In a quiet mountain village called Rautu Ki Beli, near Mussoorie, there’s a special school among the hills called Sewadham School. It’s for children who are physically challenged. But one night, something shocking happens—Sangeeta, the warden of the school, is found dead in her sleep. Initially, it looked like a natural death, but Inspector Deepak Negi suspects foul play—a possible murder. Rautu Ki Beli is known for its simple, peaceful life, so why would someone want to harm their warden? Was it personal revenge, or was there something more that the school was trying to hide? After Raat Akeli Hai, Nawazuddin Siddiqui returns as a cop again as Deepak Negi, this time portraying a character with a very simple and righteous approach. Let’s uncover it all. Join him as he uncovers the truth of what happened to the warden in Rautu ka Raaz by Anand Surapur, streaming on Zee5 Global.
Spoilers Ahead
Who is Sangeeta?
Sangeeta, the warden of Sewadham School, was found dead in her sleep. She’d worked at the school for five or six years, and when the police investigated, they uncovered a lot about her from the school staff and the students. Sangeeta was very conservative and strict, with no emotional connection to the physically challenged children at the school. She treated them harshly and believed they didn’t need special care. She was so conservative and strict that she didn’t approve of Rajat and Diya, two students who were in love. They used to hold hands and walk together, but Sangeeta mocked them as “Shahrukh and Kajol” and shamed their innocent love. She even expelled Diya from the school by calling her a bad influence. Despite her outwardly conservative appearance, Sangeeta had a secret romantic relationship with Manoj Kesari, the school trustee and a wealthy businessman. She took advantage of him for money and expensive gifts, even though she knew he was married with a son.
Sangeeta was focused on fulfilling her own desires and pushed Kesari to sell the school’s land to Roshan Builders so that they could tear down the school and build a big, luxurious building to make a lot of money. Kesari, though occasionally perceived as someone who had a fondness for women, particularly Sangeeta, refused to compromise the school’s interests. Why wouldn’t he? He loved the school and cared about the kids who benefited from it. He couldn’t bear to take that opportunity away from those poor kids. As I mentioned earlier, Sangeeta wasn’t someone who could easily let things go. She had no real connection to the school beyond her job. Even though she tried to convince Kesari, she realized it was hopeless. Time was running out, and she was under pressure. She had already taken twenty lakh rupees from Roshan Builders, and she only had two weeks left to get things sorted. Then why did Sangeeta get killed? Was it the builders who wanted the land, or Kesari himself, who was tired of the pressure from his mistress? Inspector Deepak Negi still tried to figure it out.
Who was Govind?
Inspector Deepak Negi initially thought Manoj Kesari might be the one who killed Sangeeta. Kesari kept hiding the truth of his affair with Sangeeta during the investigation. After all, he was a respected businessman afraid of damaging his reputation. When Deepak visited Kesari’s house, he noticed something odd—Kesari’s wife lied about their son Tanmay’s whereabouts and said he was out of town, when he suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It seemed like not only Kesari but his whole family were somehow involved in this crime.
Meanwhile, the school principal lied about the CCTV footage, which made him another suspect. He claimed it was missing or possibly deleted. The principal’s secretary recorded a video when they first discovered Sangeeta, and later handed the footage over to the police. In the first part of the video, Sangeeta’s phone was visible on her bedside table when they discovered her dead body. But in the next moment, the phone was gone, which made it seem like someone deliberately hid it to cover up the truth. They initially thought it might have private messages between her and Kesari, and that’s why maybe they hid it. But after a thorough search, they found the phone hidden in a cupboard and saw the phone was wiped clean—contacts, photos, everything—and knew there were secrets they didn’t want exposed. While investigating and questioning everyone, Deepak decided to talk to Rajat, whom Sangeeta jokingly called “Shah Rukh Khan,” to learn more about Sangeeta and how he was managing without Diya.
Rajat’s response raised more questions than answers—he said he couldn’t contact Diya because he feared she might meet the same fate as Payal Chowdhury, another girl at the school. They didn’t know who Payal was until they uncovered a shocking secret hidden by the school staff. It turned out that Govind, the principal’s secretary, whom Tanmay had helped hire, had a troubled past. He was really drunk one night and was strolling around the school when he met Payal. The girl was blind and had no idea about Govind; all she knew was that someone suddenly started dragging her toward the bathroom. But just as he was about to molest her, she screamed and fell on the bathroom floor. It frightened Govind, and as he was about to flee, he was stopped by the warden herself. She fired him from his job and also expelled Payal Chowdhury. So, naturally, Govind became another suspect in Sangeeta’s murder.
Who was the murderer?
When all signs pointed to Manoj Kesari, higher-ranking police officials ordered Deepak Negi to stop the investigation. Despite pressure from the Home Minister and officials, even a bribe offer from Roshan Builders where he was promised a 3 BHK flat in their new building on school land, Deepak Negi refused that offer and firmly stated that Kesari wasn’t the culprit, so there is no need to bribe him. According to Deepak’s investigation, Govind was the one who murdered the warden. Govind knew the school’s CCTV footage captured his assault on Payal and feared exposure. The warden, Sangeeta, too, had seen his wrongdoing herself. So, when Govind tried to escape with the hard disk containing the footage, he came across Sangeeta again. To silence her and cover up his crime, he killed her.
But do you know what really happened? It wasn’t Govind who did it, but it was Rajat who killed the warden. It shocked Deepak Negi too, but he figured there had to be a reason behind Rajat’s actions. Actually, Rajat found out that Sangeeta had tried to sell the land and pressured Manoj Kesari. On top of that, she knew about Payal’s condition after the attack but didn’t help her. Payal eventually died because of her, and she even kept it a secret. Rajat couldn’t bear it. After all, Sangeeta is the heartless monster responsible for Payal’s death, Diya’s expulsion, and the reason the school’s land was being sold. So, he injected air into her vein after she fell asleep, which caused an air embolism. Deepak found the syringe outside the warden’s window and uncovered the truth. So, what does this really tell us?
Was Deepak Negi the righteous policeman he thought he was? Maybe not entirely, since he wrongly accused Govind of the murder. Govind deserved punishment for what he did to Payal, but not this. Maybe he wasn’t able to handle his guilt inside, and that’s why he left his job as a police officer. But Deepak wasn’t guilty either; he knew there was a thin line between right and wrong, and maybe Rajat felt he had no other choice but to kill her to take his revenge. Maybe now Rajat and Diya can be together again. Maybe this time, the school won’t be sold because Manoj will fight back; deep down, he’s a good person. Maybe this murder investigation was a blessing in disguise for Inspector Deepak Negi, too. He understands the pain of love; he lost his love, Naina, because of joining the police force and the work pressure. He couldn’t even gather the courage to meet her before she passed away, and since then, he has not gone home. But now, after resigning from the police force, he can return to his village and reconnect with his family, whom he’s been distant from all this time. It’s about time, he feels.
