The Present - Chapter 15

           So am back with the next chapter! Go on and read... And yes don't forget to review! This chapter means a lot to me... So will the review for this one...

                             *Chapter 15*

*Day 1 (after the first summon), Beauro*

               ACP sir was busy studying the report of some case in his cabin while Daya, Freddy and Purvi were sitting on their respective desks making case files. Abhijeet and Pankaj had gone out for investigation of the on going case. A little while later Daya called Freedy and said...

Daya - Freddy ek kaam karoge?

Freddy - Ji sir, boliye na!

Daya - Yeh iss paper pe sir ki sign leke aao. Aur yaad rakhna sir ko yeh paper padne mat dena!

Freddy - Sir yeh wahi paper hai kya? Matlab woh Abhijeet sir ACP sir ka case ladne wale hai toh uspe sign...

Daya - Ha wahi hai. Le aaoge na sign

Freddy - Ji sir... Mai kuch karta hu.

*10 mins later*

Freddy - Yeh lijiye sir hogaya (forwarding the paper to Daya)

Daya - (happy) Kya baat hai Freddy! Itne jaldi le li sir ki sign! Kaise kiya?

Freddy - Kuch nahi sir bas ek case report mai chupa ke le gaya. Aur bol diya sir ko ki maine double check karli hai aur headquarters jaldi bejhna hai toh sign karde! Aur sir ne kardi!

Daya - Excellent!!!

Freddy - Lekin sir se iss tarah jhoot bolkar acha nahi laga sir. Unhone mujhpe vishwas karke sign kar diya aur maine...

Daya - I understand yaar. Acha toh mujhe bhi nahi lag raha. Lekin hum kar bhi kya sakte hai? Sir ko samjhane ki kitni koshish ki thi! Sab ne ki. Lekin woh manne ko tayar hi nahi hai.

Freddy - Hmm... Pata nahi sir ko hua kya hai. Woh aise kyu behave kar rahe hai. Apne app ko bachane ki itni si bhi koshish nahi kar rahe!

Daya - Lekin hum hai na. Aisa kuch hone nahi denge. Sir kuch bhi karle... Hum unhe bacha ke hi rahege!

Freddy - Yes sir. Unke liye kuch bhi!

             The remaining day passed being busy in cases and as they were late in going home for the night they couldn't think of what to do ahead...
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                The SIT had started with their investigation... IG (Inspector general of police) Shrikant Pandit was leading the investigation and under him Insp. Dev was the investigating officer (IO). He was one of the reputed officers in the city who always kept duty above everything! He was assisted by a team of capable officers who carried the investigation smoothly. Talking to all the people who were related to case, like ACP sir's past colleagues, friends, Arun and Gayatri Malhotra's friends and family and so much more was underway.
              Meanwhile duo used to dedicate all the time they could to this case after getting freed from the beauro. Abhijeet used to be busy with Veer while Daya would study the case file, make his assumptions and from them preliminary conclusions. Duo's investigation was pretty slow as they were ordered by the court to not interfere in the investigation of this case and hence they had to do everything secretly. Team used to help them in every possible way in finding out the information. Dr. Salunkhe used to keep ACP sir away from these matters, knowing that he would not allow them to do this secret investigation.
                 ACP sir's weird behaviour continued... He never said anything about what was happening around. He always used to be calm... So calm that it scared the team! House to beauro and beauro to house was all that he used to do... Work still being his first priority. But no matter how hard he tried he couldn't hide the silence in his eyes from duo. And not only duo but the whole team had noticed how he was now not taking care of himself. Not taking meals on time and even when he used to, he didn't eat enough. His eyes that used to glitter with determination now looked tired from lack of sleep. He had started spending few extra hours in the beauro and everyone knew that this was so that he could distract himself from the happenings. For team, this made them determined like nothing else ever could! They wanted their dear ACP sir to back in his own form... Strong and courageous. And to get him back like that they were ready to go to any extent!

*Day 4, 10:00 pm*

             The whole beauro was dark except for the light that was glistening in ACP sir's cabin. It was him who had sent the team home a few hours ago as their duty hours were over and had stayed back alone as he didn't wish to go home today! Team tried denying knowing that he was going to stay here for a long night but having no other option they had to leave when he said that it was an 'order'.
                 A few open files were lying here and there on the table while his laptop was lying in front of him and ACP sir was staring at it with what seemed like all the concentration in the world... His chin rested on his left hand while his right one was kept on his desk holding a pen in it. His coat was hanging on the back of his chair and his tie was loosened up a little. Even the shirt that he was wearing looked a little crumbled now after going through the whole busy day. His eyes looked tired and so did his face. But nothing could convince him to go back home...

*A little while later*

          A pat on his shoulder brought him back from his thoughts and the sudden call shocked him...

ACP - Ha? (Looking at the person standing besides him). Tu hai! Kab aaya yaar? Maine dekha hi nahi tujhe!

Salunkhe - Mai tabhi aaya jab tum apne laptop ke wallpaper ko ghur rahe the!

ACP - (looking away) Ha... Woh... Woh

Salunkhe - Ha ha pata hai mujhe tumhe kaam hai. Tum wahi kar rahe the! Lekin ajj ka kaam katham ho gaya hai aur tum abhi issi waqt ghar chal rahe ho!

ACP - Aree yaar mai chala jauga na ghar! Abhi mujhe kaam karne de...

Salunkhe - Ha pata hai na mujhe tum 3/4 baje ke aas paas ghar chale hi jaoge! Lekin sirf subah 8 baje yaha aake wapis baithne ke liye!

ACP - Dekh Salunkhe! Mujhe abhi nahi jana hai ghar...

Salunkhe - (cutting him in between) Mai tumse puch bhi nahi raha ki tumhe jana hai ki nahi! Tumhare paas na jane ka option hai hi nahi! Utho chup chap aur chalo!

ACP - Yaar tu samjhta kyu nahi? Bachcha hu kya mai! Chala jauga na. Kaam hai... Woh toh karne de shanti se mujhe!

Salunkhe - Acha kaam hai? Toh jara app mujhe yeh batane ka kasht karenge ki konsa kaam kar rahe hai app?

ACP - Yeh dekh na! Dikh nahi raha kya! (Indicating to the open files lying on his desk)

Salunkhe - (Picking them up one by one) Hmm... Kitna important kaam hai na! Yeh Rohini murder case! Jo solve ho chuka hai already aur case file bhi ready hai iski! Aur ha yeh wala toh kuch zayada hi important hai! Iska toh court ne verdict bhi de diya hai! Aur yeh kya... Itna important kaam! Yeh solve hue case ki forensic report padne se zayada important kaam kya ho sakta hai!

              Not having an answer ACP sir thought that keeping silence was the best option that he had... While Salunkhe sir said after a deep silence...

Salunkhe - Tu kuch bole yaa na bole... Itne saalo mai itna toh jaan hi chuka mai apne dost ko, ki apna dard chupane ka bas ek hi tarika hai uske paas. Ki apne app ko itna busy rakho ki dard mehsoos hone ka waqt hi na mile! (Keeping a hand on ACP sir's hand... Who was looking down with closed eyes) Janta hu... Tu kisi ke samne kuch nahi bolta... Lekin tu apne app se kabse jhoot bolne laga yaar?

              Silence followed Dr. Salunkhe's words... A silence which comforted both the friends. And a minute later Dr. Salunkhe said patting ACP sir's back...

Salunkhe - Chal uth jaldi. Ghar chal... Bohot late ho gaya hai

              This time ACP sir got up without further resistance and till he picked up his coat and other things Salunkhe sir switched off his laptop, closed all the files and kept them on one side... Soon they came downstairs and sat in Dr. Salunkhe's car who took the driving wheel as ACP sir sat on the passenger seat.
               It was not long before Salunkhe sir's phone rang... It was kept below the music system of the car and before Salunkhe sir could even see the name of the caller ACP sir picked it up and taking the call, attached it to his ear... A shocked Salunkhe sir was staring at him with open mouth who soon understood why ACP sir did so as he got to know who the caller was... Left with no other option he just shook his head in a no and whispered 'ajj toh Abhijeet gaya'

*On call*

          Without waiting for the other person to say anything, Abhijeet started firing his questions...

Abhijeet - Hello sir apne ACP sir ko ghar chod diya? Maine kaha tha na mujhe phone kar dena! Apne phone kiya kyu nahi?! Shyam ko bol diya na apne ki sir ko dinner kara de? Agar woh na mane toh bhi kam se kam juice hi pila de! (After a second) Hello sir? App kuch bol kyu nahi rahe?

ACP - Kyuki tum mujhe bolne ka mauka hi nahi de rahe!

Abhijeet - Sir app! (Checking his phone to see if he had called Salunkhe sir only)

ACP - Sahi number lagaya hai tumne! Check karne ki zarurat nahi hai...

Abhijeet - Ab... Sir woh... Sir

              Salunkhe sir tried interrupting in between saying 'Boss do na... Mai karta hu baat' but he was silenced by ACP sir who ignored him completely...

ACP - Kya sir sir? Aage bhi bologe kuch?

Abhijeet - Sir woh na... Maine kuch nahi kiya! Yeh sab na Daya ki wajh se! Uska idea tha!

            Daya who was sitting besides Abhijeet hit him with his elbow with a what gesture! But our dear Abhijeet sir had no other option to escape ACP sir's anger except for phasaing Daya...

ACP - Pata hai mujhe ache se kiska idea tha Salunkhe ko bejhne ka! Kal milna beauro mai tum dono mujhe!

Abhijeet - Yes sir (sadly)

ACP - Hmm chalo phir bye!

Abhijeet - Sir ek minute! Woh na... Woh...

ACP - (waiting for him to complete, but soon realised his scared son won't be able to) Kar lunga dinner aur so bhi jauga time pe!

Abhijeet - (smiling) Thank you sir... Good night.

ACP - Good night. So jana tum dono bhi! Pata nahi ajj kal raat raat bhar jaagke kya karte rehte ho!

Abhijeet - Mai kuch nahi karta sir! Yeh Daya hi raat bhar jaagta rehta aur mujhe bhi nahi sone deta!

            This earned him another hit from Daya's elbow and ACP sir heard him say 'Tumhe har chiz ka bill mujhpe fhadna zaruri hai!'

ACP - (With a smile) Pareshan mat karo tum mere Daya ko samjhe! Pata hai mujhe zayada tar kichdi tumahare hi dimag mai pakti hai!

Abhijeet - (smiling sheepishly) Ji sir...

ACP - Good night. Take care.

Abhijeet - You too sir. Bye.

                 Cutting the call ACP sir kept the phone back on its previous place when Salunkhe sir said...

Salunkhe - Kyu dara rahe the bichare ko? Ha usne bejha tha mujhe lekin tumhari fikar thi tabhi bejha tha na!

ACP - Maine kaha daraya usse? Mai toh kuch bola bhi nahi. Woh aise hi dar gaya toh meri kya galti...

Salunkhe - Ab aise khadus wali aawaz mai baat karoge toh koi bhi dar hi jayega na!

ACP - Maine konsi khadus wali aawaz mai baat ki! Ab mai apne Abhijeet se thoda mazak bhi na karu! By the way tujhe kabse uski itni fikar hone lagi?

Salunkhe - Mujhe humesha se thi uski fikar samjha... Woh toh bas bichara kuch zayada hi dar gaya hoga!

ACP - Tere jaisa darpok nahi hai woh! Janta hai mujhe. (Emotionally) Aur kuch had se zayada hi pyar karta hai mujhse...
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               The time passed at its own pace and 2 days later SIT submitted its report to the court... And the court gave the date for the 2nd hearing for the day after tomorrow.

*Day 6, 8:30 pm*

              Arya was standing in the balcony of her room... That is the guest room in Rahul's house. While Rahul was sitting on a chair near her busy on a laptop...

Rahul - Kya soch rahi hai?

Arya - SIT ne jo information di hai uske bare mai...

Rahul - Hmm... SIT's report somewhere makes it clear that this was all a conspiracy by ACP sir...

Arya - And now its time Rahul... He will have to pay for all his deeds! For everything that he did! And i will make him regret for all of it!
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*Second hearing*

                The court filled and the judge arrived... All stood up in his respect and ACP sir took his place in the witness box... Settling down the judge said...

Judge - Let the case begin... (Seeing the place for ACP sir's lawyer still being empty) But before everything... Apki taraf se lawyer? (To ACP sir)

ACP - (Taking a deep breath) Your honour, meri taraf se koi lawyer nahi...

               But before he could complete his sentence Abhijeet entered the court from behind and said in a confident loud voice...

Abhijeet - Your honour, inki taraf se mai yeh case laduga.

ACP - What? Abhijeet yeh...

            Once again he didn't let ACP sir complete his sentence and said...

Abhijeet - (to judge, forwarding a file) Yeh sir ke sign kiye hue papers jinpe saaf likha hai ki he accepts me as his lawyer.

               Abhijeet didn't dare to look at ACP sir again while ACP sir was already giving him a deadly glare! Meanwhile after taking a glance at the papers given by Abhijeet the judge said...

Judge - Ok then, Prosecution please begin with the case...

Arya - Your honour Mr. Arun aur Miss Gayatri ke murder ka ilzam Mr. Prayduman par hai... Iss case ko 27 saal pehle investigate toh kiya gaya tha lekin aisi bohot si chize thi jo samne nahi aayi thi. Isilye court ne iss case ki reinvestigation ke liye SIT bithayi thi. Your honour uski report aa gayi hai!

Judge -  Give me the report please?

              Insp Dev forwarded the report which assistant gave to the judge... Judge took a quick glance at it and then ordered IG Shrikant Pandit to explain their investigation...
              Shrikant Pandit was a man in his mid 50s... Had a french beard neatly trimmed... His hair were short and coloured black. He was dressed in a sky blue shirt and a black blazer. He was a reputed officer and had an excellent track record. He was smart and obviously intelligent but also an honest cop. As called upon he came and stood in the other witness box and Arya coming close to him said...

Arya - So sir... Please app court ko bataiye ki apko investigation mai kya pata chala?

IG Pandit - Your honour... Court ke order pe meri team ne iss case ko phir se investigate kiya... Aur aisi bohot sari chize samne aayi jo pichli baar pata nahi chali thi. The first thing that i would like to clarify is... Ki yeh jo encounter hua tha jiske bich Mr Arun and Gayatri Malhorta ka khoon hua tha... Prayduman uss gang ke piche starting se nahi the. Yeh case lead karne ki permission unhone kudh higher authorities se mangi thi jiske baad yeh case unhe sopa gaya tha! Why? We don't know. Dusri important baat yeh hai ki Prayduman sloved this case miraculously fast! Jo pichli team iss case par kaam kar rahi thi worked hard for years... Lekin woh yeh case solve kar nahi paye the end tak... Not to forget woh gang jiska encounter hua tha was a high profile one! Lekin Prayduman ko yeh case milte hi ek hafte mai yeh case solve ho gaya. Akhiri aur sabse important baat jo hume pata chali hai woh yeh hai ki Mr. Prayduman knew Mr. Arun... To be precise Miss Gayatri from a lot before this incident!

Judge - Aur woh kaise?

IG Pandit - Your honour, Miss Gayatri ka cousin bhai, Vinay, Prayduman ka college friend tha. Aur jab humne Mr. Vinay se baat ki toh hume pata chala ki unhone toh Prayduman ko Miss Gayatri aur Mr. Arun ki wedding tak pe invite kiya tha!

Arya - Thank you so much sir for all your efforts. Thank you.

              As he was done with his part IG Pandit got down from the witness box and sat back in his place when Arya said...

Arya - So your honour with your permission i would like to question Mr. Prayduman!

Judge - Proceed!

Arya - Thank you... (Coming close to ACP sir) Toh app pehle se jante the na about Mr. Arun's wealth?

ACP - Ha...

Arya - Hmm... Toh aur kya kya jante the app Mr. Arun ke bare mai?

ACP - Zayada kuch nahi... Bas thoda bohot jitna mujhe Vinay ne bataya tha invite karte time...

Arya - Wahi toh puch rahi hu mai! Kya kya bataya tha Mr. Vinay ne apko?

ACP - Basic bate jitni koi invite karte time batata hai... Arun ka family background and all...

Arya - Family background! So your honour Mr. Prayduman pehle se jante the ki how wealthy Mr. Arun is... Aur woh yeh bhi jante the ki unki family mai aur koi nahi hai jo unke baad unki wealth ka haqdar ho!

Judge - Defence would you like to say something?

            Taking a deep breath Abhijeet finally got up from his chair... And said in a strong voice...

Abhijeet - No your honour... Mai wait kar raha hu ki kab Prosecution sahiba yeh prove karegi ki ACP sir ne hi yeh khoon kiya hai! ACP sir ka request karke yeh case apne under lena... Case ko jaldi solve kar lena ya phir unka Malhortas ko pehle se janna yeh kaise prove karta hai ki unka death ek socha samjha plan tha aur koi mistaken identity nahi? Miss Arya am sorry mujhe yeh baat samjh nahi aa rahi! App please explain karegi? Kya karu... Life ka pehla case hai na... App toh bohot experienced hai! Please do the honour of explaining it to me!

Arya - (with a smile) Waise lagta toh nahi hai ki apka pehla case hai! Agar app CID officer nahi bante toh lawyer bhi ban hi sakte the! Lekin yes... Jo sawal apne pucha hai uska jawab apko mera yeh witness dega jisko mai abhi bulane jaa rahi hu... Your honour with your permission i would like to call Sr. Insp Shekhar in the witness box

Judge - Hmm ok

                A man in his late 40s came and stood in the witness box. But instead of going to him Arya went to ACP sir and said...

Arya - Pehchana inhe?

ACP - (After thinking for a minute) Ha... Jab mai CBI mai tha tab yeh sub insp tha... Naya naya join kiya tha...

Arya - Good... Acha hua apko yaad hai... Meri thodi mehnat bacha li apne! Toh your honour... Yeh Insp Shekhar hai... He was a sub insp in CBI and had just joined jab yeh encounter hua tha. Lekin what is important here is... Encounter wale din inhone kya suna tha! (To Shekhar)... Please batiyiye ki apne uss din kya suna tha?

Shekhar - Your honour... Woh encounter wale din mai kisi kaam se sir ke pass gaya tha record room mai. Tab sir waha akele the aur kisi se baat kar rahe the phone pe. Toh mai unki baat katham hone tak ruk gaya. Tabhi sir ne phone pe kaha ki, 'Tum chinta mat karo... Kaam ho jayega. Aur kisi ko pata nahi chalega'.

Judge - Defence, would you like to cross question the witness?

Abhijeet - Yes your honour... (To Shekhar) Mr. Shekhar... Bas ek question hai mera... Yeh 27 saal purani baat apko ab tak yaad hai? Chalo yaad hai toh hai! Lekin itne achi tarah se? With every single detail? Ki sir uss waqt kaha the! App waha kyu gaye the? Sab kuch? How?

Shekhar - I know yeh baat vishwas karne layak nahi hai... Lekin yeh baat mujhe ajeeb lagi thi isilye yaad... Reh gayi!

Abhijeet - Hmm... Ajeeb lagi thi isilye yaad reh gayi! I understand... Lekin phir bhi! Manna padega apki yaaddash ko!

Arya - Mr. Shekhar ki yaaddash ko app baad mai maniyega... Pehle mujhe yeh batayiye ki apke sir aise konse kaam ki baat kar rahe thi jo katham ho gaya aur kisi ko pata bhi nahi chala?

            Not having an answer to Arya's question Abhijeet maintained silence... While Arya now said to the judge...

Arya - So your honour, baat kafi kuch clear hui hai... Mr. Prayduman pehle se Mr. Arun and Gayatri Malhorta ko jante the... Unki family background aur economic condition ko bhi! Toh its not very hard to believe that he planned to kill them for their wealth. Unka kudh request karke case apne under lena... Usse aise solve kar lena jaise unhone hi sab kuch plot kiya ho indicates somewhere that it was not a case of mistaken identity but a well planned murder! Also not to forget Insp. Shekhar's statement!

Abhijeet - Miss Arya... Agar apke alligations lagana ho gaye ho... Toh ab mai kuch bolu?

Arya - Sure! You don't need my permission!

Abhijeet - No... I do need your permission! Kyuki mere kuch sawal hai jinhe sirf app hi answer kar sakti hai! Puchu?

Arya - Go ahead...

Abhijeet - Thank you (with a smile)... Toh apne kaha ki sir ka yeh case apne under lena unke plan ka hissa tha? Right?

Arya - Ji haa...

Abhijeet - Toh kya app mujhe yeh bata sakti hai ki iss gang ka Mr. Arun and Gayatri se kya relation tha?

Arya - Matlab?

Abhijeet - Matlab yeh ki your honour, agar yeh maan bhi le ki yeh sab kuch ACP sir ne plan kiya tha jaisa Miss Prosecution ka kehna hai... Toh bhi is it not impossible for ACP sir to get Mr. Arun with his family there at the spot of encounter along with the gang at the same time? Dusri baat! Miss Arya i being a cop know this better and i hope apko bhi pata hoga ki we don't get to choose the place of encounter! Gang jaha hoti hai police waha jati hai... Police gang ko bulati nahi hai ki aao hume apka encounter karna hai! Uss gang ka jiska encounter karne sir gaye the aur Mr. Arun ka waha ek saath ussi waqt hona kaise possible hua unless and until ACP sir knew both of them? Sir didn't call the gang members there! And even if he did why would they come there to die? And sir not being any friends with Mr. Arun could not have possibly called him to that place!

Arya - Ho sakta hai he called Mr. Arun there on pretext of something?

Abhijeet - Ho sakta hai! Hua toh nahi na! Also... Agar ACP sir Mr. Arun ko bohot pehle se jante the, matlab ki unki shaadi ke time se, toh why on earth did he wait 3 long years after his marriage to kill him?

Arya - Cause then he was no way a heir to his property... He had no claim over it! But after adopting Mr. Arun's daughter, that is me, he had a claim over it!

Abhijeet - What are you trying to say Miss Arya? Ek aadmi jiska dusre aadmi se koi lena dena hi nahi hai sirf usse ek baar mila tha uski shaadi mai... After 3 long years out of blue he plans to kill him for his property? Woh bhi uski beti ko adopt karke, 18 saal tak usse paal pos kar bada karne ke baad jab usse property milegi? Does this even make sense to any sane man?

Arya - Ok then tell me why did he trick me to sign those property papers as soon as i turned 18? Mujhe ek wajh batayiye aur mai yeh case wapis le lungi! (After a silence) Can you?

To be continued...

                Kya lagta hai? Kya jawab denge Abhi sir? Socho socho! Aur tab tak review bhi kar do!
                Yes... Please do tell me if the court scenes were clear... I hope it wasn't confusing but in case it was feel free to tell me! Keep reading...