“We were classmates for almost 12 years. From first to twelfth at Sharda Mandir.” She replies. In Maharashtra, X+2 is referred to as twelfth. The tea cups arrive. Shetty has been thoughtful about the rare occasion of a woman coming to the canteen. He has sent the best cups. She sips the tea easily.
“Dr.Desai has helped me often on cases. Didn’t know he had a daughter in the forensics department.” I make it seem as casual as possible.
“I get that a lot. Strangely, everybody knows him as he handles the dead. I know it can be hard for people to imagine that he would allow his family to work with the government.” She says equally easily. I focus on my tea for a moment. Somehow, it seems better than usual. She finishes her tea.
“I really need to be back at the office. Thanks for the tea.” She says.
“Oh, sure.” I rise too.
“Let me know how it goes.” I think of accompanying her to the gate as she leaves but that would be demeaning. She seems an independent kind of person, patronizing courtesies could seem silly to the professional in her. I sit down to finish my tea. When I look up Shetty is wearing a grin that is hard to place between sheer awe and sheer lechery. There is no doubt about the next smile that I see. It is lecherous, obnoxious & morbid. Pritam is walking towards my table. He has just crossed Bhavana in passing.
“Jalwe! Jalwe! Jagtap ke jalwe.” He gestures to Shetty. Jalwe means demonstrations of abilities. I focus back on the tea with great effort. But as shameless as he is, Pritam descends to occupy the same place that Bhavana did a few moments back. He sniffs at her imaginary scent like a salivating dog.
“Jagatap, you are a smooth operator. I didn’t know you could engage a bird like that. Chhavi hai kya?” I sneer at him as he enquires about Bhavna. Chhavi means lover.
“That was Dr.Desai’s daughter. Works with forensics.” I finish my tea & rest back against the bench’s back to see Pritam’s expression change at the mention of Dr.Desai. I don’t think he enjoys the prospect of being around Dr.Desai. He suddenly becomes businesslike.
“Jagtap, I talked to Ulhas the other day. Did you get my message about your house?” He asks with a deadpan expression. So it is about me. I had forgotten about the transfer given the events of the day. But who better to plunge it in than Pritam.
“I got the message. I would let you know when I decide to move out.” I play along.
“Come on Jagtap. Why pay rent when you can save it? I am sure the transfer order will be out in two weeks. Intimate your landlord, introduce me to him & I will pay your rent for this month.” An interesting offer. Trying to use me as a broker to relieve me of my most beloved experience of each day. I let it hang & stare at him.
“Think about it. And by the way, Khan Sir is on his way here. Wants you & Ulhas to report to him as soon as he arrives.” He rises to leave. Then turns back almost rhythmically & whispers.
“If you don’t want that transfer, tell me so. There could be ways around it.” Then he departs as if in a hurry. I remain at the table thinking about what Pritam just said. Then I head back to the DYSP office.
Ulhas is waiting by the DYSP office. He is looking at me with folded hands like a hawk. I don’t give him anything. He waits for me to get close enough so that nobody can hear us.
“How was the tea?” He asks.
“Good enough.” I reply easily.
“Was the canteen the best place you could think of for that? Pandurang, you are better than that.” Ulhas is scolding me. All I do is shrug.
“She was in a hurry. It was either tea at the canteen or no tea.” I present my logic.
He looks on for a moment & then nods. He sees it too.
“So how is she?” He asks the real question that is on his mind.
“Cool enough to have tea at the office canteen.” I observe.
“Oho, sahi jawab!” Ulhas tries his best Amitabh Bacchhan impersonation.
9
Tactic
Sumit Patel walked along casually. It was not very often that he went out for a walk in the evening. But tonight, there was a message to be passed on. He dialed from his prepaid mobile phone after confirming that he was alone. The SIM card in it had been purchased with 10 others for him. He didn’t know the number & never used the phone as per the instructions. He had been told that the cops would come looking for the Wheely. But he had not expected them to arrive so soon & definitely not to come to his shop before going to the Wheely. He had done extremely well to feign ignorance about Achhu. A few minutes before, he had walked to Wheely to discuss the cops with Dhanaji. The dumb ass had told him that the Mumbai cops had been taken care of & not to worry about them. He had tried to appear relieved, successfully.
The call was answered at the third ring.
“”Yes?” Came the lilting sound of his contact.
“2 kavve aaye the aaj subah. But the cheel has taken care of them.” Two crows visited me today. But the hawk took care of them.
“How did they find you?” The voice asked.
“They were looking for the Wheely. I guided them.” Sumit explained.
“Ok. Are you ready for tomorrow? I hope nothing has changed for you.” The voice went a little cold.
“I am all set. No changes.” Sumit replied quickly.
“Good. I will call you when I receive confirmation.” The call was terminated. As Sumit extracted the SIM card, snapped it into two before dumping it into a street drain he remembered what had happened to Achhu. He was killed because he had changed his decision. A businessman like Sumit would not take that risk. Not when he was so close to pulling the biggest deal of his life.
***
I see the sentry posted at the office gate stiffen to attention. DYSP Khan walks in with his military strides. He is not alone though. With him is a clean shaven man. He is wearing a dress that is casual enough to be modern office wear. A half sleeved blue shirt & flat front off white pants. The shoes are dull shine leather from Bata. His hair is done neatly. And his eyes are looking for details as he matches Khan effortlessly. He has a big wart near his nose. I put his age to be around 40. Khan walks into his cabin without acknowledging the salutes from me & Ulhas. As soon as the door to his cabin closes, his cabin bell rings. I peek inside his cabin.
“Come in Jagtap & Gosavi. Close the door behind you.” Khan’s voice has an edge.
“Are you both out of your minds? Gadhe ho kya aap?” He quips as soon as the door closes behind Ulhas. I can’t help but appreciate the aap part of it even though he is calling me an ass. Said with propriety, I have to give him that. But this is also a code between me & Khan. If he starts a meeting with Gadhe, I am to assume that the other person in the room wishes to see me trashed. At least verbally. I take a sneak look at the man with Khan. This is not a good introduction. Then I do what I think is best in these situations, I look down & fix my gaze at the tip of my shoe. And try not to laugh.
“It has been only couple of days on the case & you have started threatening innocent people? How dare you go to a business location & disrupt it just because you think that the owner is a suspect. I will have none of it under my watch.” Khan continues without raising his voice. That has an added impact for people who have never seen him angry.
“Why did you go there? Answer me Jagtap.” Khan clearly indicates that this has to do with my visit to the Wheely.
“Sir, we have proof that a vehicle belonging to that club dropped the victim at the location of his death. And unconfirmed report that the victim worked there.” I keep it short.
“But did you have a warrant?” Khan asks bluntly.
“No Sir.” I admit with visible guilt for the benefit of the visitor who seems suitably impressed so far. Unlike my ease with this cloak & dagger stuff, Ulhas is finding this tough. He is very touchy on self respect. So even after realizing that Khan is making this up, he is breathing heavily & does not bother to answer.
“I want a detailed incident report from both of you. I am going to tally it against what Mr.Kumar has heard f
rom the staff at the club.” Khan gestures to his guest.
“And as of now, you both are relieved from that case. You will hand over all the evidence to Mr.Kumar & will be reassigned. Is it ok Mr.Kumar?” Khan’s words confirm that the visit to Wheely has shaken things severely.
“Understand this. This is now a National Investigation Agency-NIA case. Excuse yourself completely. Don’t go there again, don’t meet or contact anyone from there again. This is a matter of national security. It is best that qualified people handle this. Am I clear?” Kumar says in a voice that is two toned. It sounds guttural most of the time but is punctuated by words clear enough to give his speech meaning. So the NIA is going to take the case away from the Mumbai Police. Is it because of the death of a nondescript young man or because the suspect is a former gangster? Interesting. Kumar’s here just to show the Mumbai Police who the boss for the case is. And from what is visible, I don’t think he would mind talking to DYSP Khan in the same dismissive tone.
“Just one doubt Sir.” I think things are heading towards a thaw. So this is the right moment to get something which otherwise would not be possible without trampling of some egos. I wait for Kumar to nod before continuing.
“We were about to request a search & questioning warrant for Anees Vilayati based on the conclusive video evidence against him. Will you go ahead with it?” I make this look like an academic question. Somewhat like a student asking his master how he would tackle a problem.
Kumar realizes that I have put him in a spot. But he answers candidly.
“No. Because the NIA has a contrary piece of video evidence that confirms that the SUV in question never left the Wheely’s parking.” Good. That means the NIA has Anees under surveillance. I try to put up my most astonished looking face.
“Wait outside.” Khan dismisses us. I follow Ulhas outside the cabin. Ulhas has gone quiet. He would come around by himself shortly. My mind goes back to what Kumar was saying & what he was not. The NIA, newest & supposedly the brightest investigation organization in India wants me off Anees’s trail. What would he have to offer them? Or are they close enough to trap him & don’t want him to be alerted? I have had encounters & joint operations with the CBI in the past. But those guys don’t tout their Central Government employee status very often. Most of the times, they want to just pass by. This is my first time with the NIA & so far what I have heard about them seems to be right. NIA means business, it asserts itself as often as possible & cares a damn about others. I might be guilty of generalizing but I believe what I see. Kumar didn’t put up a great show here. Even his name is ambiguous. Is it his first name or last name? His accent was also neutral. The worst part is the fact that we are being shaken off by a government agency. I had almost expected pressure & retaliation from political leaders, even ministers here. Or local punters who would come calling to “fix” the Mumbai police’s going after Anees. But surprise, surprise it was the NIA.
I use this time to approach the evidence clerk whose table is right besides Pritam. Nearly all the evidence was brought in by me so I have to hand it over. Pritam is not in his seat though. I tell the clerk, a young man by the name of Sudhir to assemble all the evidence brought in by me & Ulhas. I ask him to hand it over to Mr.Kumar. I use his terminal to check my email. There are no new emails. I forward all the case related mails to Sudhir. After the final log by Sudhir, those mails will be deleted from my account by the administrator. This reminds me of the downloaded video on my mobile. I don’t turn that in or mention it. I finish my evidence handover to return to the waiting area by Khan’s cabin. The door is still closed. I take out my phone & navigate to the downloads section. The thumbnail of Achhu’s video is still visible. But as I press on the icon, the file does not play. My eyes see the file size next to the icon as zero bytes. Someone has remotely wiped the file from my phone. The door to Khan’s cabin opens. Kumar walks past me. As he goes by looking at me & the smart phone in my hand, a smile appears on his face. Well, he might have ordered the cleaning of the video from my phone. If that is true, I am going to make sure he repents it. Nobody messes with my phone. Hell, they might have infected my phone with malware to keep a tab on me. But as I said, I won’t let this slide.
“Jagtap, Gosavi.” Khan calls us. We enter the cabin again.
“Did you transfer the evidence?” He asks me pointedly.
“Yes Sir.” I reply.
“Good. That should take care of the formalities.” He pauses. ”Now tell me what your reading of the case is?”
I answer after taking a moment to think. “Sir, it is clear that we have to hand the case to NIA if they demand it.” I stop again.
“Surely that is not all you want to say Jagtap.” He does have the ability to read people.
“Sir, in Marathi we have a proverb. Mhatari meli tari chalel pan kaal sokavala nahi pahije. What it means that it is okay to let the old lady to die but that should not give death the feeling that it can do this to anybody.” I remain indirect but suggest all that has been bothering me. Khan smiles.
“I understand. And you are right.” He gets my point very clearly.
“Yes Sir.” I agree. Ulhas is still silent.
“And that is what you will do. I will be officially assigning you to a different case tomorrow. But you will work this case in parallel. Just two conditions: You can’t keep any evidence from the NIA & you report only to me.” Khan orders.
“Very well Sir.” This is just what I want. Khan jerks his head towards Ulhas who is still looking down. I close my eyes for a second to indicate that I have him covered. I bring my feet together in attention & leave the cabin. Ulhas follows me.
“Ulhas, do you know what I think after a day like this? A day when you do everything right, put duty ahead of safety & still end up having to take shit from your boss. That too some banavati shit.” I say to him as we climb down the steps of the office. I am headed to my Bullet & he is going to his Santro. He stops and looks back at me. I have his attention for the first time after the Kumar episode. I try to appear as philosophical as possible.
“Sometimes when everything seems to have gone to dogs, I ask myself, who am I? Where am I headed?” These are the most fundamental questions asked by almost every philosophical line of thinking around the world. Particularly so in India. But I have to carry on to the finish as Ulhas watches in rapt attention. ”And when I reach there finally, will the bars still be open?” I finish with a clinical pause & I don’t laugh at my own joke. Ulhas smiles, then the smile lasts & converts into a loud laugh. The sound of Ulhas’s laughter has a unique clarity. It highlights his nature & tells me that he is coming around. I put my hands on his shoulders as we continue climbing down the stairs.
“Come on, aaj mazyakadun.” Today the drinks are on me.
10
Masakkali
I am seated at another table in another bar. This one is the Ashoka at Dadar. It is close to the railway station but far away from the “bar of the dread” that I went to couple of days back. It also happens to be on the SP road that I & Ulhas can use to get back to our homes. Ulhas is much relaxed now that we have finished a drink each. It is rare that I drink on three consecutive evenings but it feels good as long as it lasts. We have been drinking in silence so far. The only talk was about deciding on the drinks & the snacks to go with it. The table is close to a large glass window on the front side of the bar. The traffic of Mumbai’s rush hour is at work. It is 6 pm & we have started early with the evening.
“So what do you think is in it for Masakkali?” Ulhas asks out of nowhere. It takes me a moment to realize who Ulhas is referring to. But when I get it, I almost spray my drink from my mouth, laughing. He is speaking of Kumar, the one with a wart on his face. A wart is called “Massa” & “Kali” is a flower bud in Marathi & Hindi. Forged together with a colloquial hinge to mean a budding wart. I hope Prasoon Joshi & AR Rehman forgive Ulhas for ruining one of their most refreshing songs from Delhi6. Ulhas is a big fan of both of them. And the creativity s
eems to be seeping into his nickname generation talent. I take time to laugh this one out. I am teary eyed by the time it is under control. Unlike the usual bar manners in Mumbai, all of people from the surrounding tables are looking at me. I raise my hands in surrender to let everyone know that it is alright. Ulhas is smiling at his own joke. But it is a valid question.
“I am not sure of what it is. But I’m certain that the NIA is watching Anees Vilayati. Otherwise, there is no way they could have known of our action so soon.” I share my thoughts. The bar is a combination of glassware clinking, laughs & soft music that drowns my sound beyond the table.
“What if Anees told the NIA about us? To show us his clout?” Ulhas asks. This is a possibility that has spiked my interest too. It looks more realistic as I had mentioned my name to Dhanaji who had promised me that Anees would get back to me. Like this?
“That is likely. But I don’t think it is just that. When Kumar said that they have video evidence, I felt that they had gathered it themselves. This means Anees could be under surveillance. Round the clock.” I point out. Ulhas simply nods. He finishes his drink. I suggest one more but he refuses.
“I better get going. Given Khan’s orders, I think we won’t get free evenings in the coming days. Might as well spend this with the family. With all the evidence gone, how will we proceed now?” He asks another question. Frankly, I don’t have an answer.
“Give me a night. I will think of something.” I manage to say.
***
Kumar hated the sea. Particularly at Mumbai. He had been handpicked by the NIA convener to be a part of Anees Vilayati’s detail. Had it not been for the excitement about this city’s possibilities, he would never have come to Mumbai. The work was pedestrian and nanny-like but he thought of Mumbai as a land of opportunities to make it huge in life. So far, there had been none. To make it worse, Anees Vilayati always wanted to meet him near the sea.
Today the meeting was scheduled on the small pathway that connected Haji Ali to the mainland. He had changed the official looking clothes for a loose fitting white Nehru shirt & a white cotton pyjama that ended just above his ankle. Completing his transition was a white skull cap. To hide his pierced ears, a shawl was rolled around his head, neck & shoulders. Though silent, the sea made him uncomfortable as he found a place to sit facing it. He let his legs slide just over the rock. He saw the foaming sea in the depleting light of the evening. The evenings were another constant in the meetings. Anees insisted on meeting in the evenings, in natural light most of the time. It aided greatly in keeping their meetings undetected. They never lasted over 2 minutes. Soon enough, he saw the familiar faces of Anees’s security guards approaching from the right. He straightened up just a little. Fortunately, there was no one enjoying the sea like him. He looked slowly to his left to confirm that the path was deserted. If Anees came up now, they would have their two minutes. When he turned right again, his face almost ran into the hand holding a 100 Rupee bill. He accepted the bill & looked up at Anees Vilayati. The bill would have encoded information from Anees. They met for the useless information twice a month. This meeting was an out of turn one arranged due to the death of Achhu.
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