Fruitcake - Volume 1: The Chapter 37 37: Catch Twenty Two
I saw mom and Major Annie coming out of the room where Aamaya di and Mom was previously interacting. Dad left the seat and was discussing something with Nishi Jethu.
My mind was deep in thought, thinking about the sufferings endured by Aamaya di, Aarohi, Abhinu, or the boy Allen whom she loved dearly, and all of that because of the twisted mentality of one man, and nobody is there to stop him. Going through the journals and after hearing Aamaya di’s tale, it became evident that how one man’s twisted action has ruined the life of not just one or two but an entire family, other than the 3 children, Aunty Banerjee, Darika, Garima, and his son.
Amidst my thought, a strange sight caught my eyes. Sagar sir had tears in his eyes.
I never imagined a man like Sagar Sir would have tears in his eyes, listening to the tale of Aamaya Di. I stood up, went towards him, and gave him my handkerchief.
He was probably embarrassed at my gesture however he still accepted the handkerchief.
“Why are you crying, sir?” I asked.
He looked at me, still using his arm to rub the tears off his eyes and smiled. He was trying his level best to hide his sad face. As he was about to reply J.P. sir commented to his utter embarrassment, “Sagar dai is crying” and suddenly started laughing.
I was angry at J.P. sir because of the way he taunted at him. By the looks of it, Sagar sir was fuming with rage and anger and replied “I am not crying… I am angry… Ye to gusse ke aansu hai”(these are tears of rage)
“Why?”
“You and I, we both taught Aarohi and Abhinu to play Basketball. If only I would have known about Aarohi I would never have let that child go back to Kolkata… I would have raised her myself.”
JP sir stepped forward and hugged him tightly. “Sagar Bhai, I promise, Aarohi and Allen’s death will not go in vain They will get justice”
A familiar voice spoke up “You guys are not alone I am with you too We are going to make an example out of that Banerjee and make sure he goes behind bars No young children should suffer at the hands of such pedophiles.” It was the voice of my dad.
“Don’t mind me interrupting but…”
“IG sir… please don’t say a word… if your people would have done his duty properly… none of these would have happened…” It was the voice of Sagar sir.
It felt like Nishi Jethu was shocked at the sudden remark of Sagar sir, but somehow he remained calm and continued “If we have to provide justice to Abhinu, Aarohi and Alena then it’s not just that Banerjee who needs to be punished but every single person who wronged them.”
He took out 7 files from his briefcase which he handed it over to Brigadier Shahi, Dad, Capt. Sagar, Capt. J.P., Major Annie, Mom, and the last one he kept it to himself. For some reason, they decided not to share the doc.u.ment with me.
I saw the shocked looks on their face as they kept scrolling through the files. Their faces were turning red with rage. I could surely feel that whatever Nishi Jethu was making them read, it sure had something discomforting written on it.
Nishi Jethu went and sat on one of the folding tables lying on the room and then continued “During the past thirteen days our team with the support of Mr. Christopher has compiled this list of all the people who were involved directly or indirectly in ruining the life of the three children. This is the output of his 6 years of investigation.” There was a sheer rage in his voice when he said those words.
“However, right now there is something else we need to do on priority. we need to relocate your family” looking at my Dad “to another location.”
“I have been getting calls from higher authorities to locate Abhinu and reunite him with Mr. Banerjee at the earliest. I have also been asked not to intervene in the murder investigation of the Banerjee family.”
“But why? Doesn’t the family require justice?” dad asked.
Nishi Jethu replied in a worried tone. “Well, it does The case has been assigned to a local cop Gopinath Singha.”
“You seem worried sir You don’t think the family can get justice”
“Oh no I don’t have to think I know it very well the case will never be solved Inspector Gopinath is one of the most corrupt cops in Siliguri I can even tell you his findings”
As Nishi jethu was about to say the next word, dad receives a call. He raises his index finger on his lips as if indicating everyone to be quiet for a while.
I was unable to hear what the person on the other line was saying however all I could hear was:
“Hello”
“What time”
“5:00 PM”
“Ok we will be there on time”
The person on the other line said something which was quite a lengthy sentence and by the looks on dad’s face, he was probably agitated.
“YOU ARE DOING NO SUCH THING WE ARE COMING THERE LETS TALK ABOUT IT WHEN WE MEET”
“sent me the address on this phone”
As Dad disconnected the call he suddenly shouted to himself ‘BLOODY PIG HEADED EXTREMISTS DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ELSE OTHER THEN VIGILANTISM’
“What happened, Commander” Brigadier Shahi asked Dad.
“Nothing its something to do with that Tribeni Mazumdar and Babul.”
“What did they say”
“They were able to find the Dr. Sandeep R. Menon whom you” pointing his finger towards Nishi Jethu and continued “have been trying to locate for quite some time.”
Brigadier Shahi suddenly interrupted him “Wait a minute Dr. Sandeep R. Menon” as he started to flip through the pages of the file Nishi Jethu gave him earlier and read through the pages “Dr. Sandeep Menon convinced Alena that his body was disfigured and performed the S.e.x Reassignment Surgery on him, turning him into a girl which finally led to Alena’s suicide Alena’s medical report stated that no psych evaluation was performed before the surgery. She was not ready to bear the changes happening in the body which finally led to suicide.
Post Mortem reports suggested the presence of extreme amounts of Nefazodone, Fluoxetine, and Paroxetine. Medical reports on Aarohi and Abhinu also confirms the presence of extreme amounts of Nefazodone, Fluoxetine, and Paroxetine. According to Dr. Prathama Sen, she believes that these medications are being given to the children so that their body accepts the process of transformation. By the time they reach the age of 14 they are both physically and mentally ready for the final procedure.”
“But as per this file this man’s permission to perform surgery was revoked by the medical board because of his malpractices and he was never seen again after the death of Aarohi. Only a few of his closest aides are aware of his location.”
“Yes you are correct Brigadier, and Babul and his men received a tip that this Doctor was hiding in a hotel in Manbazar.” Replied Dad.
Out of excitement brigadier Shahi replied “Wow that’s a great thing you should be able to arrest him now.”
“Well” Dad replied in a concerned tone “That is where the problem lies When they found him, he was in bad shape. Someone has given him a beating of his life and to make matters worse, that person has cut-off him hands”
“WHAT THE HELL what are you saying” It was Nishi Jethu who replied.
“You heard it, right sir. Whoever that man was, who beat up the doctor, he had cut off his hands and if that is not Mr. Mazumdar has no intensions to hand that man over to the authorities or for that matter, they have no plans to hand over any of the men they can lay their hands on to the authorities”
“And as an officer of the law, I cannot let them do that”
Brigadier Shahi suddenly commented “Being a man of the law, I can understand your dilemma I think we should not waste any time and go and talk to them we should stop them from breaking the law.”
Before anyone could say a word Brigadier Shahi looked towards Sagar sir and asked “Captain please get on the radio and try to contact Mr. Mazumdar”
**** Sagar sir got busy trying to contact Tribeni dadu and then the brigadier asked Nishi Jethu, Dad, Mom, J.P. Sir, and Major Annie to come close so that they can probably listen to the call. It took them about 15 minutes before they were able to connect to Tribeni Dadu. ****
“Mr. Mazumdar, This is brigadier Shahi here Commander Christopher had told me about your plans but we want you to atleast hear us out before you make any decision”
“Go ahead, sir we are listening”
**** Brigadier shahi suddenly waved his hands toward Nishi Jethu as if asking him to speak.****
Nishi Jethu suddenly spoke up “Tribeni Babu this is Nishi Nath”
“Yes, Nishi babu go ahead”
Nishi Sir continued: “I understand how you and your men are feeling at the moment, I am angry too. Even I feel that these men don’t deserve a jail sentence. However, as a uniformed officer who has upheld the law throughout his career, I cannot let you guys take matters into your own hands”
“However If I know you guys well I know I cannot force you but before you come to any conclusion, I just want you to atleast listen to me”
“Sure Nishi babu please go ahead we are listening”
“I guess we all know what has been done to the 3 children was atrocious and deserves the most ferocious retribution. There is no doubting that. And I still believe going outside the bounds of the law is not the right course of action. These people deserve to be an example that if you hurt a child, you will be punished and no godfather of yours could protect you from it.”
Tribeni Jethu replied from the other end, “Nishi Babu… I can understand your hesitation. To tell you the truth I don’t agree with this method too I know it must be tough for a person who has been upholding the law for all their life and ensuring that others do the same, putting their lives at stake every day for that very sole purpose, it is not easy to look the other way when a person close to you is doing something illegal.”
“It screams against your very core to do something which you have sworn when you took the oath, the day we were commissioned. But trust me don’t think for a second, I have not gone through the same dilemma. I had the same doubts you are having.”
“But sir don’t forget that we are also someone who has seen the Indian justice system in action for a few decades now. You know it very well that we started the uprising because the Indian justice system couldn’t protect up we took up arms to remind the justice system that something you need to fire a bullet to make the deaf hear your pleas No offense to you sir, but you guys took 27 years to find me. And if I would not have thought about surrendering, you would never have found me that’s a fact as well”
“I can say that no matter how true your efforts are to bring each criminal to justice, it is not always the case that they get what they deserve. Ultimately, this system is run by people who are as corruptible as the criminals and it only takes a few people to dismantle all those honest efforts.”
“Sir I know a small correction, the whole of West Bengal knows you are one of the honest cops of the state, and you will bow down to no one, but if my understanding is correct, I think you have been asked not to intervene in the investigation of the Banerjee family’s murder.”
“How do you know about that Tribeni babu” Nishi Jethu asked.
“I have my sources, sir”
Coming back to the main question, Nishi babu, do you know how many criminals have been acquitted because of loopholes or those unscrupulous corruptible people. Can you honestly put your faith in the Indian justice system after knowing how many criminals have escaped justice?”
“For somebody who has worked in the system for so long, you know the repercussions of what you are asking me to do. Can you guarantee that if we do hand over our evidence a criminal case would be registered against Mr. Banerjee and his band of goons and then they will be sent behind bars without any chances of a bail”
“Forget about bail, don’t you realize by now that Abhinu will be put on the stand or his journal entries which play a major part in the case, will be put to scrutiny and every sordid detail about what was done to Abhinu questioned, doubted and prodded. I wouldn’t dare to put that innocent soul through all that.”
“We also know how lengthy these trials could be. We have heard about instances where witnesses are killed or tortured to revert their statements during the trial by criminals. Can you guarantee that you will honestly protect Abhinu that long and from everyone.”
“Have you not seen the full extent of Mr. Banerjee’s power and his criminal network. You can put all your resources to protect Abhinu but for how long. If the law acquits his uncle you know very well how he will react. He will hunt Abhinu down and either kill him or destroy him.”
“Can you risk that chance and put his life in jeopardy. The only person who deserves to be on the right side of justice is Abhinu. Trust me, we have weighed all the options. We might not be doing the lawful thing or choosing the moral option but we are definitely acting in the best interest of the poor innocent soul we want to give justice.”
Everyone standing there went silent for a few moments after hearing Tribeni Jethu’s speech. They were all rendered speechless. Perhaps they knew all along whatever Tribeni Jethu just spoke, was right.
There were several murmurs of agreement and everybody’s face reflected the same intensity. Nobody seemed doubtful anymore. If anything, there was a sudden surge in energy and spirit within the gathering of people.
“I would still not let you take matters into your hands. This is not right” Nishi Jethu was still not fully convinced.
For some reason, I seem to get the feeling that Tribeni Dadu is a very patient man. He was still not willing to give up so soon. Before anyone could say something, Mom spoke up.
“Guys forgive me for interrupting you but disagreement amongst one another is not going to solve our purpose”
Everyone looked at mom and then Brigadier Shahi spoke up “You have any plans up your sleeve Major Akila”
“Of course I do sir but whatever plans I have it will need all of you to play your part in the right way”
“Please go ahead with your plan let’s hear it out” Nishi Jethu replied.
“Tribeni Babu I hope you are you listening”
“Yes Mrs. Christopher please go ahead we are listening”
“Ok firstly I agree with what Mr. Mazumdar just spoke earlier however, if the 3 of us join hands together we can make sure the 3 children get justice without any bloodshed.”
“What are you implying?”
Mom looked at Nishi Jethu and asked “Sir do you think if we arrest this doctor, the police can make such a case against him that he can never get bail.”
“Hmmm I can do that I can make a strong case that will ensure that he can never get bail”
“Ok, that’s settled now coming to Mr. Banerjeeyour file proves that you have a strong case against him and that can send him behind bars for at least 7 years or maybe more is that right sir.”
“Yes that’s correct however, there will be a lot of political pressures in the case of Mr. Banerjee But I think I can manage”
“Ok Tribeni Babu are you there”
“Yes Mrs. Christopher, we are here”
“Nishi sir will require your help to put Mr. Banerjee behind bars do you think your people can manage to intimidate all those higherups, including any politicians who would try to intervene during the investigation”
“Mr. Mazumdar it will be your duty to make sure Nishi sir should never be transferred under political pressure till Mr. Banerjee is sent behind bars but you should also make sure that they shouldn’t know that the 2 of you know one another.”
It felt like the people at Tribeni Dadu’s end were laughing.
“Did I say something funny Tribeni Sir” Asked Mom
“Its nothing Mrs. Christopher, This is something we always love to do and we are pretty good at you can always rely on us for that”
Finally, we will need to catch those contract killers too”
“You can leave that to us too we will get you those Contract Killers and hand them over to Nishi Babu.
“Mr. Mazumdar sorry to interrupt this is the brigadier here if you guys get your hands on those contract killers you can hand them over to us they are involved in the Murder of a commissioned office while being in active duty, this makes them a domestic terrorist and they deserve to be punished according to the army court of law.”
“Ok sir we will do that” replied Tribeni dadu.
“Major Annie, will you be able to build up a case against those men” the Brigadier asked.
“I can try sir but we will need a good lawyer to make the case” replied Major Annie.
“Don’t worry about that I know a very good lawyer who can help you with that” it was the brigadier who said that.
“Who is that sir?” asked Major Annie.
He smiles a little, more like he grinned a little and continued “It’s the same lady who just ensured that Mr. Tribeni doesn’t go on the same path he quit 27 years ago Its Major Akila. She can help you with that”
I saw my Mom blush when Brigadier Shahi praised her and then she replied “I will give you all the help you want I know I have not practiced law for some time now, but for the sake of my children you will get all the help you can get.” She paused again and then started to speak once more.
“Sir there is one last thing I want to ask Major Annie and Nishi Sir?” she turned to look at them and asked, “will you be able to make sure Abhinu will not have to come to the court”
“Of course Mrs. Christopher I am going to prepare the case in such a way that Abhinu’s name will never come in any of the charge sheets I will be preparing as a matter of fact, even Aamaya Banerjee’s name will not be there in the charge sheet as well. Actually, Mr. Banerjee believes that Aamaya Banerjee is dead, let it be that way”
Mom finally said “Very well then what do you think Mr. Mazumdar I guess now you don’t have to take the law into your hands Everything is settled”
Tribeni dadu replied “Of course Mrs. Christopher for the sake of that child, we will do anything nobody will be hurt”
Brigadier Shahi stepped towards Nishi Jethu and touched his left shoulder and replied “Sir, I guess your dilemma is solved now besides when we were commissioned in the defense forces a part of our oath stated that we swore to defend my country against all enemies, foreign and domestic In this situation, this Banerjee guy, the doctor, and the contract killers are all a part of a conspiracy to Murder a commissioned officer while being in active duty. This makes it a case of the military police too.”
“You will get all the help you need from us so that Lt. Col. Banerjee’s murders could be brought to justice.”
“Very well then, since everything is settled Mr. Mazumdar, the Commander, will be leaving in a while We will meet as planned”
“Sure Brigadier we will meet again Nishi Babu, we will meet you later”
Saying this the radio went silent, I saw that Sagar sir disconnect the radio set as well.
Everyone started to leave the room when Dad looked at me and said “Honey can you please sit on the chair for a while, I need to talk something important to your mother.”
Dad went towards Mom and asked “Aki, can I have a word with you please???”
“Yes”
“In Private” as I saw mom and dad going to the corner of the room and discussing something.
By the looks of it, It sure felt as if something was wrong. I couldn’t hear what they were discussing however looking at the way mom was flashing her hands pointing towards dad, it felt like a heated discussion. I am keeping my fingers crossed, hoping that it’s not some bad news.
Suddenly Mom caught hold of Dad’s collar and shouted “HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME???… THINK ABOUT OUR DAUGHTER SHE NEARLY DIED BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPIDITY”
This was something I never expected to see ever.
Dad replied something to mom in a soft tone and I saw Mom letting go of the collar. She pointed her right index finger towards dad and said “We are not done yet we will talk once everything is settled”
She came towards me looking mad, caught hold of my hands, and started to drag me towards the tent. I saw dad going towards Brigadier Shahi and got busy with discussing something.
As we entered the tent she looked at me and in an angry tone and replied “Get ready fast we need to go somewhere”
“Where are we going Maa???” I asked.
“You will know about it in the next seventeen hours” Saying this she helped me get dressed. She took out a white frock from the briefcase and helped me put it on. This is the same frock I kept in my locker for the past 3 years, hoping for the day I get to have the dance I promised Abhinu 7 years back.
Are we going to meet Abhinu?
Does that mean they were able to locate where Abhinu and Dada are?
Naah I have never told mom or anyone about this dress I am thinking too much.
I thought of pestering mom for the truth however I knew it quite well she is not going to tell me anything.
TO BE CONTINUED
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