Nobody Likes An Outsider

by Fawaz Jaleel

  As others left, the team sat in the meeting room to discuss the next course of action in this investigation. Yohan had further assignments ready for his colleagues.

  “Ila, we have a Tamil Nadu registration vehicle and a friend from Ashraf’s college days on the day of the incident. Find him. Anna, get started on Piyali. We need to find out if Piyali discovered something about Ashraf’s murder. If yes, what? Tell Raj Pratap to investigate the dealer and the driver who fled the scene.”

  “What have you chalked out for yourself?” Ila, who was curious, asked.

  Yohan, with his trademark smile, replied, “Whoever told the truck driver to wait for a day and stay in NH 31 is either the mastermind or the mastermind’s pawn. But who tipped this master about Ashraf’s change in appointment? It’s time for me to visit our teacher saheb's house.”

  Chapter 5

  A Lead in Hand is Worth Two in the Head

  The media had received their fodder after Director Verma’s press briefing. The confirmation that Ashraf Zain was killed or murdered was enough to cause a TRP acquisition showdown. There were several statements making rounds on the media and its subsequent “after parties” on social media.

  “The young CBI team rises to the occasion and delivers in a single day,” claimed one anchor.

  The more self-absorbed anchored claimed, “Viewers, today the Republic of India will be proud of us, her media servants. It is our tireless pursuit of justice that led to the appointment of the CBI. It is the doubts we raised through our debates that have led to this breakthrough. We are humbled by our efforts and its results.”

  Far away from the commotion and cacophony of on-air and off-air human voices, the CBI team chose a coffee shop around 2 kilometers away from their guesthouse, near GD college. The college road had several restaurants and was usually filled with a large youth population. The team chose a cafe that had “private cabins,” closed for other people using curtains. After the big breakthrough, the media started flooding the guesthouse. However, since the action was away from Delhi or Mumbai, media houses had instructed their field offices or freelance correspondents in Bihar to cover the proceedings. Yohan and team had experience of outsmarting the “more persuasive” media personnel in other cities and put this skill to use. They sneaked out at 7 a.m. in a private vehicle. Sukumar had put a media sticker on the vehicle to avoid being traced easily. They were aware that eventually they would be followed as channels had already dispatched their headquarter-based journalists to the scene.

  After coffee, they decided to pursue their respective leads. While Sukumar would go to Piyali’s residence and conduct the CBI team’s first interaction with her father, Ila would accompany Yohan to the deceased politician’s abode (since the only lead about the friend, Chirag, was his visit to Ashraf’s house). As Sukumar went to settle the bill, he noticed the same girl from the airport in the cafe. Sukumar did get excited quickly even for small events and rushed to convey his discovery to Yohan. “Sir, look. It’s Sweta … the girl from the airport.”

  Yohan had a sharp memory. He immediately understood who Sukumar was referring to but chose to take a serious stance and pretended as if he didn’t even care about it.

  “Which Sweta? Stop meandering inside your head and focus on Piyali,” Yohan made a taunt at Sukumar.

  Ila felt left out. Being a thorough professional, Ila never cared enough to engage in such trivial discussions but curiosity is an investigating officer’s biggest asset and curse. She saw the woman, sitting alone with a book and sipping her beverage in the public section of the cafe. She also probed, “What’s the story here? I thought you were happily married Sukumar.”

  “Ila madam, this is not me indulging in infidelity. This is a love story that should have blossomed at the airport between our boss and that young lady,” an excited Sukumar replied.

  “Anna, I have said this before and I will say it again … a woman saying thanks and smiling at a favor doesn’t mean she is interested. Anyways, she will come and say hi if she feels like,” Yohan clarified.

  “Wow. That’s some confidence.” Sukumar made a face with his eyebrows pushed up and lower lip touching the inside face of his upper lip.

  As they prepared to leave, Shweta saw her acquaintances from the airport and walked up to them. She exchanged smiles and said, “Hello guys. Remember me? We met at the airport.”

  “Oh, yes. Sweta right? What a coincidence!” replied Sukumar and added, “What are you doing here?”

  “Oh ... the coffee in my hotel is terrible and I thought why not step out and try something new. My driver recommended this place,” Sweta continued the conversation.

  Ila was amused at Sukumar’s effort to keep the conversation going while Yohan seemed like he was playing hard to get. Shweta while indulging with Sukumar appeared as if she was keen to speak to Yohan too. She even exchanged introductory salutations with Ila. However, Sukumar had already taken her number by then. He was appearing to be the wingman that Yohan didn’t want or need.

  Finally, Yohan interrupted the conversation and asked, “So, Sweta, till when will you be in town?”

  She replied, “Oh! I am here for a wedding and then maybe meet a few of my college friends. I haven’t booked a return ticket,” and she went on to ask, “what are you guys doing here?”

  Sukumar and Ila looked at each other as they wouldn’t ideally reveal such information to someone they just met. Yohan, on the other hand, was feeling more comfortable and replied, “Well, we are here to investigate the Ashraf Zain murder case and, in the process, also evade people like you, Ms. Sweta Singh.”

  Sukumar was wondering if this was how Yohan flirted, while Ila was sure that Yohan wouldn’t reveal their case investigation without a reason.

  “What gave me away?” asked a disappointed Sweta, who was little less warm in her tone as compared to a few seconds ago

  “Oh, the very first interaction. The classic ‘I need a favor approach ice breaker’. You could have asked anyone for help but you chose us even though there were multiple people in between. In fact, we were standing slightly away from the belt as compared to the others.”

  “And you must have noticed her surname from the baggage tag? And then a simple google search?” Sukumar, who was quick to analyze the situation, jumped in to take his boss’ side.

  “No. I took a chance. I went to the local taxi stand wondering if I could see where you were off to. I got lucky because you did choose the local taxi over an online cab and there in the kiosk executive’s handwriting was your name and destination—Begusarai. That’s when I did a google search and found out you write for a leading newspaper and I was sure we would run into each other.”

  “I should have been smarter,” Shweta replied with a tinge of disappointment in her tone.

  “Well. I would request you to stop tagging us and attend the press briefings instead. And after all this, we can get a cup of coffee in Delhi, if you’d like it,” Yohan replied with his charming smile.

  Shweta obliged and walked away acknowledging the request and the charm exuded by the young senior inspector.

  “And that, my dear anna, is confidence!” Yohan said with a tone emanating a bit of narcissism.

  ⁂⁂⁂

  Yohan and Ila set off to Ashraf’s house in Ulao. The local police team had summoned his former staff to the house. After Ashraf’s death, the maid and the cook couple, Mr. and Mrs. Hassan, found work at a house nearby. Raju, the gardener, was retained by the landlord, Mr. Desai, to take care of the garden in the house. Like earlier, he visited other houses too for work. Mukul, the personal trainer and friend, had moved into a new place far away from Ashraf’s residence and was running late today.

  After reaching the place, Yohan proceeded to find out the process followed by visitors to meet Ashraf while Ila went on to meet Mr. and Mrs. Hassan. The police team present handed over the visitor’s register from Ashraf’s house. The gardener informed Yohan that Ashraf had put out a glass slab notice instructing vis
itors to add their names to the register. However, this wasn’t applicable for friends, acquaintances, or any esteemed guests. True to what Raju said, the register didn’t yield any strong names as most of them seemed like nearby villagers or fellow state people who came seeking help.

  “Raju, think carefully, who all were there that day … I mean, someone who caught your eye?” Yohan tried to get something out of the gardener.

  “Sir, I told madam also. Sir’s friend had come. I was in the garden and so didn’t interact with him a lot,” Raju replied with a helpless look on his face.

  “How do you know he was a friend then?” Yohan probed further.

  “He had come here before and stayed with saheb,” replied Raju and added, “Mukul sir will know him better.”

  Yohan interrogated further but Raju didn’t seem to know much about what happened. Meanwhile, Ila was speaking to Mr. and Mrs. Hassan.

  “So, what was the name of this friend … I remember you mentioning it the other day we met,” Ila asked again to ensure there was no discrepancy in their answer.

  The couple said the same name they had mentioned a couple of days ago: Chirag. They didn’t know his full name but described him as a medium-height, lean man, with a wheat-ish complexion and curly hair. He had round spectacles and wore an old Titan watch. Ila made a note of these features and asked the police team to check Ashraf’s computer for old photos. On further inquiry, she understood that Chirag used to visit once in six months, but over the last two months, he came frequently and even stayed for ten days at a stretch.

  The couple insisted that they didn’t know anything else. With slight hesitation, Ila asked,

  “How was the relationship between Ashraf and Piyali? Did you know they were married?”

  “No, no, madam. They were not married,” Mr. Hasan corrected quickly.

  “You don’t have to cover up for teacher saheb anymore. It’s better to tell us the truth,” Ila’s tone made a swift shift from understanding to doubt.

  “Nahi, madam. Piyali madam and Mukul sir were…” came Mrs. Hassan’s involuntary response and she immediately stopped. Her husband warned her to not speak about things she wasn’t sure about.

  “Come on, tell me. What was going on between Piyali and Mukul? You don’t have to hide. It is okay if there was anything between them.” Ila looked at the wife as she showed the traits of a person who was ready to speak out.

  “Madam, we don’t know for sure but it looked like Mukul sir liked Piyali madam,” replied Mr. Hassan.

  “Arey, but she also seemed interested,” Mrs. Hassan’s involuntary urge got the better of her.

  “So, was Mukul sir angry when he found out about Piyali and Ashraf?” Ila’s momentum in questioning was picking up pace and it was directly proportional to the level of tension in the minds of the couple.

  “There was nothing between sir and madam. Don’t believe these news stories. Ashraf sir was going to get married to maulvi saheb’s daughter. You heard the news, right?” Mr. Hassan reminded Ila.

  “Did Piyali know this?” Ila continued with her interrogation.

  “She would have known na, madam. She used to be present for a lot of teacher saheb’s meetings, except personal ones,” answered the maid.

  “So, was she present when Chirag met Ashraf?” Ila had a follow-up question.

  “No. Chirag sir and Ashraf sir would meet in the bedroom. So, I would put a mattress on the floor when Chirag sir was around and they would eat their dinner also together,” the maid replied.

  The interrogation continued until no further yield came from the couple. Ila took out her tab and among the list of suspects that already had Chirag, she jotted down Mukul’s name too. As she stepped outside, she saw Mukul with Yohan. The trainer had arrived and the senior inspector was already interrogating him. On seeing Ila, Yohan added, “So, Mukul tells me that Chirag is a print media journalist and it was because of his unexpected arrival that Ashraf rescheduled the Sudha dairy appointment to the 16th.”

  Ila nodded, added it to her notes, and shot the next question, “Sir, did Mukul also tell you that he was angry with Ashraf because he liked Piyali?”

  Yohan didn’t expect this but he knew Ila was connecting links from her interrogation with the couple. Mukul was annoyed at the line of questioning as he likened it to sensational journalism. However, Ila was successful in putting Mukul out of his comfort zone and on the defense. His reactions and answers would be quite composed and at ease if he had planned any before coming to the house.

  “Please don’t talk like that about Piyali,” Mukul replied in a dejected tone and continued, “I don’t know what you have been told but if you are referring to my relationship with Piyali, then let me say it out loud: yes, we planned to get married.”

  This was another piece of information in a day that slowly unfolded several details about the personal lives of the people in question. Yohan understood that Ila would categorize this as “personal” and revenge as the motive in her notes. However, it wasn’t the only lead that came out of Mukul. The role of Chirag, the journalist, and his presence right before Ashraf’s murder also raised several questions.

  Ila questioned the trainer further and he stuck to his claim about planning to get married to Piyali. However, he seemed tense and didn’t answer convincingly. Yohan picked up his phone and called Sukumar to check on his progress. He asked Sukumar to check with Piyali’s family about Mukul’s claims.

  “That won’t be necessary, sir,” replied Sukumar and went on to explain his findings from Piyali’s house and the hotel she was found dead in, Hotel Plateau. As Sukumar presented his findings, Yohan moved closer to the area that had Raju and Mukul. The couple were also present behind the door. He asked Ila to halt the questioning as he slowly grasped the findings.

  “You are under arrest. You will be taken into our custody to question your role in Piyali Sharma’s death,” Yohan said as he looked at a suspected murder. Raju saw Yohan walk toward him and Mukul while the couple were aghast on hearing this news. Mrs. Hasaan tightly held Mr. Hassan as her nails pierced through his wrist but the husband’s brain was so focused on Yohan’s movement that he didn’t feel any pain. Yohan had closed in on his suspect. He put his hands on the person’s shoulder and said, “Mukul. You are under arrest.”

  Ila was quick to ask, “Why? What did Sukumar find?”

  “A potential link between the deaths of Piyali and Ashraf,” he replied and added, “but this case is getting further complicated.”

  Yohan then took out the visitor’s register and pointed toward the names circled in red and said, “This guy along with his friend also visited Piyali at her residence a few days before her death.” Ila hadn’t seen or heard those names in this case before but her eyes stopped at a familiar name from the case files, also circled in red.

  Chapter 6

  An Interrogation on Time Saves Nine

  Mukul was arrested for questioning but the media had already created umpteen theories as to why the trainer killed Piyali. While some media channels harped on a love story gone wrong, the others found it ripe to showcase a love triangle between the three: Ashraf, Piyali, and Mukul. One leading tabloid wrote, “A deceptive friend at home is worse than an angry enemy on the streets.” Even after efforts to keep the news of the arrest low, it spread like wildfire through television, print, online articles, and the swiftest of all, WhatsApp. It was so widespread that Ila received a forward from her own mother about the case along with a voice note that said, “Look at this love triangle story and investigate. This looks true. Maybe you can finish the case quickly and come home now.”

  Ila was frustrated at her mother’s “attempt” to help her child. Everyone was behaving like a crime-film aficionado who doubted every person involved in the incident and created their own versions. The ones with thicker skin packaged these theories into WhatsApp forwards and YouTube videos for wider dissemination. This chaos was despite the CBI team telling the media that Mukul had just been taken i
n for questioning. However, the team had secured a warrant of arrest based on evidence they gathered.

  Yohan, Ila, and Sukumar sat inside the guesthouse conference room for their daily briefing. After this, Ila and Sukumar would set off to interrogate Mukul while Yohan had other plans.

  “Sukumar, do you want to brief us on your findings?” Yohan started the proceedings for the day.

  Sukumar had gone to Piyali’s house first. She stayed around 5.8 kms away from Ashraf’s house in Ulao in the Indian Oil township in Barauni. More than 50 years old now, the township was self-sufficient with hospitals, temples, central government schools, shops, and everything the residents inside needed. Piyali’s father moved to the township in the early 1990s and has been staying there ever since. It wasn’t far away from Ashraf's place of death too. Piyali’s father, Mr. Sharma, was a Quality Assurance manager in the Barauni refinery while her mother passed away five years ago. The 57-year-old man was shattered at the loss of his only daughter and wasn’t able to accept this phase of being alone in the world. He and Piyali’s mother had met each other in college and fell in love. Their relationship wasn’t accepted by either of the families since they belonged to different castes. Finally, the couple had to elope and get married. Today, Mr. Sharma was all alone in his house but sought justice for his daughter. When Sukumar enquired about his daughter’s alleged relationship with Ashraf, the grieving father immediately dispelled the claims and said, “Their relationship was strictly professional. Piyali had a lot of respect for Ashraf. In fact, I do too. I believed he was the future of this state and the country.”