachable now.
But I think someone is misusing her phone number.
[phone rings]
Sorry, tell me.
Do you know anyone called Princy?
Uh, there are 2-3 girls named Princy in our community.
Which one are you talking about?
She was studying Arts at ATR College.
Ah, yes.
Any news about her?
You might not know. Let me tell you.
Before coming to the village,
I was a Pastor at a church in town.
Princy was a member there. Her parents are not good.
She was living and studying with the support of the missionary.
Whenever I got a chance, I would visit her in college.
That's it.
- Where is that girl now? - She's not to be found.
She went missing two years ago.
While in college,
she went to her relative's place for an annual temple festival.
She was supposed to return that night.
It was found that she was missing only after 4-5 days.
Late realisation.
Do you use two phones?
Uh... Well,
it's my official phone. Only for church purposes.
If you have no other questions...
- No, Pastor. Nothing else. - No.
Okay, see you then.
Gautam!
Huh?
Sir, I could smell spirit on Mercy.
I think that the one who wronged Mercy
must be addicted to it.
[gasps]
What did you do to those girls?
Which girls?
Princy, Mercy, what did you do to those girls?
I swear I don't know, Bhaskaran.
How do you have so many bottles here?
Well, for the last few days,
I've not been sleeping well.
Someone recommended it to me so I started consuming it.
- Sometimes-- - Shush! Don't lie!
You went to Mercy's house.
- No. - You made her disappear.
The day Mercy went missing,
- I was at church. - Hey!
I was at the mass since 6:30 p.m.
You can ask anybody present here.
I swear...
[coughs]
When did you click that photo?
Well, youngsters from the service group
click a group photo every year.
[puffs]
Just a moment.
How do you get this?
- Well... - Who else in our town uses it?
Well... [clears throat]
There's a person who supplies it.
I want to tell all of you something
important about Mercy's disappearance.
On the festival night, I saw someone
running frantically out of her street in the dark.
I didn't give it much thought that day.
But while discussing it now, a thought struck me.
It was none other than...
[clears throat]
Raghu.
Mercy's tuition master.
Raghu supplies this to me.
He asked me to get him a professor's job.
I charged him money for it.
Not just that,
I asked him to supply this regularly.
If I complain about Raghu, the fact that I cheated him
and my addiction to this stuff will become public.
Society will look down upon me.
That's why I never spoke.
[clears throat]
Get up!
- Come with us. - Sir...
- Get into the car. - What's the matter, sir?
- Go on. - What's the matter, sir?
- Hey, get into the car. - Go on!
Go on!
Sir, tell me.
Yes, sir. The day the girl went missing,
An eye witness saw him running out looking scared.
Yes, sir. On searching his house,
we found many things related to Mercy.
Especially, his phone is full of Mercy's photos.
He took most of her photos without her knowledge.
He has been a teacher in all the schools,
that the other missing girls are from, too.
[suspenseful music peaks]