Chapter 24
"Daddy dearest has taken an about turn and has gone back home the minute he knew his son was out of our clutch," informed Sagar. He entered Vedant's room and slumped into a chair uninvited and looked for some heated reaction from his boss. Pragat wasn't walking into the trap they had laid for him. They assumed he would come to them and blast for hauling his son to their station. They should have probably waited for Pragat to get entrapped before releasing Akhilesh.
"What else?" asked Vedant almost acting deaf towards the news brought in by Sagar. He was sitting leaned back on his chair pondering at the ceiling doing nothing, perhaps thinking. Sagar wasn't pleased.
"Please tell me you heard what I said and you are planning some heroic moves. Else I am not impressed by your attitude," said Sagar openly. In a way Vikram and Sagar would be balanced equally if weighed in terms of approach. They were bold and straight forward with their views. Only difference was Sagar was more level headed and not as short tempered as Vikram.
"Get out!" said Vedant casually not wasting a second to look at Sagar. He knew Sagar was trying to get him pressurized and make dramatic moves for his own entertainment.
To a certain extent, Sagar enjoyed annoying his boss. He left Vedant's room and took his seat in the squad room. It was lunch break and Vedant had ordered everyone to take an actual break from the case and rest their fatigued mind for some time. Sagar switched off Agastya's monitor much to his irritation.
"Boss' order," he said receiving an angry glare from Agastya. Agastya hated whenever anyone touched his machines and gadgets. He was the only one who had the authority to even brush the tiniest bit of his equipments. He switched it on the next moment without a word of dissent. Sagar didn't require a word to understand the unuttered message.
Ruby was munching her sandwich and reading a book simultaneously. Sagar planned his attack on his next prey. He was rotating in his rolling chair with a wicked smile running his plan on his mind. His devious imagination was disturbed with the fuming entry of Heera who didn't look happy a single bit.
"What happened?" asked Ruby as Heera sat ragingly, dropping her belongings on her workspace.
"Got a call from school," said Heera, her tone bathed in exasperation. "She had complains against my boy."
"Which one?" asked Sagar, a little too quickly.
"Elder one. Apparently, he hasn't been scoring well in his exams- makes loads of spelling mistakes, can't read properly, beats his friends, and the list goes on..."
"Oh!" remarked Ruby. "Hmm...Is he having any problem with his..."
"I know he is dyslexic," said Heera as a matter of fact. "I have watched Taare Zameen Par and I completely understand his problems. But the important issue is- all teachers aren't Aamir Khan, are they? Instead of finding a way to solve my boy's problem, she sits there lecturing me for one hour."
"I understand Heera. I mean...it can't be easy for you," said Ruby doubtfully. She didn't want to push further.
"These teachers nowadays! All they want is top scores from students. They don't care for the students who need their help. All their focus is on the students who actually don't need their help. They are good on their own. All schools want now is to show off their good students and chuck the weak students outside their campus. You know how many times Nikhil missed his classes because he was sent outside the class as punishment? And then they expect him to score high marks. Nonsense!"
"Where is he now? Nikhil?" asked Sagar, this time with seriousness. He had met Heera's boys and he was greatly fond of them.
"Home. With his grandmother. He didn't speak a word on our way back home," replied Heera.
"Have you taken him for counselling?" asked Ruby.
Heera nodded but didn't say anything.
"All fine?" asked Vedant standing by the door. "I heard everything," he added.
"All fine, Sir and- Thank you for giving me an hour permission to sort out," replied Heera without the enthusiasm she usually displayed.
"No problem," said Vedant as he walked into the squad room. "Message from the top. We can't touch Pragat without any evidence. Not even a friendly chat. We have to gather something against him to even glance at him."
"We have established connections- him and our suspects," said Sagar.
"All our own imaginative speculations. Circumstantial. We have nothing solid. No proof," Vedant looked at Heera, "How did it go with Dinesh Chavan?"
"Good. Nice man," began Heera. "He didn't work with Veerkaran. His regiment was different. But he did hear all the rumours that spread at that time. He could help us only with that. There is no proof that it is true."
"What award did he refuse?" asked Ruby.
"There was some scam that went a year or two before Veerkaran retired. Our nation's fire arms were sold illegally to the underworld. Veerkaran and another officer brought this to the notice of their superiors which resulted in the scam to be exposed."
"Were the men responsible caught?" asked Charith.
"Dinesh wasn't sure. He said some kind of an operation was executed- encounter type- and the people responsible were caught at the end, but not without casualties. Internal enquiry was conducted but the names were never disclosed. But he suggested that it would be in the records for sure."
"So Veerkaran was behind the dismissal of few officers? They would want revenge," said Charith.
"And the award was for Veerkaran's grit to bring the issue to the fore," Heera continued. "He refused the award because it was proposed after his own accident when he was in the Army. He felt he wasn't deserving and hence refused. But the significant point is- the encounter operation which took place, also happened after Veerkaran's accident- when he was in the hospital. So Dinesh isn't sure if Veerkaran even knew who was involved in the scam," informed Heera.
"Which means- Veerkaran didn't know whose lives he ruined," said Sagar. "I mean what he did was right and courageous. But it would have certainly ruined the lives of those officers- their career. So- may be- one or more of those officers took revenge on Veerkaran for their dismissal?"
"But why now? After what- 12 years? Why wait for so long to take revenge?" asked Vedant, wonder creasing his face. There was silence. "Any idea who the other person was, the officer who complained along with Veerkaran?"
"No Sir," replied Heera. "But now- we can be a little more certain that this incident could be the reason behind Veerkaran's murder. Revenge for ravaging careers!"
"I agree," said Ruby. "But we can't eliminate our first story. The murder could also have been because Veerkaran knew about the goof ups in the Kiran rape case- that Samar wasn't the actual culprit- knew who was behind the deceit and was going to blow the whistle. Hence he was silenced. This motive seems more strong according to me. Like Sir said, if those officers wanted to take revenge against Veerkaran, they had far too much time to have killed him in those 12 years."
Heera didn't contradict. "We are pretty sure that the Kiran rape case and Veerkaran's murder are connected due to Samar and Tejesh's involvment. Now, with the new details, let us assume the Army encounter and the murder is also connected. Then the person involved- the Army guy- he must be linked to the rape case too, right?"
"Ahh!! My head is spinning. We are confusing the case way too much," exclaimed Sagar.
"A and B are connected. C and B are connected. Hence A and C must be connected," said Charith.
"Let's keep it even more simple. For every murder there has to be a motive. The motive could be revenge or money," explained Vedant.
"Or jealously- or just pure hatred," added Ruby.
"Right! So- for our case- we can exclude money and may be even jealousy? That leaves us with revenge and hatred."
"Due to hatred, one might need revenge," said Ruby.
"Ok. Now we have two branches- Rape case and Army scam," said Vedant as he made a diagram.
"Our killer must be someone who must be connected to the rape case for sure and may be to both," said Sagar.
"Pragat doesn't match with any of the branches," said Vedant.
"Hariprasad?" asked Charith. "He is from the Army. May be he was the one involved in the scam?"
"And Veerkaran didn't know it was the guy whose career he doomed? Possible," said Vedant. "But he has been Veerkaran's neighbour for a very long time- from the time of the rape case at least. Waiting for 5 years to take revenge- doesn't add up."
"And he isn't involved in the rape case," said Heera.
"We don't have anyone else with Army background in our people of interest," said Ruby.
"May be it is Pragat. Any connection with Army? His father, brother- anyone?" asked Sagar.
"No. No connection with Army in the family. I am going through news archives now for anything interesting on him," replied Agastya.
"Sir! We can talk to Tejesh. He definitely knows who the mastermind. Case closed for us easily," stated Sagar.
"Oh yes we can do that," replied Vedant with false agreement. "But he is in the hospital now, faking his health. He was indeed injured in the shootout but not to the extent that he can't talk. The doctors have informed that he would be ready for questioning tomorrow. We can wait till tomorrow and get the truth. But..."
"Our deadline would be over," said Heera.
"That would be ridiculous!" remarked Sagar "I mean...We are so close to catching the killer. They can't be seriously thinking about deadlines and stuff now."
"We can't take chances, Sagar," said Vedant. "Tejesh is always there to point us towards the mastermind. He is a great witness for us. But let's do what we can to find the mastermind on our own accord within our deadline."
"Sir!" called someone standing by the door of the squad room. All eyes fell on him. There was a mild surprise on everyone's face. Vedant looked appalled.
"Please someone tell me it's not Vikram," he said indignantly.
"Sorry Sir. But I have something to inform. So..." said Vikram in a low voice. He looked at everyone scrupulously.
"You should have worn your invisibility cloak, Sir," asked Heera receiving a laugh from her colleagues except one.
"Invisibility cloak? What the hell is that?" asked Vedant irked.
"Oh God! You don't know invisibility cloak also, Sir? When are you going to enter the real world?" exclaimed Sagar jokingly.
"Sir, It's from Harry Potter," said Heera.
"Yes yes! I have heard of Harry Potter," replied Vedant.
"Oh! Thank God!" remarked Sagar.
"Can I come in?" asked Vikram walking inside the room even before Vedant could tell anything.
"Tell what you want to tell quickly and get yourself packing out of here. You don't know the risk you are bringing in by your presence" said Vedant seriously.
"I met the family of the man whom Vedant met at the hospital the night he was murdered. I thought may be Veerkaran told him something of importance. The man was a colleague of Veerkaran, a fellow Army officer. He served the Army in the same regiment as him. But now he is suffering from dementia. He couldn't tell anything relevant. But his brother was of great help. He gave me most of the details. So what's important for us is- this officer and Veerkaran had brought a scam to the eye of the Army superiors which led to some kind of an encounter operation. Later, they both were awarded for their bravery and sincerity. While he accepted, Veerkaran refused. But this incident had strengthened their friendship."
"That answers most of our unanswered questions," said Heera as she explained what she gathered from Dinesh to Vikram. "Did the brother say who were involved in the scam?" asked Heera.
"No. He said he has no clue about that. We tried asking the officer, but he couldn't understand anything. In fact, he believed he was in a space ship and we were blood sucking aliens."
"Sci-fi fan! Good," commented Sagar.
"From when is he suffering from dementia?" asked Vedant.
"Few years now. He had a major fall down the stairs of his house and from then he has been having problems with his memory," said Vikram.
"Veerkaran's Army life isn't getting us anywhere," said Sagar severely. "Yes he was involved in blowing up some scam. But that was years back. Taking revenge after so many years makes no sense. And we are never going to get our hands- not even tip of our fingers- on the Army records any time soon. This line of investigation is a complete waste of time," he paused before he continued in an infuriated tone. "We should focus on Pragat. Pragat and Tejesh are the guys who know our mastermind. Tejesh can't help us on time but Pragat can. Perhaps, Pragat is the mastermind himself. We should focus on him- Authority or No authority."
"Then bring me something against Pragat!" said Vedant sternly, eyes fixed on Sagar. "We all know Pragat is connected but we can't touch him without any evidence or witness against him. How many times should I have to tell that to you?"
Sagar stayed silent, jaws gripping tightly. The air suddenly turned tensed.
"Ruby! What about Raj Kapoor? Could he remember anything?" asked Vedant.
"Nothing substantial. The guy is a misleading drunkard. He couldn't remember the face of our mastermind clearly," replied Ruby. She took a paper from her table and read from it. "The man was tall- 5.10" or 5.11", deep grunt voice, very fit, didn't know the meaning of smile, was in a hurry, had cash ready in hand- Nothing useful. H-12 police have taken charge of the case and have taken Raj Kapoor under their wing for further enquiry."
"Is there a case in the first place for Rajesh's death? There is no body. We are going with the word of a drunkard." asked Vikram.
"We have to inform Rajesh's family anyway, which would mean Jeetenge Hum party would be informed and I am sure they would create a huge uproar out of this. It's better to file a case ourselves and begin investigation. Also- separate cases have to be filed for separate deaths," said Vedant. "Agastya! Where is the manager of New Life Group?"
"On his way. The COO isn't available- the Jeet guy you told me about. The manager is coming in a few minutes."
"What's the status with Michael's hunt? Our ATM guy," asked Vedant.
"Hunt is still on. He is definitely hiding. Railways stations, bus stands and airports have been notified. His friends and family are being questioned. Jeetenge Hum party members are being questioned too."
It was nearing 3 pm. The next few hours were probably the last few hours they had to deduce the mastermind. Leaving it for the next day, their last day, would be foolish. Vedant, in one corner of his heart, felt the case wouldn't be snatched away from his team considering the vast progress they had made in a short period. Handing over the case to another team and asking them to start from scratch would be ludicrous. It would be completely unfair to stick to the deadline challenge at that moment. There were chances of making hasty decisions. He could persuade the Commissioner and extend the deadline. He had that influence. But he wanted prove and show his team's metal. He wanted to show his team was capable to taking up any challenge and achieving it victoriously.
"Sir," called Heera. "What shall we do now?"
Vedant sat thoughtfully. Were all their efforts worth it? Should he still push his team to the edge? His team was ready for their next instructions. They hadn't given up. They still thought they had a chance to find the mastermind before time. They trusted his instincts and game plans.
"I think I may have something for you, Sir," said Agastya, saving the moment, pointing at his monitor.
"About time," said Sagar as the team moved to crowd around Agastya.
"There were nothing of interest relating to Pragat on the media in recent times. So I had to go through all the news archives. I found this article which seemed interesting. It's titled "Rags to Riches- But how?" The article questions Babu Chandra's (Owner of Moon Iron and Steel which appointed L&O to represent Samar in the rape case) ways of business and how he was able to bring his steel business to the top within a short period considering he didn't have great investments or tie ups with other companies. The author doubts the credibility of the business. He says he has an anonymous source who informs that Pragat Chandra (cousin of Babu Chandra) is involved in the selling of illegal firearms to the underworld and that's where all the investments to Babu's business came from. The author questions how Pragat got his hand on firearms and why the authorities haven't taken any action. In due course, Pragat opened his own Construction company which used his uncle's iron and steel for the most part. It was all a business profit tangle. The article never made news and was buried comfortably. I got in touch with the author who wrote the article. He has emailed his findings." Agastya clicked on the attachment to open a PDF. It ran upto 200 pages.
"200 pages!" exclaimed Sagar.
"Read and see if there is anything useful for us, Agastya," said Vedant. "But the good news is- we can now connect Pragat to the Army through the firearms business and hence to our case. The people who were incriminated in the scam could have been selling the firearms to Pragat. Probably they all got together to murder Veerkaran."
"Assuming this article is true," said Heera.
"Let us assume it is true for our own good. Do we get the chance to talk with Pragat based on this? An attempt at least?" asked Sagar.
"I'll put on a call. We need to meet Pragat just to check his alibi."
"He wasn't at the crime scene. So his alibi is going to check out," said Charith.
"Can't be sure of that," said Ruby.
"Akhilesh said Pragat wasn't at home. Let's see where he was then. We have to track down Hariprasad also. If he wasn't at home, then where was he?" asked Vedant.
"With Pragat, perhaps?" asked Sagar.
"That's probably the wildest speculation I have ever made. Connecting two complete strangers who possibly doesn't even know each other. But they are the ones we have for now," said Vedant. "Right! Our moves for the next few hours."
The team listened attentively.
"Vikram! Go home! That's final." Vikram nodded knowing it would be in vain to argue with Vedant. "Ruby. Meet Lohan and Shulya. I want to know what happened and why Lohan's van was used for disposing Rajesh's body. Take an officer with you."
Ruby nodded.
"Charith. Request for Army records on Hariprasad. Also get the records for the scam and the subsequent encounter operation. Heera, go to New Life Group and talk to the employees there and see if Veerkaran had any problems with anyone. Agastya! Keep digging what you can."
Sagar looked sceptically at his boss. He knew he annoyed his boss beyond the limit he should have. At the same time, he didn't expect his boss to take it seriously. He annoyed people deliberately because he knew it wouldn't backfire. He was right.
"Sagar, you with me for questioning Pragat. Need someone to irritate him and who better than you," said Vedant turning away with a slight smiling glance. "Get on guys! Meet here at 5.30 pm."
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New Life Group manager- Javed
"I was expecting to meet Mr Jeet," said Vedant as he took the seat against the manager of New Life Group. Javed, in his 50s, wearing a perfect black suit, sat confidently as if in a business meeting. He indeed meant business.
"Sorry Sir. He is unavailable. He is on a business trip. But he has offered to connect through Skype if it's alright with you," said Javed.
"Oh!" said Vedant in surprise. "That's- nice of him. I would definitely like to talk to him but after a few minutes. I am sure you know why you are here Mr Javed. What can you tell me about Veerkaran and his job?"
Javed instantly stretched his hand with a file which contained the details questioned. He also orated the same. "Mr Veerkaran Singh has been employed with New Life Group for over 8 years. He initially joined as a part time employee but later turned into a full time consultant. His specialisation was 'The role of self-motivation for a meaningful life'. He visited hospitals, old age homes, rehabilitation centres and prisons."
"What kind of a person was he? Did he have problems of any kind working for New Life?"
"Mr Veerkaran Singh was a very meticulous planner. That was what he was very well known for. Right from his notes to his delivery of speech, everything was planned according to the duration and audience. He was very punctual but lost his temper every time someone wasn't. He expected his colleagues to work like him which caused rift among the consultants. Few consultants didn't want to work with him especially when they had joint sessions to deliver. The arguments were strictly professional- nothing personal. He had recently sent his resignation email too. But before we could talk to him, he was dead," Javed spoke with no hesitation.
"Who received his resignation email? You?"
"No. Mr Jeet. He informed me and asked me to meet Veerkaran and talk to him."
"Did Veerkaran have any problems with Jeet?"
"Not to my knowledge. But I am hardly in office. I travel a lot. So I wouldn't be the right person to comment. But to the extent I know, they didn't hate each other."
"When did you last see Veerkaran?"
"Hmmm- About a month back. But he could have visited office after that."
"Right! Could you get Mr Jeet connected please?"
Javed effortlessly connected to Skype through his tablet and got Jeet on the screen within minutes. Vedant asked Javed to leave the room so that the conversation could be private.
"Hello Mr. Vashisht," said Jeet with a smile. He showed instant recognition. "How can I help you?"
"Your manager has answered most of my questions. I want to know if you knew Veerkaran from your Army days?"
"Not really," replied Jeet without deliberation. "I mean we both were in the Army, but we served different teams. I heard about him a lot but met him the first time only in NLG."
"Hmm- When did you- come out of the Army?"
"8 years back," replied Jeet.
"Why do you think Veerkaran resigned? We read his email. But the reason wasn't stated. It just said 'as per our discussion'. What was discussed?"
"He wasn't happy with the work environment. He had problems with company policies. We had arguments regarding it loads of times. But at the end, he said he couldn't work here anymore and hence he resigned."
"Did you try to talk him out of it?"
"Honestly- no. Many consultants in our company had problems with Veerkaran and hence his leaving was in a way of great help to me. After every session, there used to be complains about Veerkaran's way of working. So his resignation was a blessing to me. Don't get me wrong. I am just being practical. I have to look after the smooth operations of the company too. No place for relationships."
"Was there anyone in particular whom Veerkaran didn't get on well?"
"No one like that Sir. You have to understand that everyone are Ex-Army. Each one have their own principles which they would never let go. But they aren't kids to have fights. All was in good spirit."
"Where were you on the night Veerkaran was murdered?" asked Vedant as casually as the rest of the questions.
"You are asking for my alibi, Sir? Am I under any suspicion?" asked Jeet, curiosity colouring his face.
"No. But it would be of help to us to eliminate you. So?" replied Vedant responding with a smile.
"I was in a business meeting with a client," he replied with patent sincerity. "In the city. Client's office," he added.
Vedant glared at the face of Jeet on the screen. He didn't pry more and deliberately jumped to the next question.
"Where are you now, Mr Jeet?"
"In Tanpur. 3 hours away from our city. There is a rehabilitation center here. Just working out a deal with them."
"Great! Thanks for your time Mr. Jeet. Good luck with your deal."
"Contact me anytime Mr Vashisht. Will help in any way I can."
Vedant ceased the connection, took the tablet and left the room. He handed over the gadget to Javed, formally thanked him for his time.
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Pragat Chandra
The ting sound announced the tenants of the elevator that they had reached their destination. Letting the boss walk out first, Sagar followed behind looking around the surroundings with keen eyes. The officers of Special Branch were met with a sparkling reception entrance, decorated with bright white walls, and a shining white marble floor. A reception table headed the floor with two doors positioned on either sides behind the table. An attractive young girl dressed in a formal black suit guarded the entrance with her beaming smile, displaying her perfectly arranged teeth.
Vedant immediately turned to observe his subordinate. He expected to notice a change in Sagar's behaviour and his expectation was fulfilled. Sagar walked adjusting his collar and ruffling his hair to its actual position. A confident grin was stuck to his face and his eager eyes didn't let the girl's presence off his radar. Vedant smiled as he directed his sight back to his path.
Reaching the reception, Vedant did all the talking while Sagar did all the observing. Vedant had talked to the Commissioner regarding his need to meet Pragat. The Commissioner was very much reluctant to grant permission for the meeting but Vedant stood his ground. He wanted to know if Pragat had anything to do with the murder. He didn't have any vendetta against him. But having Pragat linked to almost every suspect in his list couldn't be ignored. The Commissioner had warned him not to blame Pragat for anything without evidence. It had to be proper questioning within the limits. Pragat held a high position in Jeetenge Hum Party and he didn't want the party members to shout foul play and create a media wreck. He adhered to Vedant's request and arranged a meeting with Pragat.
Vedant showed his ID card to the reception girl. "We have an appointment with Mr. Pragat Chandra."
"Yes. He is waiting for you," said the girl with a sweet voice. She pressed a button which summoned a uniformed office assistant entering from the right door. "Take them to Sir's room."
The assistant knocked the door and opened it and let the officers inside. Pragat was sitting behind a big wooden table located at the centre of the lavishly furnished room. Book shelves covered the walls and hosted hundreds of books neatly arranged. Behind the table stood a fish tank containing different coloured fishes which swam like they were dodging through the traffic. Pragat stood up and pointed his hand at the side where a huge sofa set stood. "Please take a seat."
Pragat wasn't like anything the officers imagined. Dressed in a blue casual turtle-neck T-shirt and black trousers, Pragat was someone whom would be marked as a man of wisdom. A smart looking man in his late 40s. Tall and fit for his age, the bass in his voice amazed the officers. Vedant and Sagar expected to see a stiff serious man displaying clear signs of disapproval over the meeting but the man in front was full of energy. He was smiling and was pleasant in his approach. Vedant and Sagar sat next to each other in the three seater rich sofa. Though taken back a little by the amiable atmosphere, they stood by their plan. They were there to question and get all the answers. It didn't matter if Pragat was god or devil.
"Tea- Coffee?" asked Pragat standing by his intercom on his table.
"No thanks," said Vedant before Sagar could make any demands.
Pragat stood perched on the table, the smile not leaving his face. "The Commissioner said you had some questions for me. To be honest, I wasn't really happy with the way my son was dragged to your station. But I have always given my support to the police and their enquiries. Hence I didn't mind. I assume you think I am involved with your murder- I mean- your murder investigation in some way?"
Vedant nudged Sagar to take lead.
"Yes Sir," spoke Sagar instantly. "UHmm. We have found certain connections between you and our suspects and would like to clear our doubts. We know you are part of the Jeetenge Hum Party..."
"Am I here as the MD of Bright Builders or as a member of Jeetenge?" asked Pragat, sarcasm painting his tone.
"You can assume whichever role you want, Sir? For us, we need to question the man- Pragat Chandra. That's all," said Sagar with no qualms or hesitation.
The smile on Pragat's face struggle to stay at the answer but it sustained. The sharp cunning look on his face apparently went undisguised.
"So...You are an important member of the party. Do you communicate closely with all the party members?" questioned Sagar.
"What do you think? I am like the minister who doesn't show up in Parliament after winning the election? I work closely with my party members and their projects."
"Great! Very commendable," lauded Sagar. "In that case you would know Samar and Rajesh? The Lala brothers?"
Pragat took a moment to answer. "Yes. Of course I know. It's a shame. The things they have got themselves into."
"Do you know them personally?"
"What do you mean by personally?"
"Have they worked for you? For your company? For any of your companies?"
"No. They are party workers. And why will I employ them in my companies knowing they are criminals. Never," replied Pragat, patience slipping away slowly.
"AC Constructions is part of your empire?"
"Yes. It is. But my son and his friends take care of the operations. I don't interfere much."
"You didn't even interfere when your son employed Rajesh Lala as one of the board directors?" asked Sagar. Vedant was quietly observing the changes in Pragat's behaviour. "Yes. Mr Pragat?"
"Rajesh Lala? In my company? That's impossible," said Pragat gruffly.
Vedant pulled out a paper from the file he had brought along with him. He walked to Pragat and handed over the news snippet which contained an article about AC Constructions' tie up with another company and a picture of all the directors standing in a line. Vedant pointed at Rajesh's face in the standing flock.
"It says Mukesh Ambani not Rajesh Lala," said Pragat reading the citation below the picture.
"We aren't fools Sir. We noticed that too," said Sagar. He was deliberately driving on the edge. "Rajesh, after his release from the prison, had changed his name to Mukesh Ambani. We have his name change certificate. So- you didn't know Rajesh was working for your son's company?"
"No."
"How come your son didn't know whom he was employing? Didn't he run background checks?"
"My son is the CEO. Doing background checks isn't his work. He has lot more than that. HR must have made some mistake or Rajesh must have cheated in some way."
"I'll definitely ask you son," said Sagar with a clever smile. The game had began. Pragat felt vulnerable and Sagar could feel it. "Why did you want the keys to the AC Constructions' construction site, Mr Pragat?"
"Keys? What keys? I don't know anything about keys," replied Pragat emphatically.
"Come on Mr Pragat. Accept you knew what was going to happen? That's why you wanted the keys."
"Are you accusing me of murder, Mr...Whoever you are!" Pragat stood erect in anger and resentment.
"Murder? When did I say the keys were to the site where the murder happened? So you did know what keys I was talking about?"
Vedant decided it was time for double attack. "We have your secretary's statement which says you had asked her to fetch the construction site's keys for you. Your son confirmed that the secretary gave him the keys- he gave it to you- and the next day you returned it to him. Is your son lying, Mr Pragat?"
Tension swept Pragat. The smile vanished. "Oh! Those keys! I remember," he lied clearly, his head downcast. "It was the wrong keys. I had asked for the keys for a different location. So I returned to my son the next day. I didn't use it."
"How did you know the keys were the wrong ones?" asked Sagar.
"I know how the right ones look," Pragat replied promptly.
Vedant and Sagar smiled triumphantly. The answers weren't conclusive. It wouldn't stand strongly in court.
"Do you know Tejesh or Tejpal? He was a friend of the Lala brothers. He was also convicted in the rape case?" Sagar continued his questions.
"What do you think about me?" asked Pragat with disgust. "I don't deal with those kind of people. I find your questions inappropriate."
"Sorry sorry!" said Sagar with a wide smile, raising his hand in surrender, which irritated Pragat even more.
"Is that all?" asked Pragat. "I have loads of other appointments."
"I am sure you have heard of Veerkaran Singh who was murdered," said Vedant, not giving ear to Pragat's interruption.
"Yes. I know- that's the reason you are here," said Pragat displaying frustration and boredom.
"Did you know he worked for the New Life Group?"
"No. I didn't. I didn't know who he was or what he did until you guys dragged me and my son into your enquiries."
"Where were you on the night he was murdered, Mr Pragat?" Sagar finally came to the eventual question.
"At home," he replied casually.
"But your son told me you were not at home," said Vedant with raised eyebrows in question.
Pragat looked as if he had seen a ghost. Still and transfixed.
"Sir," called Sagar.
"Oh! Yes yes," changed Pragat. He rubbed his eyes and face buying time to think. "Ahhmmm- I was at a meeting with a client. Yes. I remember. I got a little confused with the dates. I was at a client meeting that day."
"At 1 am?" asked Sagar. "You have meetings at 1 am in the morning?"
Pragat could feel the officers were cornering him.
"Am I under some suspicion? Why are you asking where I was at the time of murder?" asked Pragat truculently. "I am sorry. I am not going to answer any more questions without my lawyer."
"Thought so," commented Sagar looking at his boss.
"We are just eliminating people from our enquiry Sir, so that we can proceed with our investigation," said Vedant calmly. "Your son told me he was at home watching some match. You said you were at a client meeting. We aren't saying you are lying Sir. Understand that we have to question every one of them who get involved in our enquiries."
"Alright," replied Pragat. "I have told you. I was in a meeting with a client. Our meetings run through the night sometimes. Business is not easy to run you see."
"Of course! Who was at the meeting, Sir? Your client?" asked Vedant.
"Mr Jeet. He works for New Life Group."
"The company for whom Veerkaran worked?" Sagar was surprised.
"It seems so now," said Pragat. "If you would excuse me please, I have to leave for another meeting now." Pragat pointed at the door. He didn't care if the officers had more questions but he had had enough.
"Thanks for your time," said Vedant as both the officers left without another word.
Outside the building, Vedant and Sagar stood by their car. The clouds were gathering for their dark thundering musical. Vedant felt a shiver go down his spine when the cold breeze hit his face.
"So Pragat was with Jeet at the time of murder," said Sagar standing by the passenger door of the SUV.
"Jeet also said he was at a meeting at the time of murder. Possibly with Pragat?" said Vedant.
"That would mean, neither of them could be our mastermind," said Sagar with a slight grimace.
"Or- both are lying!"
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Edited by Shwets1502 - 9 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
