by Fawaz Jaleel
Yohan and team weren’t fully convinced with Mukul’s narrative either and circumstantial evidence also showed the possibility of his involvement in at least Piyali’s death. While the babbles of politicians and media continued, the young CBI team was on a hunt to investigate their latest lead in the case. A sketch of Priyanshu was made and circulated to the colleges in Begusarai and nearby districts. There was fear that the boys might be absconding considering their close proximity with the two murders. But this was put to rest when they received a call from GRCSC College, Begusarai. The dean of admissions confirmed that Priyanshu Tiwari was one of their students and had been on leave for the last ten days.
“Isn’t GRCSC the same college that Ashraf worked on?” Ila asked to confirm.
“Yeah, and Priyanshu Tiwari is a third-year sociology student there,” Sukumar added.
“If you look at the timeline of Ashraf’s work history and Priyanshu’s academic stint, there’s no way Ashraf would have taught him in college. We need to go to the college, meet their friends, and get character sketches of these boys,” Yohan had a plan.
“Sukumar, can you ask the dean to give us a list or name of any classmate/friend of Priyanshu who has also been on leave for 10 days?” Ila tried to get at least the name of the friend/classmate who accompanied Priyanshu to both the locations.
“Also, Sukumar, speak to the Superintendent of Police, get his permission and deploy CI Raj Pratap to start verifying Mukul’s claims. Tell Raj to collect the written statements of the hotel staff and ... you know, the other basic protocols involved, right?” Yohan instructed Sukumar.
Sukumar was a focused investigator well-versed with the legal formalities of the investigation procedure, particularly with regard to inter-department protocols. It's usual for a state police unit to have an aversion toward the CBI team that has taken over the case and yet the team needs their help to ensure no jurisdictional rights are violated.
“Also, Director Verma wants us to meet this AIPM leader, Akbar Syed,” Yohan said in a disinterested tone.
“But he is a self-obsessed media-chasing megalomaniac. Why should we meet him?” Ila’s voice reflected her contempt.
“Yes, but he has made enough noise to be given attention. We need to deal with these pressures too,” Yohan responded.
Sukumar entered the room after answering a few calls. He had informed the SP and moved the necessary paperwork for the local police’s help. However, his face had “we’ve got a problem” written all over it.
“We have information on the second boy too but…” Sukumar did sweat a bit and his voice appeared lower, reflecting fatigue.
Yohan and Ila exuded confidence in most occasions. When they were not, they feigned it. This was a situation where the two of them resorted to the latter. Sukumar started explaining the situation. While they got the whereabouts of Priyanshu’s friend/accomplice, the road ahead didn’t seem as clear as they had hoped. Yohan was using the white board in the room to draw a hierarchy of events and list down the names of the potential suspects so far. Sukumar took out a red marker from the pen case and moved toward the board. Right next to Priyanshu’s name, in bold letters, he wrote: DINESH SINGH.
“What is it, Sukumar? Your face says that there is more to this name.” Yohan understood every change on Sukumar’s face owing to their long-lasting friendship.
“Dinesh Singh is the grandson of Tilak Singh,” Sukumar said and shut the marker with its cap and spun it on the table.
Ila was looking at Sukumar and while her eyes shifted to the spinning marker pen, her thoughts were still focused on the case. She asked, “You mean THE Tilak Singh?”
“Yes Ila. The very same,” Sukumar clarified.
Dinesh’s grandfather, Tilak Singh, was the erstwhile MLA of Begusarai in the 1990s. He was a member of the Marxist Communist Party India (MCPI) during a time when they had more prominence in the city and state. In the rest of the country, except West Bengal and Kerala, someone belonging to MCPI may not have as much weightage but Begusarai was once decorated as the “Leningrad of Bihar” and “Little Moscow” due to the communist party’s strong presence in the region. Between the 1970s and 2000s, the communist party leaders held the Begusarai assembly seat for 15 years. After that, there was an electoral decline in their vote share, following SDP and BNC’s rise, but MCPI’s cadres and the support bases did still exist and were active in the city. Tikak Singh may not be actively involved in day-to-day politics but he had a clout in the political ambience of the state.
“Do we have any sources that claim Dinesh is with his grandfather?” Yohan turned to Sukumar.
Sukumar didn’t have an answer. To this, Yohan added, “Check with the local police sources there. Send Priyanshu’s sketches too. Now, we have his photos from the college records too. We need to see if both these boys are with Tilak Singh.”
Sukumar rushed to secure the necessary permissions for questioning Dinesh Singh. Meanwhile, Ila started working with the cyber wing to trace the last location of Priyanshu’s mobile number. The news had already leaked to the media about the CBI’s quest to find these boys. However, the media’s focus remained fixed on Dinesh Singh and his grandfather, Tilak Singh. The anchor of the channel vying for the highest TRP this week came on to the screen with his more-than-usually-angry face and babbled, “My dear viewers! In today’s debate, we have sources that claim Ashraf Zain was planning to forge an alliance with the Marxist Communist Party India or the MCPI. The discussions were held with the former Begusarsai MLA Tilak Singh’s grandson, Dinesh Singh. CBI plans to question Dinesh and his associate, Priyanshu Tiwari.”
Ila notified Yohan about the media spin. Usually, they wouldn’t pay much heed to these narratives but Ila knew that any number of allegations without proof was going to further aggravate Dinesh’s family, leading to non-cooperation. The police hadn’t been able to trace the crucial suspect Chirag too and hence, couldn’t afford missing out questioning the young college student. She did come back with positive news that Priyanshu’s cell phone was last tracked in Delhi. His family and extended relatives stayed in Delhi. Ila was quick to notify the headquarters to intensify their search for Priyanshu.
It took him a couple of hours but Sukumar secured the necessary documentation to question the young student, Dinesh Singh. However, his grandfather, the former MCPI leader refused to agree that the boy was in their Begusarai house. He denied any reports of his grandson’s whereabouts. The SP had warned Sukumar to tread carefully as he was being pressured from the higher ups of the political spectrum in Bihar.
“On one hand, these politicians are screaming on TV, asking the CBI to probe MCPI’s involvement in the case. The same bloody party calls the SP and stops him from giving us a police escort to visit their house.” Sukumar had his animated frustrated face on.
“Okay, team. We are going to Tilak Singh’s office,” Yohan made the announcement.
“But, sir. This is a very sensitive area. We need police protection,” said a worried Sukumar.
“I know. Connect me to Tilak Singh. I will speak to him,” replied a confident Yohan.
While Ila confidently and Sukumar hesitantly prepared to leave, Yohan was still on a call with Tilak Singh. The call went on for quite some time and the other teammates couldn’t figure out what was happening. Finally, Yohan walked out of the other room and said, “Tilak Singh has agreed. But, the first level of questioning will happen at their house.”
“How did he agree to this, sir?” Ila questioned.
“Let’s just say that I put something very important at stake,” Yohan sighed.
Sukumar was quick to comment, “I hope you aren’t referring to our lives.”
⁂⁂⁂
On their way to Tilak Singh’s house, the team took a stock of their suspects—Chirag, Mukul, Priyanshu, and Dinesh. Ila pointed out the other name encircled in the register from Ashraf’s house.
“But we do not have any link to connect him, Ila,” Yohan reminded her.
“There is no connection to the murders yet either,” Sukumar added.
“We also need to find the truck dealer that Raj Pratap mentioned,” Ila added the other missing link.
“These boys have met Chirag. I hope they give us more information about him. That guy’s presence everywhere is just disturbing,” Yohan’s voice clearly displayed a desperation for a break in this case.
Tilak Singh stayed in Bachhwara, an assembly seat and an area in the outskirts of Begusarai. The seat had been a communist party bastion even in the 2000s. Bihar has a history of land rights struggle between feudal landlords and peasants. In the early 1990s, there were several movements across the state including Bachwara for these rights and the communist party was able to be part of it and entrench itself in the veins of the town and district. This support by the people still persists and the CBI team had to acknowledge these things while proceeding to the area to question the grandson of their erstwhile leader.
It is a 40-kilometer journey from the guesthouse to Singh’s house in Bachwara. It was around 5 p.m. and the sun was on its course to reduce its might and make way for the rest part of the day. The highway was enclosed between greenery and there were multiple trucks and lorries parked on the side, especially as they neared the Murali toll plaza that would allow them to enter the Bachwara junction in a while. There was a slight delay due to the frequency of vehicles and as soon as they crossed it, they were just a few kilometers away from the bazaar junction. Sukumar wanted bottled water and the bazaar junction seemed like the place for it, according to the driver.
As the day got darker and the roads narrower, Yohan could see a change in the set-up of the town too. Unlike Begusarai junction, there were fewer shops and polished nameboards. Traffic signals were scarce and it was an understanding between the vehicles crossing to ensure seamless passage. There were a few houses on both sides, socially distant from each other on their way. While they were just a few kilometers away, a loud blast of music hit Yohan’s and the others’ ears.
“What is that noise?” Sukumar covered his ears using the palms of both his hands.
The driver informed them that it was probably from a light music show that was generally held during functions.
“We can drop Sukumar here. He is going to love it,” Yohan told Ila.
“Sure, sir. Why don’t you put a lot more of whatever you put at stake earlier and get Tilak Singh’s grandson to this location.” Sukumar wasn’t willing to let go without finding what Yohan told the former MLA.
“I will tell you guys about it later. For now, let’s focus on Dinesh Singh,” Yohan replied.
As the banters continued and the loudness and cacophony of the music left their ears, the vehicle was at a touching distance from Tilak Singh’s house. Yohan once again went through Dinesh’s phone records, college records, and the character sketch obtained from his college. As the vehicle stopped for the team to alight, Yohan grabbed the photo sketch of the suspect and moved to the door.
Tilak Singh’s servant opened the door, hearing the noise of the vehicle. It was a medium-sized house, painted light-red, with two floors. From a distance, Yohan and team could see Tilak Singh walking toward them. He didn’t come to the door and instead took a right and went straight to the hall and sat on the couch clearly earmarked for him. Tilak Singh’s couch resembled a throne that he occupied while there were sets of two and three seaters placed on the side for guests to sit. Sukumar had a frown seeing Tilak Singh ignore them instead of receiving them at the door. Yohan quickly walked up to the MCPI veteran. Before sitting, they looked into each other's eyes and in about 15 seconds, a smile appeared on both their faces. Yohan was quick to say, “Sirji, I have a sketch of your grandson. So please don’t send anyone else.” His tone indicated a mix of mischief and seriousness but Sukumar was relieved that the two were smiling indicating that things weren’t as bad as he had cooked up in his head.
Tilak Singh was in his 90s but looked as fit as a 65-year-old actor masquerading as a hero. As an old communist leader, his food habits and years of exile might have led to a minimal eating routine and thus the lack of extra flesh in the body. At 6’4, with a fair complexion and complete gray hair and beard, Singh disguised a smirk in the form of a smile and remarked, “What else has your father told you, CBI Inspector?”
Very rarely was Yohan addressed as an Inspector by people. The public wasn’t completely aware of the offices held by CBI personnel and mainstream cinema didn’t make an effort to convey the titles in a coherent manner too. But this was a man who had functioned with various arms of the government and had a solid knowledge of systems, institutions, and practices.
Sukumar and Ila didn’t understand the former MLA’s “father” reference and trusted Yohan to fill them later. He hardly spoke about his relationship with his father except the story surrounding his unwillingness to join the family trade.
“He also told me that wine and Tilak Singh get better with age,” came Yohan’s response. He requested the veteran to call Dinesh and give them a room for investigation.
In about 5 minutes, a medium-height, stocky boy with a fair complexion affected by continuous exposure to tan, entered the room.
“Here, meet my grandson,” Tilak Singh introduced Dinesh to the CBI team.
“Thank you, sir. We will step into the room and speak to him,” Yohan’s reply also seemed as if he was seeking permission from the grand old man of the MCPI.
Dinesh appeared worried but the fact that he was home gave him a sense of comfort. Inside the room, Yohan asked Dinesh to sit. The room wasn’t meant to be an interrogation one. It had a queen-size bed, dressing table, study desk, chair, and a couple of bean bags. The room had to be Dinesh’s considering its interior and the youthful ambience that surrounded it. Ila occupied the chair next to the desk, while Sukumar chose a bean bag. He kept fiddling with it till he squared an optimum seating position. Yohan guided Dinesh and made him sit on the bed while he himself chose to stand. It looked more or less like a confrontation scene between parents and a young child but the set up was enough for the CBI team to create adequate pressure on Dinesh. Yohan also turned off all the lights and banked on the bedside lamp to achieve the bare minimum lighting. This quick fix up did put Dinesh off from what was supposed to be his comfort zone. Ila dragged the study desk between her chair and Dinesh’s bed. She took out a few papers from a file and placed it on the table. Yohan, who had gotten off the table for Ila to move it, once again occupied his seat on top of it. He asked, “Dinesh, how’s your newspaper or journal going? Are the stories done?”
Dinesh was taken aback at the beginning of the conversation itself. This was supposed to be his reveal to the CBI but they already seemed to know.
“Child, are you going to sit there and wonder how we know this or tell us more?” Ila added pressure.
“Why don’t you give him some context, Sukumar?” Yohan looped in Sukumar.
“See, Dinesh. By now, we have spoken to your classmates. You have been writing for the college journal. Priyanshu and you bunked a lot of classes and went to interview students in Begusarai, Hajipur, and Patna. Some of the places you visited have registers and you guys left your names there. Rookie mistake.”
“Or it could be confidence, Sukumar. He is the grandson of a political leader.” Ila assumed the role of the team player who would add pressure and play with Dinesh’s tension.
“Yeah, and among the many registers, you guys had your name in Ashraf’s register too. But I must say, you have been very smart. You always let Priyanshu enter his name and then add a convenient plus one to it,” Yohan added to the momentum set up by Ila.
“Dinesh, tell us everything,” Ila probed further.
The 20-year-old seemed overwhelmed with the flurry of questions. This was a lot for him to process at once. He wished his grandfather was around but he also didn’t hold or boast of any clout of having a politically exposed relative. He had things to say to this team and this added pressure just made open
ing up quicker than he had expected.
“Ashraf sir was a teacher in our college and was very active in the political scene. So, when Priyanshu and I visited him to propose our idea of starting a newspaper, he was more than happy to support us.,” Dinesh began his version of the story.
“What happened afterward? Where did you guys differ?” Sukumar didn’t let the boy release his breath.
“We didn’t. He, in fact, agreed to help us build our website and invest in promoting the stories to the common man. He even proposed the stories and suggested that the newspaper be called The Naya Bharat Samachar. As students, this financial help and mentorship meant a lot to us,” Dinesh replied.
“What stories did he suggest?” Ila asked.
“He suggested two stories. One was on the land rights issue for which he wanted me to interview the villagers here and show how discrimination and hierarchy still exist when it comes to land, even after years of struggle. This was my lead story.”
“What about Priyanshu? What was he working on?” Yohan asked.
As Dinesh narrated that story, Ila took the register collected from Ashraf’s house, looked at the name encircled in red, and added it to the list of suspects.
“There you go, Ila. There is your link,” Sukumar slapped his left hand with his right while saying this. The two officers exchanged smiles.
“Hold on, guys. We are now adding someone powerful to our set of suspects. This isn’t going to be easy...” Yohan knew that they had a tough task ahead of them.
Chapter 8
