CHAPTER 2
Two days later their school bus stopped on the road albeit due to malfunctioning. Unlike the town Nimbushay, these roads were not populated. PKs alongwith other friends lived in the outskirts of town. There were fumes and all the children, a lady teacher, the driver and the conductor exited the bus.
Vehicles on that road were very few on the state highway. Suddenly, a huge minivan with black tinted windows arrived. The bus driver and conductor offered to help. No one doubted the Good Samaritans helping them.
As the teacher discussed with the bus driver who sent the bus conductor and school bus driver on an errand into the school bus, the conductor of minivan lured some PKs into the minivan telling about the exceptional toys they were going to distribute to a warehouse in Nimbushay. There was a huge chess set, train sets and barbie dolls. There were 8 teens in the minivan.
Two children Reshab and Mohit who did not subscribe to the religion of PKs- The Truth were talking to the conductor who said he can explain some intriguing games once they get their schoolbags.
Mohit told the van conductor –" You are so interesting compared to any conductor I have ever seen!" Reshab and Mohit ran to the bus.
The van driver got a call. He rushed to the bus telling the teacher that his boss needs some information from a file. Then the minivan with the 6 children was gone. In less than 5 minutes, they were gone.
Mohit and Reshab came running out. Mohit noticed the license plate of the minivan. They alerted the teacher about the 6 teens inside. The teachers own child was inside the minivan. Mohit and Reshab followed a different religion Promdhu like most people in the country. The mini van conductor and driver were part of Promdhu extremists who could not stand Truth's followers.
People in school bus panicked. The lady teacher began frantically calling people. As this was remote and hilly area, often the mobile reception was not good. Smartphones were a rarity in 80s and 90s even for upper middle class and rich families. She was the only person with a mobile. She began calling her husband, school principal and others but to no avail. They were stranded in the middle of nowhere with paddy fields and jungles all around.
Finally, the call connected to the school principal who alerted the police. They took the license plate number that Mohit observed. The police realized that it was fake plate with the original number belonging to a car in another state. The owner lived in a city. His office had CCTV whose footage showed that the car was parked outside the office building all the while the kidnapping happened with the owner oblivious to all of it.
The car owner did not want his reputation or his company's reputation to suffer. Also, he wished for the kids to be united with his parents. This is what he told the police. Moreover, he followed the Truth. So, Promdhu extremists made a calculated move to escape the radar of the police to avoid suspicion.
The lady teacher and other parents were in tears. They didn't blame her much because the hay roof of some places of worship were burnt and walls broken few days earlier.
The whole incident happened in less than 5 minutes. Another vehicle was sent and carried the bus people home. It has been 2 days since the incident happened. Unlike the cities, CCTV footage could not be easily found in the town. Apart from the police station, only 2 or 3 shops including a computer hardware store would have CCTV in Nimbushay.
Besides, since it was possible to ride vehicles in the plains or in parts of mangrove without concrete roads so, the vehicle could not be easily tracked in a remote place.