Issue 5 · Case 5 · 30 August 2026
Bombay evening edition · 1996 · Asha D’Costa
The Santacruz Travel Voucher
A travel desk voucher changed hands before a 1996 morning departure.
REPORT: Santacruz, 1996. Mrs D’Mello arrived at Western Skies Travel to collect the hotel voucher for her family’s morning departure. Someone had typed their airline seat reference in the hotel-code box, so the hotel could refuse the paper and the family could lose its rooms. Manager Farida Contractor stopped the dispatch and asked the five people on duty to account for where they worked and why they had intervened in the D’Mello booking. The voucher carbon identifies the visitor to the Luggage corner as the person who replaced the hotel code with the seat reference. The person who visited the Luggage corner is responsible for this incident. Identify the responsible person, the place they visited and their motive.
Reading room opens one extra table for exam month
The Mahim People’s Reading Room has added an evening table for students with reference books, keeping the children’s corner quiet until closing.
Dispatch shelf visitor was trying to conceal the code mix-up
In the travel desk’s departure enquiry, the visitor to the Dispatch shelf was trying to conceal the code mix-up.
First local runs under a cloud-heavy morning sky
Commuters carried folded rain covers as a cloud-heavy morning moved across the city; the buses and local trains settled after the first rush.
Nisha Arora's explanation narrowed to two pressures
Nisha Arora was acting either to conceal the code mix-up or to repay a booking favour.
Projection apprentice completes a careful changeover drill
A young cinema apprentice completed a supervised changeover drill using a blank practice reel, with the booth log signed at the end of the shift.
Babu Fernandes's explanation narrowed to two pressures
Babu Fernandes was trying either to reach the monthly target or to prevent a cash refund.
CLASSIFIED
Travel vouchers clipped before taxi time
Santacruz Travel Desk supplies voucher covers, baggage tags, and fare charts for clerks who fear morning departures.
Hand-painted hoarding class fills its final board
A neighbourhood art class finished a hand-painted cinema hoarding exercise, trading sketches and cassette recommendations after the final brush was washed.
Accounts table visitor was trying to repay a booking favour
The person who visited the Accounts table was trying to repay a booking favour.
Rain cape found near the evening ticket queue
A plain rain cape is held at the lobby desk for its owner. Please describe the stitched initials without naming them aloud in the crowded foyer.
Ticket workstation visitor was trying to reach the monthly target
The person who visited the Ticket workstation was trying to reach the monthly target.
CLASSIFIED
Velvet Booth Irani Café serves the interval crowd
Velvet Booth Irani Café offers bun maska, khari biscuits and chai before the next matinee. Cassette covers may be discussed, but the counter remains for orders.
Luggage corner visitor was not trying to preserve the d’mello rooms
The visitor to the Luggage corner was not trying to preserve the D’Mello rooms.
Churchgate bookstall sends a slim poetry leaflet south
A slim poetry leaflet from a station bookstall turned up beside the cinema noticeboard, one last quiet thread through the season’s Bombay.
Javed Ansari's explanation narrowed to two pressures
The record leaves two explanations for Javed Ansari: trying to prevent a cash refund, or trying to repay a booking favour.
Nisha Arora's movements narrow to two stops
Nisha Arora's recorded visit was to the Accounts table or the Luggage corner.
Register leaves two alternatives involving Sumi Iyer and Nisha Arora
At least one of these entries is correct: Sumi Iyer did not have the motive "Conceal the code mix-up"; Nisha Arora had the motive "Reach the monthly target".
Deduction board
Confirming a pair rules out the other cells in its row and column.
Blank → ○ possible → × ruled out → ✓ matched.
Swipe to compare. Match each icon to the key below.
| 1Babu Fernandes | 2Sumi Iyer | 3Ketan Shah | 4Javed Ansari | 5Nisha Arora | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Accounts table | |||||
| 2Booking desk | |||||
| 3Luggage corner | |||||
| 4Ticket workstation | |||||
| 5Dispatch shelf |
| 1Babu Fernandes | 2Sumi Iyer | 3Ketan Shah | 4Javed Ansari | 5Nisha Arora | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Preserve the D’Mello rooms | |||||
| 2Prevent a cash refund | |||||
| 3Conceal the code mix-up | |||||
| 4Repay a booking favour | |||||
| 5Reach the monthly target |
| 1Accounts table | 2Booking desk | 3Luggage corner | 4Ticket workstation | 5Dispatch shelf | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Preserve the D’Mello rooms | |||||
| 2Prevent a cash refund | |||||
| 3Conceal the code mix-up | |||||
| 4Repay a booking favour | |||||
| 5Reach the monthly target |
File your accusation
Reading your saved case…
Icon key
| 1Sus 1 | Babu Fernandes |
|---|---|
| 2Sus 2 | Sumi Iyer |
| 3Sus 3 | Ketan Shah |
| 4Sus 4 | Javed Ansari |
| 5Sus 5 | Nisha Arora |
| 1Loc 1 | Accounts table |
|---|---|
| 2Loc 2 | Booking desk |
| 3Loc 3 | Luggage corner |
| 4Loc 4 | Ticket workstation |
| 5Loc 5 | Dispatch shelf |
| 1Why 1 | Preserve the D’Mello rooms |
|---|---|
| 2Why 2 | Prevent a cash refund |
| 3Why 3 | Conceal the code mix-up |
| 4Why 4 | Repay a booking favour |
| 5Why 5 | Reach the monthly target |