by G. S. Dutt
‘Let me try and trace Mr Taneja. In the meantime, why don’t you go slow on the bald man?’
‘This is a four-year-old case. There has to be some concrete evidence that this incident actually took place. Someone can say that Mr Taneja sold his shares and his company in order to go abroad.’
‘I understand. Still, let me try,’ said Nikki.
Nikki went back to her hostel and rang up Mr Taneja’s erstwhile firm. The receptionist came on the line, ‘Pioneer Manufacturing and Marketing, can I help you?’ Nikki said, ‘Hi my name is Lucy. Can I please talk to Mary?’
The receptionist said curtly, ‘Who? There’s no Mary here.’
‘How come? I met her in this company four years back.’
The receptionist’s voice was clearly annoyed, ‘But she does not work here now.’ Nikki pleaded, ‘Please don’t disconnect. I am an old friend of hers. She was definitely working as a secretary in this company. Could you kindly connect me to someone else, a secretary in your office? Perhaps she may know her whereabouts. Please?’
‘OK, I will connect you with Julie. She has been working here for the last ten years.’ Soon Julie came on the line, Nikki cleared her throat.
‘My name is Lucy. I am an old friend of Mary’s. She used to work as secretary to the Managing Director. I live in the US now, but thought I’d catch up with Mary since I’m visiting after years. I believe she has changed jobs. Could you kindly tell me her new contact number if you have it?’
‘Well, the last time she contacted me she said she was working in Capital Investment Inc. You can get their number from the directory.’
‘Thank you very much. I am much obliged.’
‘You’re welcome.’ The line went dead.
Nikki found out the number of Capital Investment Inc. and asked for Mary. She was lucky; soon Mary came on the line. Nikki got straight to the point, ‘Miss Mary, I am Nikki, Jyoti’s friend, Jyoti—the late daughter of Mr Taneja. You may probably not recall, but after Jyoti’s death, I had come to your office with Mr Taneja and met you.’
‘Yes, I think I remember now. Tell me, how can I help you?’
Nikki said, ‘Miss Mary, I want to meet you for a few minutes. This is something personal.’
Mary sounded a bit taken aback, but agreed, ‘I finish at 5:30. You could meet me at 6:30 at my house. The address is no. 27, Old Mint Road.’
Nikki went to see Mary that evening. Mary greeted her in a friendly manner. Nikki began, ‘Thanks for seeing me. I believe Mr Taneja is in America. I have to contact him urgently. I was wondering whether you would know his contact number?’
‘I have not been in touch with him ever since he left the country. I don’t even know where he is in America.’
Nikki said, ‘He might have, at some point, called a relative or a friend in America through you. That could also help.’
Mary said, ‘Let me check my old papers. I will be back in a moment.’ Nikki waited with her fingers crossed. Mary returned after ten minutes holding an old diary in her hand. She said, ‘Mrs Taneja has a brother in the US called Mohan. Mr Taneja called him several times before he left the company. Note down his number. Maybe he could help you.’ Nikki noted the number, thanked Mary and returned to her hostel.
That night Nikki went to an ISD phone booth to make the call. A man came on line, ‘Hello, Mohan here.’ Nikki spoke loudly and clearly, ‘My name is Nikki. I am calling from India. I was a classmate of Jyoti, the late daughter of Mr and Mrs Taneja. I have to speak to Mr Taneja urgently.’
Mohan said, ‘Mr Taneja does not live here. You could call him at 235-568-9310.’
Nikki dialled again. Mr Taneja came on the line. Nikki said, ‘Uncle, this is Nikki, Jyoti’s classmate.’
‘Oh! My goodness, Nikki! It’s been so long! Nikki, how did you get my number?’
‘Never mind, Uncle, it is good to speak to you. How is Aunty?’
‘She is fine. Do you want to talk to her?’
Nikki said, ‘Later. Now I want to talk to you about something important. I need to stir some things up from the past. Four years ago, during the investigation of the murder of Jyoti and Asha Sayal, the police had found out that a man had hired a local goon to keep a watch on Asha. Based on the description of the man, the police had made a sketch which was shown to me. The police, however, could never trace him. A few days back I went to your old office and found that the man in the sketch was working as Chief of Security of the company. His name is Jeevan Das. He has been recognised by the man in Sangalina Hills. The police have re-opened the murder case. They suspect that there could be some link between Aunty’s kidnapping, your selling the company and the murders. They want to re-open the kidnapping case also, but they cannot do so without a formal complaint from you.’
‘But what can I do sitting here?’
‘Uncle, you remember Inspector Rajan of Sangalina Hills who was investigating Jyoti’s case? He is now ACP at Somabad. I have discussed the matter with him. He wants some concrete evidence from you which will prove that you were compelled to sell the company because of the ransom demand for a large sum of money from the kidnappers. Please send a formal complaint giving dates and some evidence to him. Please note down his address and my phone number.’
Mr Taneja’s voice sounded heavy with emotion as he said, ‘I am touched by your concern for your friend and our beloved daughter. My wife and I are still unable to reconcile ourselves with the fact that she is no more. Perhaps it was our fate to lose her.’ Then recovering, he said, ‘I will send a formal letter to Mr Rajan at the earliest and also call you. Thanks once again, my child.’
Nikki heard the click of the receiver being put down. She felt sorry for the couple sitting so many thousand miles away, battling with the painful memories of their daughter each day.
A few days later, ACP Rajan called up Nikki, ‘I have got the papers from Mr Taneja. Can you come and see me?’
When Nikki went to his office, he showed her a notarised affidavit from Mr Taneja. He read out only the relevant portions to Nikki. One part stated,
The kidnapper always insisted that the tape containing their messages should be returned with my reply but in the last tape in which they had given the delivery instructions they did not ask for my reply. I had kept that tape with me and the same is being sent herewith.
The voice on the tape said:
Taneja, this is the final message from us. Please listen carefully the instructions for delivery of money. You will personally bring the whole amount of the ransom in currency notes of 1000 or 500 denominations in a van and not in your car. You will drive the van yourself and start at eleven tonight from your house and come on the Somabad-Sangalina Road. At the tenth milestone you will turn left and drive for another five miles, where you will find an abandoned godown with an open gate. You will drive the van inside and park it at the far end where you will find a motorcycle parked with ignition keys in it. You will leave the godown immediately on this motorcycle and abandon it at the outskirts of the city. After we have checked the money we shall release your wife who will reach Somabad early morning tomorrow. I warn you once again. If you want your wife to return safely you should comply with these instructions. Any attempt to act clever or going to police will mean sure death of your wife.
Nikki said, ‘I have heard this voice before.’
‘Maybe…one of the kidnappers.’
‘Maybe,’ responded Nikki, unsure.
‘Mr Taneja has also said that in retrospect he feels that kidnapping was a means of getting control over his firm and he does not rule out its linkage to the death of his daughter in order to put additional pressure on him,’ he further informed Nikki.
‘What do you think of this?’
‘I think I can now justify the re-opening of the kidnapping case. We will have to move two ways. Firstly, we will check with the stock exchange regarding the procedure followed for the sale of shares. Simultaneously, we will look for the kidnappers. I have called the police sketch arti
st. He is waiting outside. You describe to him the appearance of the two men who picked you up so that he can make their sketches.’
Nikki asked, ‘What about Jeevan Das?’
‘I would leave him alone for the time being. After all, he must have acted at someone’s behest. It is possible that the investigations of the kidnapping case might throw up something which could establish his linkage more clearly.’
Nikki was elated. Finally things had begun to roll!
— CHAPTER NINETEEN —
The Mystery Deepens
After a few days Nikki got a call from ACP Rajan. He said, ‘We have been following the information regarding the sale of the company. There does not seem to be any irregularity in the transaction. Mr Taneja presented his company for sale which was initially bought by a set of brokers and then transferred to an industrialist, Seth Ghanshyam. It is a fact that the share price fell by about 50 per cent during the period of transaction. So Mr Taneja would have sold practically all the shares of the company for 20 crores and eventually lost control of the organisation. But that does not prove anything.’
Nikki thought for a while, ‘Is it possible to find out the source of money available to the brokers or Seth Ghanshyam which enabled them to buy the whole company in three-four days?’
‘Daily transactions at stock exchanges are quite heavy and all the money is not paid up front. But we could look into it because of the special circumstances of this case. I will have to take the help of my sister organisation because such probing is normally confidential and not open to the police.’
Three days later Nikki again got a call from ACP Rajan. He sounded very excited. ‘I have some news for you. Can you come right away?’ When Nikki reached his office she was asked to wait in the outer chamber. After a while, a number of uniformed officers walked out of ACP’s room. He peeped from his door and said, ‘Come in, Nikki. Sorry to keep you waiting. Some important developments have taken place in this case. I was having a conference with my officers.’
Nikki’s curiosity mounted. ‘We have made two major breakthroughs. Firstly, we have been able to nab one of the kidnappers, John, whose description you had provided to our artist. He is in the interrogation room. The purpose of calling you here is so that you can see the man and identify him. We shall do that a little later. But the main thing is that while checking the accounts of Seth Ghanshyam for the relevant period, we have stumbled on a set of transactions which substantiate Anurag Taneja’s statement,’ said the ACP as he walked to and fro in the room.
‘At the start of the transaction period, a sum of 19.50 crores was credited into the account of Seth Ghanshyam. Tracing back we found that this money had come from an account in the Oriental Bank, opened by Mr Khanna. Jeevan Das who was holding an account in that bank, was his referee. The amount deposited was also 19.50 crores. After the transfer of the money the account was closed. The whole transaction took place within a week.’
Nikki said, ‘Very interesting. So Mr Khanna is the prime mover. I heard him telling Mr Taneja that he will try to ensure that the company is not lost. But his motive was entirely different. He wanted to become the Managing Director of the company. He connived with Seth Ghanshyam, arranged kidnapping and then used his influence on Mr Taneja to make him sell the company.’
ACP Rajan said, ‘This end is tied up. Let us go to the interrogation room.’
The door of the interrogation room was closed. The ACP pointed to a glass window, ‘This is a one-way see through glass. You can see through it but the man inside cannot. Look and tell me.’
Nikki peeped through the glass window. Sitting on a chair with his head bent was John looking rather subdued. Nikki said, ‘He is the man. I am sure.’
ACP Rajan said, ‘Thanks. You may leave now. We will deal with him.’
Nikki was thrilled. ‘I am so happy that things are taking some shape. I will be interested to know the progress. Can I call you some time or come here to meet you?’
‘You are the principal player in this case. I myself will call when I make progress.’
Their next meeting took place fairly soon. ACP Rajan informed Nikki, ‘We could break John down and he told us that he, and others with him were merely the front men. The real person was one Farooqi who is a respected businessman and has a well-known antique shop in the main market. We apprehended him. His testimony is really quite revealing.’ While putting on the tape he continued, ‘These days we record the statements of the accused so that they do not say in the court that they gave the statement under duress. The voice analyst can always find out whether or not the person was talking under duress.’
The tape started.
Interrogator: Farooqi, the charges against you are kidnapping of Mrs Taneja, the wife of a well-known industrialist four years back with a view to extract a huge ransom and also committing the murder of the daughter of Mr Taneja and another woman a week before the kidnapping, in Sangalina Hills.
Farooqi: What murder? I don’t know of any murder committed in Sangalina Hills. This is a false implication.
Interrogator: So you admit that you had kidnapped Mrs Taneja?
Silence.
Interrogator: Your front man John is in our custody, he has told us all and we have other evidence which clearly points out that you were the mastermind behind these crimes. There is no need to pretend your innocence.
Farooqi: Yes, I admit kidnapping. But I have nothing to do with any murder. This is not my line.
Interrogator: OK, supposing I agree for a while that you did not commit the murders, tell me why you kidnapped Mrs Taneja?
Farooqi: Four years ago, in the month of December, a corporate executive by the name of Mr Khanna was referred to me by one of my contacts. Mr Khanna promised 50 lakhs for kidnapping this industrialist’s wife. It had to be a foolproof plan and even if the police was to get wind of it, I had to manage my part. He did not want to be in the picture. Something was quite unusual in this case. Mr Khanna did not want me to negotiate the ransom. My job was to kidnap her, keep her in a safe place and send her back when he gave the signal. The only other things he wanted me to do was to collect postal delivery from a letter box two-three times and deliver the bag to him un-opened. After five days he asked me to drop the woman back near her home. On the following day we collected our money. I did not have any subsequent contact with Mr Khanna.
Interrogator: Look at this picture and tell me if this is the man, Mr Khanna, who asked you to kidnap the lady.
Farooqi: Yes, he is Mr Khanna. I have no doubt about it.
As the tape ended, ACP Rajan turned to Nikki, ‘What do you say to this?’ Nikki responded, ‘If this man is telling the truth which I think he is, then who negotiated the ransom?’
‘None of these voices match the one in the tape sent by Mr Taneja. Mr Khanna kept these people out of ransom negotiations fearing that they may not give him the money. He must have set up someone else for this job.’
Nikki asked, ‘Are you going to proceed against Mr Khanna?’
The ACP responded, ‘Based on the banking transactions and Farooqi’s evidence we are now in a position to prosecute Mr Khanna and his associates.’
— CHAPTER TWENTY —
The Retribution
The next morning Nikki saw the following headlines in the newspaper:
‘MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PIONEER MANUFACTURING AND MARKETING ARRESTED ON A KIDNAPPING CHARGE’
‘WELL-KNOWN INDUSTRIALIST SETH GHANSHYAM ARRESTED FOR ACQUIRING THE CONTROLLING SHARES OF PIONEER MANUFACTURING AND MARKETING USING FRAUDULENT MEANS.’
Nikki was thrilled to read it. She wanted to share her happiness with someone. She rang up Mr Taneja, ‘Uncle, excellent news. Mr Khanna and Seth Ghanshyam have both been arrested.’
‘Yes, I heard! This is great news! ACP Rajan rang me up last evening to inform me about the developments. In fact he wants me to come to India at the earliest.’
‘Excellent! I look forward to meeting you.’
Nikki th
en dialled the ACP’s number, ‘Congrats, Sir. The newspapers are all talking about you. It is a great achievement to have those thugs in your dragnet.’
‘Thanks. But one important character has escaped.’
Nikki frowned. ‘Who?’
‘Jeevan Das. He somehow got the wind of the matter and gave us a slip. He is absconding.’
Nikki said, ‘You remember when you wanted to have a lead on Asha Sayal you had put a newspaper insertion with her photograph. You could do so in this case as well. People will be talking about this sensational case for some days. With this kind of interest amongst the public, someone may spot him and provide a lead.’
‘Yes it is a good idea. We can try this also, along with checking his other contacts.’
The next day Nikki saw the bald moustached man appearing prominently in a police advertisement which said:
Wanted
The public is hereby notified that the person in the photograph named Jeevan Das, an employee of Pioneer Manufacturing and Marketing is wanted by the police department of Somabad in connection with a double murder committed by him four years ago in Sangalina Hills. Anyone having information about him and his whereabouts may immediately inform the police at the following telephone number…
Things moved fast. On the afternoon of the following day, ACP Rajan rang up Nikki, ‘Surprise of surprises! Jeevan Das himself turned up today in the police station and surrendered.’
‘He surrendered? Unbelievable!’
‘Yes, we are working on him. If you have time, come tomorrow morning.’
‘I will certainly be there.’
When Nikki reached his office, the ACP was inserting two tapes in a player, one after the other. He kept listening to both for a while. Two other people were standing in the room. When he saw Nikki he said, ‘Listen to this.’ He played the tape sent by Mr Taneja for half a minute. He removed it and put the other tape. After playing it for a while he switched it off, ‘Do you hear the same thing that I do?’
