by Fawaz Jaleel
“Did you know Ashraf was in Siwan a month before his death?” Akbar started.
“We are preparing a detailed chart of all his visits in the last three months before his death,” Ila responded.
“Good. But you may want to focus on Siwan. I think Ashraf’s visit upset the feudal landlords in the area,” Akbar put forth his new argument devoid of any rhetoric this time.
“What about your previous accusations?” Sukumar raised the obvious question. However, he already knew the answer as he asked the question and his face had enough expressions to show his disagreement to it.
“Sir, sometimes in politics, we have to make certain statements to the media for the public. I am not here to tell you things I can say there. You can check Ashraf’s travel records to verify my claims,” came Akbar’s response.
Sukumar didn’t particularly like the tone of the man. With an obvious contempt in his voice, he continued, “Are you telling us that we should probe the landlords instead of Bashir?”
Yohan was quick to add, “No, Sukumar. This is just the same ol’ narrative in new packaging.”
Akbar understood where Yohan was headed toward but pretended as if it wasn’t clear, “What do you mean?”
“The landlords in Bihar majorly belong to a few specific castes—the Bhumihars, Rajputs, Kayasth Brahmins, and so forth,” Yohan started unveiling the masked intentions behind Akbar’s accusations with sheer subject matter expertise. Akbar had a glee on his face and waited for Yohan to continue.
“So … Sukumar, what Akbar sir here is trying to tell us is that Ashraf had a tiff with the powerful landlords who belong to the upper castes … and these caste groups have often shown a voting trend toward…”
“SDP. So, we are back to square one. Ol’ wine in a new bottle. Ahaan,” Ila completed Yohan’s deduction.
Akbar deemed it important to chip in at this point. He remarked, “Your words not mine.”
Ila was quick to retort, “Your agenda not ours.”
“You really want to ignore such a vital lead? Very un-CBI like?” Akbar started to provoke a more favorable reaction.
Yohan was quick to comprehend Akbar’s intentions with that comment. But he was already prepared for it. He said, “Oh! Your lead is very important. In fact, I am wondering why you missed out some crucial facts from your discovery.”
This time, the AIPIM leader looked a bit shaken. His confidence wasn’t the same if one read his face. He decided to keep quiet and not let words sway; instead, he listened to what Yohan was coming up with. Yohan continued, “While Siwan has seen a lot of issues pertaining to land, this also led to the growth of the communist party in the region … oops, correction... your ally, MCPI’s growth.”
“That’s an unfair accusation.” Akbar’s voice wasn't as strong as earlier.
“I will definitely probe your lead but I am also curious to see if Tilak Singh was happy with Ashraf’s entry into their stronghold areas. You guys are allies, I am sure you know the answer.” Yohan was on a roll.
“That’s just preposterous, officer.” Akbar’s words weren’t as powerful as before.
“Your lead, not mine,” Yohan was quick enough to make a jibe.
“It's your ally, sir. This is also a potential motive. Did you have any role in this?” Sukumar joined the party, smartly set up by his senior’s brilliant subject matter expertise.
This put Ila too in a cheeky mood, “Gentlemen, I am going to ask this again. Akbar sir, did you move your station from Patna to Begusarai before or after Ashraf’s death?”
Chapter 10
An Evidence Per Lead Keeps False Suspects Away
Akbar’s intentions to pin the blame on SDP backfired as the CBI team, led by the “aware” Yohan Tytler, was quick to identify a potential link between the AIPIM leader’s ally, MCPI, and the murder. While this link was still in its nascent stage, the team knew they should probe into the zamindars angle too as suggested by the AIPIM leader. As they probed further, they found Tilak Singh to be active in Bihar since the 1980s. He started off his career in Begusarai but managed to expand his base across the state predominantly due to MCPI backing the landless laborers in their fight against the landlords in the region. In those days, it was common for MCPI to visit and set base in regions that witnessed a land struggle. But Akbar conveniently ignored this when he pointed to Ashraf's visit to Siwan. But Yohan and team knew what Akbar’s single point agenda was—target the SDP at every instance. But they wondered if he tried to cover up something or someone by doing so. Yohan was a man who went behind every detail and decided to probe this angle too.
A day after their visit to Akbar’s house, the team sat in their guesthouse to review the progress so far. They wanted solid leads and evidence before presenting anything to Director Verma. The case took a very unexpected turn with Bashir Hashmi’s name drawn in and the immediate attack against the primary witness, Priyanshu Tiwari. This also led to an indirect involvement of Bihar’s ruling party and national opposition, BNC, who backed Bashir. Now with Akbar’s statement, MCPI is also under the scanner considering Ashraf’s visit to their stronghold district and his close proximity with Tilak Singh’s grandson, Dinesh. Amid all this, Yohan was still mulling over the absconding Chirag Doraiswamy’s role in the murder.
“Is MCPI really a player in Siwan? Why are we even considering this angle?” Ila asked.
“Why don’t you read up on it? Reading is good for an investigator,” Yohan replied with a mischievous smile.
“I don’t want to compete with my boss’s intellectual prowess. I was hoping to bat to my strengths,” Ila seemed in a lighter mood than usual.
Sukumar deemed it wise to remain quiet and avoid a jibe from his boss. Yohan started to give his team an overview of Siwan to add more context to the team’s doubts.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Siwan was ruled by the Congress. During this time, MCPI, which was functioning under the shadows, started organizing mass struggles against landlords in the region. This led to a considerable growth in their party presence, especially in the Shahabad and Magadh regions. In Siwan, it was Darauli that became the stronghold of the party which later became their virtual capital in the 1980s and 1990s. During these times, the landlords in the region belonged to the dominant Rajput castes and had power over the laborers who belonged to the lower castes. The MCPI and its other factions worked on mobilizing these people to fight against the oppressors. While the fights continued, this led to a sizable growth in the communist popularity in the region. While Siwan was one Lok Sabha seat, there were six assembly seats in the region—Siwan, Ziradei, Darauli, Raghunathpur, Daraunda, and Barharia that represented constituency numbers 105 to 110, respectively. The MCPI, despite its efforts, had never won the Lok Sabha seat. They always finished third in the election race from 2004 to 2019, with their vote share lingering between 8 and 12 percent and 70,000 plus votes each time. However, the assembly elections tell a slightly different story. They finished second in several elections in the assembly seats and also won the Darauli seat in the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections with a 30 percent plus vote share. It was worth noting that this seat was specifically allocated for Scheduled Caste candidates in the 2015 election. The MCPI’s overall fortune in the 2020 elections was their best ever in recent times but they were part of a different alliance then.
“So, Ashraf visiting these places would affect the MCPI as he might come across as a credible alternative to a party that is strong but gradually losing the ground nationally,” Sukumar responded after Yohan summarized the political situation.
“Yes. That could be one reason. Tilak Singh and his party wouldn’t want a new player taking over the remains of whatever their party has left behind,” Yohan added his inputs.
“But Siwan is not the only place that Ashraf visited. I am preparing that list and you would have it by today,” Ila added.
“Yeah. That is extremely crucial for us to pursue that lead. We need to focus on that simultaneously as we probe into Bashir
Hashmi further,” Yohan allotted Ila her share of work.
“I will also check whether Yohan visited any of these landlords or any history of quarrel between these parties,” Ila added more to her plate.
“Very important. Now let’s focus on Bashir’s whereabouts and other details during the two murders,” Yohan remarked as the team moved on to review their latest and strong lead.
“We are still planning to wait till the end of the day to see if Priyanshu wakes up and gives us more information, right?” Ila asked the team.
“Yes. Bashir is a high-profile suspect. We need to make our moves very carefully from here. One wrong step and there’s going to be so much flak.” Yohan gave the team a reality check.
“So what now then?” Sukumar asked.
“Only Bashir is a big fish. We can always speak to his orderlies. Sukumar, go and meet his PA and get details on his travel history, calls, etc. Ila and I will visit the maulvi and Ashraf’s fiancé, Parveen. We need to understand why maulvi felt there was a threat in Bashir’s statement. It could be crucial.” Yohan issued their plan of action for the day.
Sukumar took the file on Bashir Hashmi and prepared to go and meet the PA. Ila, on the other hand, contacted the central CBI team and appointed an analyst to look into Ashraf’s detailed travel history in the recent past.
⁂⁂⁂
A journey to the Islamiya Peace Trust was also a journey into Ashraf’s younger days. The file in Yohan’s hand had a detailed summary of Ashraf’s history. His parents had committed suicide when he was less than 18 months old. His father was a farm laborer and his mother used to go for housework in the suburbs of Begusarai. One night, a group of drunk men had gang raped his mother on her way back to their hut after work. His father, who couldn’t stand the social stigma of the incident, set his wife on fire and hanged himself on a tree outside the house. The baby Ashraf survived the cruel day but was left alone in a world with no one to look after him. Since he had no immediate relatives, the boy was admitted in the orphanage run by the trust. Till date, the culprits behind Ashraf’s mothers’ rape haven’t been arrested or identified. It doesn’t take a lot for news to spread and the story of his father and mother was known to people in the orphanage. The vector of this gossip-borne disease could have been anyone from the cleaners, cooks, servers, nurses, older boys—literally anyone! Growing up, there were instances when the older boys taunted Ashraf with this. Little did they know that it wasn’t his nor his mother’s fault that such a traumatic incident happened. Young boys of that age are prone to get angry and fight back when hurt at such an emotional level. However, Ashraf was a different man from early on. Instead of physically or verbally hurting the boys, the young Ashraf set out to find the people behind his mother’s rape. The search was unsuccessful but he was angry inside, not just at the rapists but also at his father for making it worse. There was absolutely no excuse for his behavior and actions that day.
After several failed attempts at restarting a police enquiry, Ashraf was dejected at the lackluster response from the officials. But he was not a boy who readily displayed his emotions to the outer world. He channeled his energy into education and focused on “being someone” who could bring about a change. In the beginning, all he wanted was power to get justice for his mother. As his age and maturity grew, he realized the problem wasn’t about one individual. He still didn’t feel the need to be a politician to affect change. Young Ashraf’s plan was clear—to grow up and help young boys educate themselves to forego the traumas in their life and succeed. But as a keen student of civics and political science, he was quick to realize the politicization at every level—from health and education to religion and region. He noticed how religious organizations tried to mobilize youngsters like him for their petty gains and pleasures. He also saw how his religion made him a “vote bank” in the gleamy, gluttonous eyes of several politicians.
Yohan knew the rest of Ashraf’s file from Day 1—his active political days in college to opening free coaching centers for students and attracting powerful enemies like Bashir Hashmi and Sumit Rajput, joining the BNC, and eventually forming his own party.
“I have heard a lot of people say this and now I am starting to feel it's true. Ashraf would have been a gem of a leader for our country,” Yohan thought out loudly. Ila nodded to agree with her boss’ statement and let a sigh to mourn the young politician. Yohan was still reeling at the experiences that defined Ashraf’s life.
“But that’s the problem. Everyone likes revolutionaries after they become that. No one supports them in the process to affect change. They like the fruits but not the labor.” Ila’s words were about Ashraf but deep inside, she wished to change a lot of things about her surroundings. Her life so far wasn’t an easy one either. She had her fair share of struggles and still continued to do so.
“To outgrow such tremendous trauma and yet turn out positive is remarkable. If only the rest of us have that kind of determination.” Yohan was deeply immersed into Ashraf’s life.
“What problems does someone with an elite upbringing, famous and rich father, and belonging to South Delhi have, sir?” Ila didn’t mean to offend her senior or make a joke but she was genuinely curious.
“Those are all baggages, Ila. Sometimes, people want their shoulders free.”
The car entered the trust through the main gate. There was a dark green board at the entrance with the name of the organization written in white. There was a small, quadrangular garden right opposite the drop-off points for cars. Yohan and Ila got off their vehicle and moved into the foyer area and walked towards the reception. Ila went on to speak to the receptionist and confirm their appointment with the maulvi and his daughter. Meanwhile, Yohan went on to look at the trust and its surroundings. There was a statue of the founder of the trust, Shah bin Mughal, a doctor in the early 1950s. He was also the first president of the trust from 1951 until his death in 1958. Yohan scanned through the list of presidents and it read:
Younus Pathan (2001–2006), Suleiman Mughal (2006–2011), Parvez Khan (2011–2016), and the current maulvi, Imtiaz Sheikh (2016–till date)
“Someday, we were hoping that the name Ashraf Zain would be added to that list. Most probably after my tenure, we thought,” the maulvi Imtiaz Sheikh said, standing right behind Yohan as he was looking at the list. Yohan turned back and saw a short man of around 5’3, with a stout body, fair complexion, and a long beard that was typically grown by Muslim clerics. He had a soft baritone which wasn’t a surprise to Yohan as he knew that the man had recited the azan for many years. In a way, daily recitals of Azan can be compared to the daily sadhakam practiced by Carnatic singers to improve their voice quality and music.
“Thank you for sparing your time, sir. We will quickly gather the information we need from you,” Yohan greeted the maulvi and initiated the conversation. Ila also reached the scene and did an adaab to greet the cleric. Adaab is a typical Muslim greeting gesture, predominantly followed by the Urdu-speaking sect where the right hand is raised toward one’s face with palm facing it as if the finger tips are almost touching the forehead. She introduced herself, “Sub-inspector Ila, maulvi saab.”
Seeing the gesture or the very identifiable Muslim features in an otherwise non-religious Ila, when it comes to practicing the religion, the maulvi asked, “Ila … Ila what?”
“Qureshi, sir. Ila Qureshi,” she replied.
“Acha, Qureshi saheb is your father or husband?” Maulvi showed curiosity.
“Father,” she replied.
There was no expression on the maulvi’s face. One couldn’t read if he was disappointed that a girl as old as Ila wasn’t married since most Muslim women are “married off” at a very early age in the name of religion and, of course, patriarchy! The two officers were escorted to the meeting room on the first floor. Even though the trust building came up in the 1950s, it was evident that there was continuous maintenance to ensure they kept the infrastructure in good shape. Inside the conference room was Ashraf�
�s fiancé, Parveen, who had become an overnight social media sensation after her series of tweets.
Parveen, in her mid-20s, had a fair complexion and long silky hair. Contrary to Ila’s expectations, she wasn’t wearing a burkha and that was a sigh of relief for the sub-inspector. Parveen donned a beautiful smile that made her cheeks go red and she looked more Persian than Indian with her complexion, baritone, and attire. She wore a salwar kameez with cream background and heavy patches of dark pink and floral decorations, coupled by a dark green dupatta.
“Hi, Ms. Parveen. Pleasure to meet you,” Yohan introduced himself to the lady.
“Glad to meet you, Mr. Yohan and Ms. Ila. How can my father and I be of any help to you?” Yohan loved the way she spoke as she gave the vibes of a very methodical and disciplined person. She didn’t chew her words and spoke clearly and at a medium pace—not too fast, not too slow. Her tone had a soft bass that added a very strong appeal to her speech.
“Firstly, we want to know if Ashraf had any enemies. I know it's a very vague question since he was a politician and a righteous one at that. Over the course of the investigation, we did come across many people who wanted to or already have attacked him,” Yohan started the questioning.
“Very kind of you to say that about Ashraf. Who all do you have in mind?” Parveen looked at Yohan. The kajal in her eyes added an extra shine to her face. Her eyes were expressive but didn’t seem to move too fast. Yohan couldn’t help but look straight into her eyes while talking to her. Her eyelids were so symmetrical that Yohan mentally measured its perfection.
