Patnaik’s head swam a little. What black magic was this? How could the Stringer know of the lathi charge? There had been no traffic on the road, not even a stray truck. And how did that little fellow get a photograph of the incident? Did he even have a camera of his own? Patnaik had heard of photographers using drones to take pictures from high above, but those machines must be expensive, and the Stringer sometimes didn’t even have money to buy tea and pakoras for Patnaik’s constables.

So how did the fellow do it? From the angle of the photograph, it seemed to have been taken by someone standing behind Patnaik, whose face could be clearly seen from the side. So the photographer must have been standing with the surveyors behind the police team.

A horrible thought struck Patnaik. What if the Stringer had been disguised as a surveyor yesterday? But that was impossible. He would have been caught in two minutes. So how did he do it?

‘Patnaik, are you there?’

‘Sir! Yes, sir!’

‘Patnaik, how educated are you?’

‘Sir?’

‘You must be very well-educated. You are the Superintendent of Police of a district, aren’t you? What I mean is, have you heard of the word “imbecile”? It means a foolish person. Someone who does not understand the simplest of things. The Odia and Bangla words for this sound even better. Perhaps you know them?’

‘Sir?’

‘Patnaik, you had a simple task. You had to take the surveyors to that hill, wait for them to survey it and bring them back. A simple task. They would have done their job and gone home in a few days. Then the government—that is you and Behera, Patnaik—would have asked the villagers to leave, and our work would have been done. A few months. That is all.’

‘Sir, the team started the survey yesterday …’

There was a long sigh, and the sound of someone setting down a fine porcelain cup on a glass table.

‘No, Patnaik, the survey can’t be done now. You know why? Because of this story.’

‘Sir, it is only a small report …’

‘A small report, is it? Are you aware of what has been happening here in Bhubaneshwar since this morning? How many phone calls I have got from some very important and very angry people over this small report? Patnaik, there is nothing you can do about it now. You will not go looking for that Stringer. You know why?’

Patnaik, who had decided to do just that after the phone call, didn’t say anything.

‘Because, Patnaik, now every reporter and TV news channel in western Odisha is camped in your town. Maybe they are already lurking outside your house. In a few days, reporters from Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack will arrive there. Then the politicians will visit, and give speeches. Because everyone will be talking about this for some time. That is why.’