CHAPTER: 4
22 December, Maan's room...
"Are you a leftie Maan?" Jalal's keen eyes did not miss the movements of the pen in Maan's left hand on his copy.
"Yes, and I did not know it's an offence to be a leftie!" Maan Singh, the youngest member of the family, victim Mr. Bharmal Singh's younger son, answered in an indifferent voice while solving a test-paper reluctantly. Jalal gazed at that 17 year's lad's face for a long time, his mind was filled with a strange feelings. "Your father has been murdered Maan!" he reminded him.
"I know!" Maan responded. "If you have anything to ask please do it fast, I have pretty works to do!"
"You are not looking much sad with the fact that your father is no more?" Jalal again nagged without asking him anything important. He was somehow very much shocked with the response of the teenager son on his father's death!
"Yes because I can't do drama!" Maan briefed.
"So it doesn't matter to you whether your father is dead or alive?"
Maan smiled sarcastically. "You are very much welcome to interrogate me, Jalal Bhaiya... but don't waste my time this way!"
Jalal sighed unmindfully before he started. "What were you doing yesterday's night?"
"I was solving Maths test-paper. And I was solving those all the time before the shouts and wails began. If you want an evident alibi, check my copy... Though you may say these are not strong enough, but still from me it's confirmed that I was right in this chair when all these happened, not elsewhere!"
"You did not get any sound from your father's room?" Jalal frowned. "Your room is right at the opposite of your father's, someone came and stabbed him, and you, despite being awake, did not hear anything?"
"Well, I had closed my door so each and every details of sound-wave may not catch my ear; I was only distracted when Kaki started screaming. I heard nothing before that. " Maan answered in a taunting voice.
"Hmm!" Jalal reciprocated. "By the way, do you know that Surya is missing?"
"Yes."
"When did you see him for last time?"
"I do not remember to notice him the whole yesterday. Yesterday was a busy day so I cared a damn about him!"
Strange arrogance! Jalal was surprised with the annoyed tone in Maan's voice. "Your sister Shivani suspects Surya to be the murderer. What do you think about it?"
"She herself does not know what she says!" Maan smiled. "Well, may be... There are a lot of people who will be happy to see my father's corpse!"
"Surya was one of them?"
"He was not, till the day before yesterday... But anything can change any moment." He smirked. "Till yesterday noon Neelu was a faithful servant of Mr. Bharmal Singh; but do you think that he is the same in this moment?"
Neelu is the son of the maid of this house, and also a temporary servant of the house, whom Mr.Bharmal insulted badly and threw out of the house just the day he was murdered... Jalal frowned, "What do you mean by it?"
"I am not talking in Chinese or Japanese that you are not able to understand..."Maan smiled. "Anyone, anyone can kill him! There are a lot of people who will be benefitted with his death!"
"Such as?"
"I am not going to tell any name..." Maan smiled.
"Hmm!" Jalal frowned. "You too do not look sad with his demise. Rather you're looking cheered up..."
"Well. I did not kill him!" Maan laughed out. "Though I do not condemn his murder, rather want to award the murderer for killing him, I didn't kill him! I have pretty much works do to further than becoming a convict of killing the nastiest man of this world!"
"Great!" Jalal smiled with a sigh. "I will talk to you later... Sorry for wasting your time."
"I hope you'll not need to waste my time further..." Maan said before emerging himself inside his books.
22 December, conversation with Meenakshi...
The beautiful face has been shadowed with a pale curtain of gloom and unknown fear. Both of the eyes are lowered and cloudy, the weak glare is the witness of the torment and turmoil in which she is going through! Jalal had to hesitate a lot before he could get into the mood of interrogation. Mrs. Meenakshi Singh was half-lying on Jodha's bed, leaning against a pillow behind her back, still devastated with the shock of the great lost she just faced. With a little cough showing his dilemma, Jalal sat beside her. "I can understand your situation, Aunty... Very sorry to disturb you now, but..." He stopped as Meenakshi had suddenly clenched Jodha's hand strongly with a deep sigh, her whole body shivered in the jolt of emotion...
"Should I come later?" Jalal murmured, and Meenakshi shook her head. "Ask..." She uttered in a very low, almost muted tone trying hard to control tears.
"What did you see after getting into the room?"
Meenakshi closed her eyes in immense pain... "He was... he was lying on the arm-chair... I thought he was sleeping... but... but he was not moving a little...I touched him and he was steel..." She took a long breath... "Then I noticed a knife was...Uhhh!" She covered her face and started shivering like a feeble leaf. "Control yourself, Maa!" Jodha embraced her to give her warmth.
Jalal paused for giving her time to cope up. "You said that you were informed by Surya that Mr. Singh does not want you in the room when you were going to your bedroom at night. Isn't it?" He asked when she was stable.
"Yes. He was in balcony and I was on stairs... There was load-shedding like every night..."
"You said to me that you could not recognize his face right?"
"Yes. It was dark."
"So how did you know he was Surya?"
"Who else will be there other than him to tell me about his mood and all...also, I know his voice, his gestures and his style of talking..."
"He had a congested voice and a sore throat right?" Jalal crossed.
"Yes. His voice was hardly recognizable these days... but..." Meenakshi looked at him with confused eyes.
"Hmm!" Jalal nodded. "Someone whom you hardly recognized, told you not to enter into bedroom as your husband's mood is not good and you just carried out his order without crosschecking him, or to have a look on your husband? Why?"
"It was not the first time that he has yelled on me to enter into the room when he wants privacy, and it is Surya always who informs us when he wants to meet us and when not so... How could I know this is going to happen with me..." She could not hold her sobs anymore... Jodha looked in fury to Jalal.
"Alright!" Jalal said. "You should take rest now." Jalal was about to go out, Meenakshi stopped him.
"Where is Maaji..." she asked in a feeble voice.
Jalal sighed. He had no idea how to face an old woman of her 80s who has witnessed the death of two sons in her lifetime!
22 December, in conversation with Dadi...
He had no courage to ask a question to her; the aged elegant woman in white shari and white hairs was sitting on the bed like a stone, without a drop of tear rolling from eyes, without a trace of breaking emotions playing on face, she was sitting like a hard marble idol.
"Dadi..."
She looked at Jalal's face for once, proving that she is alive and all in sense... Her eyes were too hard and stony to read the amount of pain from them. Jalal could not find any words to pacify her. He just sat beside her and asked in a low tone... "When did you see Mr. Singh for the last time?"
"Around 11-11:30...I had gone to his room to talk with him about the ornaments of Sukanya's marriage. But he was busy..." She told in a very slow and low but clear tone. "I came down as he told me that we will talk the next morning... but..." She stopped as her voice choked and closed her eyes.
Jalal gave her time, then he asked in a low tone. "And when did you see Surya last time?"
"At afternoon most probably... I did not see him during engagement ceremony."
"Meenakshi Aunty was with you in the night, right?" Jalal asked, and she nodded. Her lips trembled for once but she did not say anything.
"You were..." Jalal touched her hands. "You were sleeping all the night till you heard Nirmala Aunty's cry?"
Again a nod, but this time Jalal felt the shivering of her hand very much as he had touched them. Her hands were trembling badly and going out of control slowly it seemed. Her whole body is shaking due to nervous convulsion...
22 December, in Sukanya's room...
"Why did you take such a horrendous step yesterday night?" Jalal asked with a measured and indifferent rudeness in his voice while casually checking the strip of sleeping-pills that Sukanya tried to consume last night. The sweet yet pale girl has become paler due to the shock of incident. With a trembling voice she uttered. "My mind was not working... I... I..."
"I asked why?" Jalal looked at her with a stern look. Sukanya took a long breath before answering. "Tauji was hell bent to give my marriage. But I am in love with someone else... I... I can't marry anyone now..."
"Did you talk with your Tauji about it?"
"I tried a lot... Even Rishav himself came here to talk but he... he behaved such a way that Rishav..." Sukanya started weeping. "I even don't know where he is now! Where did Tauji vanish him I don't know..."
"What type of guy was this Rishav?"
This question was for Nirmala, Sukanya's mother. She gulped for once then nodded. "Good. Gentleman... but poor and..."
"Poor and non-influential... Unlike Someswar Singh. Isn't it?" Jalal smiled in a twisted way and again looked at Sukanya. "What had happened yesterday night? Tell me properly..."
"I...I don't remember much... I was in a trauma... I was trying to call Rishav but there was no response... I was totally confused about what to do... I was searching for a balm for head-ache and found this strip on the table... Don't know what happened to me..."
"I was sleeping with her yesterday; when suddenly my sleep broke, I saw her to consume two-three pills together..." Nirmala shook remembering the incident!
Jalal gazed lazily at her for some time and then placed the tablets again in the drawer. "Do you take sleeping-pills, Nirmala Aunty?"
"No... I mean yes... Seldom..." Nirmala was perplexed with this sudden question, but she managed herself very fast. "I have no chronic disease though, sometimes due to tension pressure goes up and I need pills for sleep."
"I see." Jalal nodded. "I have heard that you often used to take care of Mr. Bharmal Singh. Can you say me about his medications?"
"He was a patient of diabetes. Also..." Nirmala stated. "...he had a tendency of insomnia so doctor had prescribed him sleeping-pills 1 month ago... "
"He could not sleep at night?"
"Yes sometimes. So he used to consume sleeping-pills when he needed to sleep early at night." Nirmala told.
"He took that yesterday night too, I suppose?"
Silence...
Jalal looked at her with a frown. "Do you know anything about it?"
She moved her head to and fro.
"When did you meet Mr. Singh for last time?"
"At night..." This time an answer came.
"Just after when I finished talking with him, right?" Jalal stated recalling the last night. "You were carrying a coffee-mug with you, as far I remember. Is it?"
Nirmala nodded. "He used to drink coffee the nights he used to sleep late. It was not good for him but he hardly used to listen."
So he was not sleeping, he was concernedly awake, without consuming sleeping-pill and by drinking coffee... Suddenly murderer came, stabbed him, he did not shout, neither tried to protest... There is certainly a missing link in between all these.
"Ok leave it." Jalal told after a little pause. "You were talking for a long time, on which topic?"
Nirmala was silent, slightly looking at Sukanya's face. "I am waiting for your answer." Jalal emphasized.
"About Sukanya's wedding. She was not ready for marriage, and he was adamant too, so I tried to convince him to give her some more time... But he didn't listen, and..."
"Then?"
"The coffee got cold in between, so I went downstairs, made coffee for him, told Savitri to take that in his room and went in my room."
"Did you hear anything about our conversation?" Jalal suddenly threw a question.
"No... I mean yes... a little bit..." Nirmala gulped and confessed in a low tone. "You both were arguing, you were angry and he was telling continuously that you are doing mistake... and you then said you are not going to stay here anymore...That much I heard."
"So you didn't hear the reason of argument. Well, how much do you know about your to-be-son-in-law, Mr. Someswar Singh?"
Nirmala looked at the floor with a stare of guilty... "Jaithji always will choose the best for my daughter, I believed on him!" She uttered in a mild voice.
"Best!" Jalal's tone bent in sarcasm. "Do you know Someswar Singh and his family is the prime suspect in a woman-trafficking case?"
Both Nirmala and Sukanya kept on looking at him with numb glare.
"Your Jaithji had some business-benefit from Someswar Singh's company for sure; so he had contracted this marriage as alliance. But in between Someswar got caught in his secret illegal source of major income, woman-trafficking, and he has no way to escape if the case goes in court for once, and it will surely affect Mr. Bharmal Singh. So he tried to use me to prove Someswar innocent as I am in-charge of this case." Jalal exhaled due to suppressed excitement and rage. "Your Jaithji was great enough to ruin his niece's life by marrying her with a criminal despite knowing everything... Indeed he was worth to believe that he will choose the best!"
21st December, Night, around 11 pm, Bharmal Singh's room...
"I have no idea why you suddenly called me in your room Mr. Singh." Jalal said with a reluctant tone; while his disgusted eyes did not agree even to look at him. "I am yet to consume the fact that you have fixed your niece's marriage with a criminal like Someswar Singh!"
"O no no Jalal. Someswar is quite a nice guy." Bharmal smiled casually. "He has been implicated wrongly."
"Not at all! I am the in-charge of the case myself... There are strong proofs against Someswar, and he is not going to be safe so easily this time!" Jalal's voice was suddenly stern and husky. "He does not know Jalal Khan!"
"Try to understand Jalal," There was a sudden extremity of affection and comfort in Bharmal's voice... "Look, he is going to be the son-in-law of this house; he is the to-be-husband of my niece... Can you even think what will happen with her if her husband has to rot in jail forever?"
"It's your duty to think and understand this. Why the hell did you fix the marriage with a crime-suspect? It's not that you don't know about Bhiwandi's case... Then? Why don't you break the marriage?"
"The marriage can't be broken Jalal... Try to understand. Everything has been fixed from a long time. It's the matter of Sukanya's honour and my reputation!"
"What the hell!" Jalal could not control his fury. "Is including a criminal in your family very good for your reputation and your niece's life? What type of man are you? No normal person will even think to arrange the engagement after knowing that the groom is a suspect of a sensitive case like woman-trafficking."
"He is not a criminal. Someswar's father is an old investor in my business, and also my close acquaintance. I know them from a long time... Someswar has been implicated, and he needs to be free of these allegations." He emphasized on the last sentence unnecessarily.
"Justice will say!" Jalal got up from his seat. "Good Night Mr. Singh!"
"Wait!" Mr. Bharmal Singh stopped him. There was a strange authority in his voice.
"You should understand Jalal, what type of problems we, our family will face if Someswar is not proved innocent! The marriage is fixed. I have promised Someswar's father... A lot of thing is depending on this small case. You are going to be a part of this family. You have to understand."
"It's your problem, not mine. If you're sensible enough you will break this bond automatically. I have nothing to say."
"But you have a lot of things in your hand." His voice was cold now. Jalal frowned. "What do you expect me to do?"
"I know the final charge-sheet will go through your desk." Bharmal chose to stop here only, and his tone was sufficient to convey the actual meaning of the sentence, which compelled Jalal to stand up again, this time boiling in rage. "How dare you Mr. Singh!"
"Cool down young man." Bharmal smirked. "Don't forget that you're going to be the husband of my daughter!"
"So what? What do you think you have bought me by granting your permission for the marriage? What do you think that we actually care for your permission to take a decision regarding our life? How dare you trying to influence me in my professional life!"
"You seem to be an angry young man! I like this attitude!" Bharmal smiled such a way as if Jalal is a little silly boy. "Try to think from brain. Do you know the exact amount of this property? I will write everything in Jodha's name. You will marry her, and that means you will get the whole property... Can you even imagine having such an amount of money in your whole career?"
"You're crossing your limit Mr. Singh!"
"No my son! It's you who's doing mistake. Cool down. Look I care a damn about Someswar. But his father is a big investor of my farm, also they are the biggest customer of our products... if by any chance this marriage does not happen our deal may break and I will face a great loss. My loss means your loss. Hope you do understand..."
"You're trying to bribe ACP Jalal Khan!" Jalal almost shouted, but at once controlled his rage with great difficulty. "You're lucky that this is not my place and I am not in uniform... else I would have arrested you for offering me bribe this way!" He danced his finger to him. "Listen carefully, and tell your Someswar and his father too... Jalal Khan has never bent in front of any influential, will never bend in his whole life as well! Someswar is guilty, and he will not be spared by any means! Good bye. I am going to leave your house by tomorrow morning, and hope we will never meet again!"
"You are mistaking Jalal..." Bharmal was again to convince him, this time in a huskier voice, and Jalal without caring him was going to get out of the room, but suddenly both of them had to stop...
Nirmala was standing near the door, with a cup of coffee in hand, her hands shivering like a feeble leaf in winter.
Edited by Shinning_Stuti - 8 years ago
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
