The principal of the school was a tetchy man. He did not like the concept of teaching life skills to students. He believed that teaching life skills was nothing but just a waste of time. Not that he was a good man but he did not want to educate the students so much so that his illegal activities would be discovered. Yes, the principal was a drug smuggler besides being a successful head of the institution. But only a few knew about it. One day Veerta heard the principal discussing about something illegal. She listened to their conversation closely. 

The principal was planning to smuggle expired drugs to the various rural areas where medicines were not always available. He would sell those expired medicines and earn a huge profit out of them. Veerta was extremely shocked after hearing it. She could not believe her ears. “How can a person be so cruel just for some money?” she thought. “How can a person be so greedy?”. She went to the staffroom and told everyone about this. Some were shocked like her while some were not as they already knew about it. 

“Why did none of you protest against him when you all know about this? He is killing humans. It is a crime!!” she exclaimed. “We cannot do anything against him”, said one teacher, “And if we do so he will fire us from our job and also destroy our career”. “And also he will destroy our family”, said another teacher. “There are laws in our country and if he tries to harm anyone, we can inform the police”, Veerta said. “He is a very powerful man” said a teacher “And all the police are corrupted here. They won’t take any step against him”. “So should we just sit back and see how this lusty and greedy man kills the innocent humans? Can’t we do anything for them?” pleaded Veerta. “Once a senior teacher went to protest against it when he got to know about the crime. The senior teacher was hit by a car on the same day while he was returning home. We knew that was a murder and who the murderer was but we could not say anything as the principal threatened us to keep our mouth shut” said the present senior most teacher.

“This have been going on since ten years and if anyone went to protest against it, the principal would threaten to destroy his life and career.” “Veerta, none of us support this crime but for our sake, our family’s sake, we have to keep our mouths shut” said the biology teacher saddened. Veerta became silent for a moment then spoke up, “Sorry, but I have been raised from a family where we do not compromise with any injustice with anyone. My father was a judge of the High Court and he has taught me never to negotiate with wrongs. I shall speak for those innocent people who are being exploited by this greedy creature.” “Don’t do anything that shall harm your life Veerta” the senior most teacher advised her. “Your life will be at risk if you do so.” “And what about those thousands of lives ma’am which are being killed every day? Veerta asked the teacher. 

“What are their faults ma’am to lose their lives like this? Why will they die like this? We are the teachers, ma’am, it is our duty to educate the students on serving mankind.” Suddenly Veerta remembered “Now I can understand why the principal gets irritated when I teach life skills during free periods. He fears that the students might become so intellectual that they would discover his illegal activity. But I would take the step to spill the beans about his dirty activity behind the mask of a good principal.” Veerta went away. Among them was a teacher who was an associate of the principal and informed him about all important matters which were discussed in the staffroom. Last time it was he who helped the principal in the murder of that senior teacher. But nobody knew that this teacher was involved with the principal. He was also a part of that smuggling. It was the history teacher who used to deliver all the history of the staffroom into the principal’s room. He was the most favourite of the principal. The history teacher, Mr Mehra, went to the principal in the name of some work and told him everything what happened in the staffroom and Veerta’s decision. “I am surprised at Veerta’s audacity. She will protest against me? What will she do? Let me chop her wings. She is flying very high.” “What will you do sir?” asked Mr Mehra. “I will give her so much pain that next life she will fear protesting against anyone.”

The next day the principal called Veerta to his room. Veerta went to his room and asked why he had called her. “I heard you are planning to go for a protest? “Oh so you’ve already heard about it sir, from your sycophants I guess?” “How dare you to talk to me like that? Nobody ever disrespects me”, the principal screamed at her. “How would they say sir, they are scared of their lives”, said Veerta “I was sure that you had sycophants inside the school and they belong to our staffroom unfortunately.” “What do you mean?” asked the principal anxiously. “I mean that the sycophant is none other than our history teacher, Mr Mehra. I heard him last day inside your room explaining everything that had happened inside our staffroom.” “How dare you to spy on me? I am the head of the school. You have no right to spy on the head of the institution.” “And sir you too don’t have any right to destroy the innocent lives”, Veerta said boldly. “I can accept everything but injustice. You’ve been killing thousands of lives for the last ten years and nobody dared to open their mouth for you threatened them of death and when a senior teacher took the step to end this crime, you murdered him and told the policemen to convey his death as a car accident. It was a clearly planned murder.” “But I will not let this drug business continue. I will inform everyone, the journalists, and social media that you are a smuggler behind being a principal of a government school, and I promise that I will surely do.” The principal remained silent and then said “You are digging your own grave Veerta, nobody will save you.” “I don’t fear threats, sir, I don’t compromise with injustice” said Veerta and went out of the room. The principal called up Mr Mehra and told him to plan for the next murder.

The next day, Veerta went to the school but on reaching there found a notice on the wall. “The school will remain closed today on account of the death anniversary of our beloved biology teacher, Mr Shyamal Dutta.” “Nobody informed me that the school would be closed today” “If I knew I would not have travelled such a long distance,” Veerta called her mother and told her that she was returning home as the school was closed and told her mother to prepare her favourite dish. She will be reaching home shortly. 

Suddenly some ten to fifteen goons, with sturdy muscular physiques and sharp weapons in their hands, came in front of her. She had no weapons with her. The principal was on the phone on speaker and instructed them to beat and break her limbs. Veerta tried to escape and she shouted for help but nobody came to help her. Veerta fell into the ground. The men surrounded her and beat her so much that her skin started bleeding. They used metal rods, whips and thick sticks. She was crying profusely and pleaded to the goons to release her. But none of them listened to her and continued beating her to death. Everybody crowded at the site, but no one dared to rescue her. The local police only stood and stared at the whole incident but did nothing. They knew that the goons were instructed by the principal. Veerta could not breathe anymore and died bleeding. While dying she mumbled regretting, “I could not keep my promise, I could not save the innocent people.” She took the initiative to save the people and in turn, gave her life.

.    .    .