The Present - Chapter 23

               Hello everyone! First of all wishing you all a very happy new year!!! May this new year bring lots of happiness and success in your life! Waise wondering mai itne jaldi kaise aa gayi? Woh do mahina exams ke wajh se gayab thi na so compensate karna padta hai na! Isilye jaldi aa gayi. Chalo ab sab log jaldi jaldi chapter pado...

                              Chapter 23

                And closing his eyes Daya rewinded back his memory lane to the day when ACP sir called them for the dinner and for the first time told them about his daughter Arya... 'Aur phir maine ne uss bachchi ko adopt kar liya'... 'Haa toh mai bhai bulaugi ok!!!'... 'Arya yeh lo! And all the very best for your exam'... 'Dekhiye Arya ka accident ho gaya hai'... 'Lekin dhyan tha kyu nahi? Soch kya rahi thi itna deeply tum?'... 'Acha toh phir Rahul bhaga bhaga kyu aa raha hai tumhare liye?'... 'Arya ko... Dhundo'... 'Daya gadi roko! Woh dekho... Waha koi baitha hai!'... 'Aree jake apke ACP sir se puchiye na ki unhone kya kiya hai! Apni hi beti ke saath akhir kar kaise sakta hai koi aisa?'... 'Mai... Mai pa... ACP Prayduman ke ghar nahi jaugi'... 'Uski aakhe bilkul khali thi... Mano na kuch soch raha hai na kuch samjh raha hai'... ' Mai apse wada karta hu sir... Apki begunahi sabit karke rahuga'... 'Arya ne sir ke against writ petition file ki hai'... 'Mera koi lawyer nahi hai your honour'... 'The court orders Maharashtra police to form a SIT for this case'... 'Chalo phir bhai Veer... Karao mujhe law ka crash course!'... 'Miss Gayatri ka cousin bhai, Vinay, Prayduman ka college friend tha'... 'Tabhi sir ne phone pe kaha ki, "Tum chinta mat karo... Kaam ho jayega. Aur kisi ko pata nahi chalega"... '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?'... 'Sach kahu toh he didn't adopt me but is only my legal guardian'... 'Arya ke 18 hote hi maine Arun ki sari property Arya ki naam kar di thi'... 'Sach sach bataiye... Apne meri sign unn property papers par, dhoke se, li thi yaa nahi? Ha... Li thi'... 'court orders IG Shrikant Pandit to suspend ACP Prayduman from immediate effect and also take him in custody for further investigation'... 'Sir please... Ab toh bata dijiye 27 saal pehle hua kya tha?'... 'Mr. Arun ne will banwai hi kyu thi?'... 'Unhe ek, ek number se bar bar phone aata tha'... 'Jo upar dikh raha hai... Woh iss case ka 1% bhi nahi hai!'... 'Sir yeh... Yeh toh dhamkiya hai. Kisne bejhi hongi yeh Arun ji ko?'... 'ACP sir ko toh kudh sirf 5 ghante pehle hi information mili thi! Toh phir yeh dhamki dene wale ko pehle hi kaise pata chal gaya ki encounter kis din, kis waqt aur kaha hone wala hai?'... 'This is ACP Arjun Singh'... 'Mr. Vijay ka suicide letter. Isme saaf saaf likha hai ki unhe zindagi bhar iss baat ka malal raha ki unki help se ACP sahab ne 2 begunaho ki jaan le li'... 'Jis insan ke character pe app ungli utha rahi hai na ussi insan ne apko ungli pakad kar chalna sikhaya tha!'... 'Your honour, Prayduman nahi janta tha ki Arya Mr. Arun ki beti hai! Woh kaise usse, property ke liye adopt kar sakta hai!'... 'Defense, SIT aur prosecution ke paas 2 din ka waqt hai. Tab tak koi na koi pukhta saboot pesh kare!'... 'Usne mujhe dono ke passports bijhwaye with life time visa aur maine unn dono ko bijhwa diya US'... 'Beta mai nahi janti ki kyu bejha tha'... 'Dai maa par nazar rakho'... 'Woh mujhe... Arjun ji se milna hai!'... 'Woh galat hai! Par woh ghunegar nahi hai'... 'Chai piyege sahab?'... 'Tum log yeh jo chup chup ke investigation kar rahe ho na... Band karo isse'... 'Abhijeet aur Arya ki jaan kathre mai hai'... 'Parso waise hi mai court mai kudh ko guilty accept kar lunga'... 'make sure nothing of this sort happens again! Nahi toh suspension is the minimum thing that you both will face!'... 'Bas woh seedhi se pair slip ho gaya tha'... 'Tumhara phone hacked hai Veer!'
                 Keeping his elbows on the table Daya leaned ahead and took a few uneven breaths, picked up a glass of water and gulped it down in one breath. And then said to himself...

Daya - God!!! Mai ab tak samjha kyu nahi! Sir agar kudh ko guilty accept karna hi chahte hote toh Insp Dev ke samne hi kar lete! Woh court ki hearing tak rukte hi nahi. Sir chahte the ki mai iss case ko investigate karu! Aur sach tak pohchu! Par saath hi Abhijeet aur Arya bhi safe rahe. Aur meri information leak na ho. Isilye sir nr bulaya tha mujhe! Sir ne itni badi hint di thi aur mai samjha hi nahi! Woh ladka! Jisne mujhe chai di thi! Socha kyu nahi maine ki uske paas sir ne kuch information chodi hogi! Nahi toh usse kaise pata ki mujhe kab aur kaha aake chai deni hai! Mujhe abhi jana hoga usse dhundne. Beach pe chai di thi. Wahi se start karte hai!

               Getting up he changed quickly and grabbing his phone, gun, wallet and car keys left the house after writing a small note as 'Kuch kaam se jaa raha hu. Aa jauga' for Abhijeet who was sleeping as of now. On the way he first called on of his trusted informer and told him to keep an eye on Abhijeet and to call him on his secret phone in case he sees any threat lurking around him. Next he switched off his usual phone and the GPS of the car so that he couldn't be tracked just in case.

*Car*

Daya - (thinking) Ab tak ka kaha sir ka har ek alfaz sahi tha aur har alfaz ke piche koi wajah. (Smiling at himself) Mai unse sach puchta raha aur woh jab bhi bole sirf sach hi bole! Itni sari broken links hai iss case mai! Kyu banwayi thi Mr. Arun ne will? Kisne dhamki dekar bulaya tha unhe uss raste par? Woh encounter ussi waqt, ussi jagah par kaise hua? Yaha tak ki ab 27 saal baad Arya ko sach pata kaise chala? Sir ki chuppi ki wajh! Abhijeet ki jaan ko kathara se yaha tak ki Veer ka phone kisne hack kiya! Har baat sirf ek chiz se jake judti hai! Uss ek link se jo missing hai! Yeh sab kuch karne wala woh ek insan! Jo iss case mai 27 saal pehle bhi involved tha aur ajj bhi involved hai! Jisne 27 saal pehle Mr. Arun ki jaan li aur ajj phir ACP sir ko chup karwa rakha hai ab tak Arya aur ab Abhijeet ke naam ki dhamki dekar. Par usse kya pata... Ki ACP sir kis mitti ke bane hai!

            Soon he reached the beach and looked at the small shops and few stalls that were located around it and were closed now as it was almost midnight. But then looking at the opposite side of the road he located a small 'chai tapri'. He went there and found the same boy who handed him over the tea that day on the beach... Looking at him for a few seconds Daya said...

Daya - Ek chai...

              The boy looked at him and then called out as

Boy - Baba! Sahab ko chai... Kadak wali

              And hearing 'kadak wali' a man came in front from behind the tin back door of the small tapri. Seeing the man, Daya was shocked and said...

Daya - Tum! Tum yaha kya kar rahe ho?

Man - Andar aayiye na sahab... Thandi hai. Andar baithiye mai chai banata hu

              And without actually answering his question the man once again disappeared from the same tin door but this time leaving it open for Daya to enter. Entering inside Daya found himself standing inside a small room now. The room was small but neat. With some utensils kept on one side of the room and a cot kept just besides the door. So it was a living room + kitchen + bedroom. As Daya looked around the man said...

Man - Baithiye sahab. Mai chai banata hu

Daya - Chai wai chodo. Tum mujhe yeh batao ki yeh sab chal kya raha hai? Tumhare paas sir ne kuch hint chodi hai mere liye? Aur tum kudh hi court mai sir ke khilaf gawahi dene aaye the Prateek?

(Prateek, Vijay's son... Vijay who was ACP sir's informer and gave him the information of the gang that ACP sir went to do encounter of, 27 years ago. Prateek in court said that Vijay commited suicide and showed his suicide note in which he had written that he was guilty that ACP sir killed 2 innocent people because of him. Also wrote that he gave information of the gang's whereabouts 3 days ago while ACP sir said he came to know about it only 5 hours ago. Refer - Chapter 19)

Prateek - Baba ki tarah mai bhi ACP sahab ka khabri hu sahab. Arya madam ke sahab pe case karne ke baad ek din achanak ek unknown number se unhone mujhe phone kiya tha. Aur bole ki woh samne ke beach pe hai... Mai mere bete ko ek kadak chai ke saath bejhu. Shayad unn par koi nazar rakhe hue tha. Isiliye woh mujhse nahi milna chahte the. Chai ke paiso ke saath unhone ek chitthi bhi di. Jisme sahab ne sab likha tha ki mujhe kya karna hai. Agar koi bhi police wala iss case ke bare mai puchne aaye toh unhe kya bolna hai. Yaha tak ki unhone mujhe joothi gawahi bhi dene kaha.

Daya - Par kyu?

Prateek - Pata nahi. Mujhe unhone kaha ki court mai unke khilaf gawahi du. Maine mana bhi kiya tha. Par unhone kaha ki woh jo bhi kar rahe hai soch samajkar kar rahe hai. Mai bas utna karta jau jaisa unhone kaha hai

Daya - Phir toh woh suicide letter bhi nakli hi hoga?

Prateek - Ha sahab. Nakli hi tha.

              Saying so he got up from the chair he was sitting on and opening the small wooden cupboard that was kept in the corner, removed an envelope and handed it over to Daya who opened it and found a photograph in it. A photograph of Mr. Arun, Miss Gayatri and another man who Daya knew nothing about. Showing the picture to Prateek, Daya asked as...

Daya - Iss admi ko jante ho?

Prateek - Nahi sir

Daya - Aur kuch bola tha sir ne?

Prateek - Nahi. Aur kuch bhi nahi

Daya - Theek hai. Chalta hu.

             And handing him over his share of money for the information Daya left and sitting back in his car said to himself looking at the picture...

Daya - Jis tarah se yeh photo li gayi hai lagta toh koi karibi hi hai yeh Mr. Arun ka. Kon ho sakta hai yeh? Mr. Vinay! Unse puchta hu iske bare mai. Gayatri ji ke cousin bhai hai woh. Unhe toh pata hi hoga phir.

              And then calling Mr. Vinay he asked him to see the picture he was sending and tell him about the man who was standing besides Mr Arun.

Vinay - Ji nahi. Mai nahi janta inhe.

Daya - Dekhiye yaad karne ki koshish kijiye. App kabhi kisi family function yaa kisi party... Kabhi bhi mile ho ya dekha ho?

Vinay - Gayatri ki shaadi ke baad meri toh usse bhi zayada baat nahi hoti thi. Woh Pune mai rehti thi aur mai Banglore mai. Mera waha aana jana kuch khaas hota nahi tha. Gayatri se nahi mil pata tha... Arun ji ke kisi karibi ko kaise jaan sakta hu?

Daya - Acha theek hai. Thank you. And sorry maine apko itni raat ko disturb kiya.

Vinay - No problem sir. Its ok.

              Cutting the call now Daya called advocate Raghuveer to see if he could help him recognize this man...

Raghuveer - Nahi maine iss admi ko pehle kabhi nahi dekha.

Daya - Apko koi andaza bhi ho ki yeh kon ho sakta hai? Picture dekh kar toh lagta hai ki koi karibi hi hai. App toh unke family friend the na! App toh jante honge unke relatives, friends yaa close associates ko.

Raghuveer - Arun ke sare employees aur friends ko toh mai janta tha. Yeh unme se toh koi nahi hai. Aur rahi baat relatives ki... Toh uske koi khaas close relatives nahi the. Yaha tak ki toh woh apne bhai ke bhi zayada close nahi tha...

Daya - Ek minute? Bhai? Mr. Arun ka koi bhai bhi tha?

Raghuveer - Ji ha tha. Par usse toh mai bhi kabhi nahi mila. Aur na hi Arun ne kabhi mujhe uske bare mai zayada kuch bataya. Par app yeh sab kyu puch rahe hai?

Daya - Nahi bas aise hi. Acha Arun ji ke saath jo kuch bhi hua iske baad bhi unka bhai nahi aaya? Kyuki maine kahi bhi, kisi bhi case file mai unka zikar nahi dekha!

Raghuveer - Jis tarike ka case tha na. Media involvement... Police enquiry... Court... Zayada log iss case mai involve hona hi nahi chahte the. Shayad isiliye woh bhi nahi aaya.

Daya - Acha theek hai. Thank you.

             And lost in his thoughts about the same Daya cut the call and wondered who this person could be. Someone who not even Miss Gayatri's cousin brother knew and not even Mr. Arun's family friend Raghuveer did!

Daya - Kon ho sakta hai yeh? Friend, family yaa koi business se related! Par phir Raghuveer ji yaa Vinay mai se kisi ko toh pehchanna chahiye tha na. Itna important admi iss case ka ki ACP sir aur kuch nahi bas yeh photo chod kar gaye mere liye aur koi isse janta hi nahi! Iss case se kya relation hoga iss admi ka? Koi witness? Yaa victim? Yaa... Yaa phir koi suspect! Agar aisa hai toh iska koi record ho sakta hai police records mai!

               And then opening his laptop he started searching in the police records about the unknown man. But there was no match found. Thinking about what to do next Daya took a closer look at the picture and then felt like he had actually seen this man somewhere before! He once again opened the laptop and using aging software found out how this man would look almost 25 years later. Also removed the beard the man had in the picture. The result shocked him!

Daya - Yeh toh Abhay hai! Woh wanted gangster! Taipan gang ka head! Par iska Mr. Arun se kya rishta tha? (After a moment) Ek minute!

               And remembering something he removed the file of the 27 year old case and checked out the details of the gang for whose encounter ACP sir and his team had actually gone to that place where Mr. Arun and Miss Gayatri got stuck accidentally. And as he had expected the gang that ACP sir went after was this very gang Taipan! Reading out the other details he found that 12 members of this gang died in that encounter... None of them who were there actually survived. But then this gang was a lot more bigger than only 12 people and name of Abhay was no were among those 12. And however Daya already knew that Abhay was still alive and his gang still functional. At a even bigger level now! Police was behind them for a very long time but could get nothing else except for small successes here and there in some of the raids. But Abhay still seemed to be beyond their reach.
               The rest of the night Daya spent researching about Abhay and his gang Taipan. By talking to various police officers who had ever investigated this case. But still couldn't find out the relation between Mr. Arun and Abhay. He had now also started suspecting that maybe Mr. Arun was also involved in some illegal activities. Maybe that was his 'business' unofficially?

*Morning, Abhijeet's house*

             Abhijeet woke up and freshening up first went to check out on Daya. But when he didn't find him in his room it shocked him and he wondered

Abhijeet - Yeh Daya ajj itne jaldi kaise uth gaya? Mere ghar pe toh janab ki neend majhal hai 8 baje se pehle khul jaye toh! Kaise kaise toh ready hota hai beauro ke liye! Iske dimag mai akhir chal kya raha hai!

               At first he tried calling Daya but as it was ment to be, it was switched off. Thinking about the same stuff he went downstairs and saw a note kept for him on the dining table. The note with 'Kuch kaam se jaa raha hu. Aa jauga'. Staring at the note for a minute Abhijeet left a sigh and deciding something picked up his phone and called someone.

Man - Good morning Abhijeet! Ajj itni subah subah kaise yaad kiya? Ek minute! Abhijeet ne yaad kiya ki Abhijeet 'sir' ne?

Abhijeet - Yaar tum bhi na Vishal! Ek kaam tha. Karoge?

Vishal - Bilkul! Bol na kya baat hai?

Abhijeet - Daya ko dhund sakte ho?

Vishal - Dhund sakte ho?! Kaha gaya hai woh? Is he fine?

Abhijeet - Ha ha. Hua toh kuch nahi hai... Par pata nahi kyu kal se bada ajeeb behave kar raha hai. Aur subah se pata nahi kaha chala gaya. Kisi musibat mai na phasa le kudh ko. Tum please usse dhund sakte ho kya yaar? Unofficially! (Vishal was a police officer and a common friend of duo)

Vishal - Acha theek hai. Mai dekhta hu. Par achanak ho kya gaya usse?

Abhijeet - Jis tarah se woh behave kar raha hai mujhe toh lagta hai ki meri jaan ko kathra hoga... Yaa phir kisi ne mujhe lekar dhamki di hogi usse...

Vishal - Aur tum yeh itne relaxed hokar bol rahe ho?

Abhijeet - Aree yaar kuch nahi ho raha mujhe. Faltu ka tension lete rehte hai janab. Ab tum bhi shuru mat ho jana aur please usse dhund kar lao. Mere naam pe toh koi bhi usse kahi bhi bula sakta hai. Bas apne app ko kisi musibat mai na phasa le

Vishal - Mai dhundta hu. Aur tum khayal rakhna theek hai. Bina matlab ka superman mat banna

Abhijeet - Ha ha. I will take care. Kuch pata chale toh batana mujhe.

Vishal - I will. Chal bye

Abhijeet - Bye

               And disconnecting the call Abhijeet got busy in preparing the breakfast and then left for beauro getting ready. On the way he did notice Daya's informer following him but knowing that it was obviously Daya who would have told his informer to follow him, he nodded his head in a no and wondered who it was who had threatened Daya with his name. Also made a silent prayer in his heart to keep his brother safe who according to him was sometimes overprotective when it came to him... But he had no idea that Daya wasn't overprotective this time but the threat was indeed real. Also he didn't let the informer know that he knew he was being followed thinking if Daya wanted it that way, let it be that way...

To be continued...

               Ho gaya!!! Dekho iss baar maine jaldi update diya toh app log bhi jaldi jaldi review do! Tabhi hi jaldi se next update milega app logo ko!