TRIAL AND ERROR - CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 5

Hello! Do you remember me? It has been four months since I had written the previous chapter. Sincere apologies. I hope I won’t start the upcoming chapters with apologies in future. I’ll try to be regular hereafter. Okay, I will start… And new readers, feel free to ask me doubts regarding the previous chapters… So maybe this time, I’ll give a simple chapter... Read it patiently… I’ll see you in the end.

Special note: If you ever felt this chapter boring, you are always welcome to hit me badly 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
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Recap: Daya gets accused for Abhijeet’s murder. ACP Pradyuman gets an order to encounter Daya but gets injured as the jeep blasts at the encounter spot. CID officers get mysterious notes at different intervals. ACP Pradyuman later gets suspension order in the hospital, and gets accused for having illegal money worth five hundred crores. Some people want ACP Pradyuman dead, but he goes missing from the hospital. A software engineer gets kidnapped from a renowned software company. In a strange place, ACP Pradyuman finds a note written with blood in a handkerchief.
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CITY HOSPITAL

Morning 4:00 AM

The CBI team was keen investigating the hospital and the security arrangements were made tight. Reporters from various news channels were gathered outside the hospital premises to collect information regarding ACP Pradyuman’s disappearance. Rajashekhar and his team mates approached towards the group of reporters. Their face reflected disappointment since they could never got any lead. As they moved forward, reporters rushed with curiosity and started to bombard the officers with their questions.

Reporter 1: Sir, CID officer ACP Pradyuman had been missing from this hospital. It is said that he was under the custody of CBI team. What do you have to say regarding this sir?

Rajashekhar: This appears to be a big plan by some anti - social elements. We are investigating the case keenly.

Reporter 2: Is it not a disgrace to CBI? When an accused goes missing from your custody?

ACP Pradyuman is also one of the reputed officer in CID, so what do you have to say about this? You have alleged him of being corrupt. Has he outwitted CBI team?

Rajashekhar got furious to hear such a question but he managed to maintain his decorum.

He said, "No further comments." And rushed away from the hospital with his team, cutting the crowd of reporters.

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Place: Jungle

Morning 4:00 AM

The sky was still lit by the moon, as it was a full moon previous night. As if the moon light was giving some hope in the darkness. And the dawn was about to arrive to reveal something new, something different. The sky stood still, silently foreshadowing the future of ACP Pradyuman.

ACP Pradyuman was wondering how he was there. He felt restless since he found everything to be strange around him. He was sitting on a rock gazing at the campfire. He still felt the ache caused by those injuries, but the confusion in his mind and an untold pain in the heart was much more. He was tightly holding the handkerchief in his hand, and was in a deep thought.

Suddenly a figure was seemingly approaching towards him. ACP Pradyuman came back to his senses, and after finding the strange figure coming closer to him, he rushed towards the campfire and pulled a burning log from it, and walked fast towards the figure and attempted to beat him.

The figure in front of him screamed, "Baba, please don't hit me!" The fire light revealed the person's face. That person's age was around 35 to 40. He had an improperly combed hair, with a thick moustache on his face. He had a small scar near his forehead. He was wearing a faded dirty shirt and a lungi... With an old red towel around his neck. He was neither fat nor thin, neither short nor too tall.

Pradyuman calmed down for a moment, but he was still in a shock. Holding the log tightly, he asked, "Who are you?"

The man replied, “Baba, My name is Suraj. I’m a lorry driver. I have made the tent here. My lorry had some technical trouble and I had to get it repaired so that I can deliver the goods on time. I had to wait all along to get my lorry repaired, that’s why I came late”.

Pradyuman replied in an irritated tone, “So was it you who kidnapped me from hospital? How dare you? Who ordered you to kidnap me? Huh......” He again raised the log to beat him. Suraj interrupted by holding Pradyuman’s hand and said, “Baba, please calm down… I don’t know anything. I was driving all along the highway. I just got down to pee… Suddenly I saw something, lying on the road. When I went closer, it was you, lying unconscious. I couldn’t understand anything for a while. Somehow I managed to lift you up and made you sit in my vehicle. Then the rest I had told you already, Baba!”

Pradyuman seemed to be sceptical about Suraj’s words but he decided to know about him by moving along with him. But he still had some irritation, so he continued to speak in an irritated tone, “Don’t lie to me. Do you know who I am? By the way, stop calling me baba!”

Suraj smiled at him and said, “Baba, You’re ACP Pradyuman of CID, right?”

Pradyuman got little surprised and asked, “How do you know?” Suraj replied, “I have heard a lot about you. I have more respect for you. Your face reminds me of my deceased father.” Few tears dropped from his eyes as well.

And he continued, “I found your name in your ID card. Policemen are always sceptical. I know right. Even if you hate me or kill me, I never mind. But for me, you’re my Baba. Because I used to call my father like that.”

Pradyuman remained silent, and later he spoke, “You’re smart. Nobody said without a reason, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’. Nowadays people are just leaving their parents in old age homes. I’m totally happy to know about the respect you have on your father.” He walked slowly and sat on the rock.

Suraj went near Pradyuman and said, "Baba, if you don't mind, stay at my house, you need some good rest. You're looking so tired. I'll drop you at my home. If you want to go out, you can go out anywhere, but please make sure to come back home. For me it's as if my father came back from heaven. I lost my father at very young age. I used to be a bright student. But I couldn't study further because of his death. Now days passed by, and I don't have anyone called family. Now I found you. I'll be really happy and grateful for you lifelong. Please! First of all, wash your face with water, and get into my vehicle. I'll drop you at my home, which is on the way. Later I will take the goods to be delivered. Please, Baba!"

Pradyuman wondered whether to trust Suraj or not. But he had some plans in his mind, so he needed a shelter, and somehow reluctantly agreed to go with Suraj. He washed his face and started walking towards the lorry. As Suraj got into it, he gave hand to Pradyuman and made him sit inside the lorry. The vehicle started its journey.

As Pradyuman closed his eyes, his thoughts rushed to take him back to another painful day in his life.

FLASHBACK

Few Months ago…

ACP Pradyuman had been a part of the 15 day training programme as a special instructor in Police academy, in Delhi. It was the final day, and he had delivered his last lecture of the day. He reached his room and relaxed for a moment. His mobile was blinking on the table to show something really important. As he picked up the mobile, he found two missed calls from Abhijeet. When he called back, Abhijeet took the phone in next ring.

Abhijeet (rushing voice): Hello

ACP: Hello, Abhijeet

Abhijeet: Sir, how are you?

ACP: I’m fine. What about you? Is everything fine there?

Abhijeet: Ye…Ye…Yes, sir.

ACP: Abhijeet… Are you alright? Are you trying to hide something from me?

Abhijeet: No sir… Nothing like that… I’m just waiting for your arrival… Everything can’t be conveyed in mobile, sir…

ACP (after thinking for a while): Okay Abhijeet… Don’t worry… I’ll be back by tomorrow morning… Take care, Abhijeet.

Abhijeet: Yes sir, Take care… I’m terribly waiting for your arrival. Bye, sir.

Abhijeet hanged up the call. ACP Pradyuman never knew that those words would be the last words of his beloved officer… His beloved son… Who took his stand for him many times, who has shielded him from enemies, who was obedient to his words, with a great respect for him, will be turning into ashes… A few hours interval was all set to reveal the hard hitting truth…

AIRPORT

ACP Pradyuman was thinking about reaching Mumbai. A strange feeling, a kind of restlessness was haunting him since the moment he spoke with Abhijeet. That was a simple conversation, but it never appeared to be simple. All he could think was, Abhijeet had hidden something from him, but he couldn’t figure out. Was it a premonition? About something bizarre and intolerable? Time was waiting to answer its part.

Phone buzzed in his pocket. Pradyuman was keeping the bluetooth speaker on, as if he was waiting for someone to call him… He immediately switched on and said “Hello”…..

Freddy (crying): Sir, please forgive us!

ACP: Hello, Freddy…. Why? What happened?

Freddy (crying in a loud manner): Sir, Abhijeet…Abhijeet sir…

ACP: Abhijeet? What happened to Abhijeet?

Freddy (crying): Sir… Abhijeet sir is dead!

ACP (in a screaming tone): What? Have you gone mad? No, I won’t believe it! Who’s next to you? Give phone to the person next to you! Where is Daya?

Freddy gave his phone to Pankaj who was also crying and told, “Sir is not believing me! You speak to him…”

Pankaj (crying): Sir, I’m Pankaj speaking… What Freddy sir said is true! We didn’t find his corpse, but his ashes! We couldn’t even reach Daya sir….

Pankaj burst out into tears, out of control…. And handed the mobile over to Purvi…

Purvi (in a low tone, crying): Sir, Abhijeet sir told that an informer was waiting to meet him. So he left the bureau and we were investigating another crime scene. We never knew that all these mishaps would take place. We’re extremely sorry sir….

Dr. Salunkhe silently came near her, gave a pat on her shoulder and said in a low tone, “Calm down, Purvi… I’ll talk to him…” and took the phone from her hand. He placed the mobile in his ear, with few tears in eyes and said, “Boss, you come back safely. I can’t say everything now itself. We’ll reveal you everything once you have reached here. Be strong. Take care.”

ACP Pradyuman who was sitting like a statue, hearing everything which he was not supposed to hear, said in a low tone, “Okay, I’ll be back soon” and ended the call. For few minutes, he never moved an inch, but tear were rolling from eyes, that were glistening his cheeks. He closed his eyes and started recollecting every moment he spent with his beloved son……


Suddenly he heard a person coughing terribly, nearby him… Pradyuman opened his eyes, and realized that he was inside the lorry and it was Suraj who was coughing. His cough brought Pradyuman back to the present. Pradyuman felt as if everything happened like a dream or rather say nightmare… He immediately asked Suraj, “Suraj, why are you coughing?” Suraj replied with a smile, “Nothing Baba, I’m having cold…” and continued driving. At a place he stopped the vehicle and said, “Baba, the vehicle can’t go beyond this, we’ll get down and walk, my home is 5 minutes away from here. Let’s go…” and both of them got down from the vehicle. They walked down the streets. Pradyuman remained silent, but kept staring at Suraj once in a while.

It was a typical house which was more than 20 years old. Suraj unlocked the door and led Pradyuman into a bedroom and said, “Baba, it’s already getting late to me. Take good rest. Once you’re alright, you can go anywhere. I’ll come back in five days. You can get whatever you want from here. Take care, baba” and he walked. Pradyuman was silently staring at Suraj. Suraj who walked towards the entrance, stopped for a second, turned towards Pradyuman and smiled with a smirk. Pradyuman was staring at the handkerchief again, which had a note on it.

CID BUREAU

Morning 7:00 AM

Purvi, Pankaj and Freddy were sitting silent in their seats. All were worried about something. All were aware about ACP Pradyuman’s disappearance. Freddy suddenly wrote something in a paper and kept it on Purvi’s table. Purvi read the paper. It was written something like “Come to dark room with torch, don’t carry anything else. Do it secretly”. Purvi understood it and passed the paper to Pankaj. Pankaj read it and made an excuse, “Purvi, I’ll go to wash room and come… He immediately ran into wash room, burnt the paper with a cigarette lighter, flushed it in pan and came back. Few minutes later, three of them assembled in the dark room. The dark room was completely dark and audio proof as well.

Purvi asked Freddy, “Sir, what happened?” Freddy took the paper slowly from his pocket and said, “I got this when we were in hospital” and showed it to Purvi which had the lines written below…

WALLS MAY HAVE EYES
HANDS MAY HAVE MIRRORS
LIGHT CAN BE DANGEROUS
SILENCE HAS THE POWER

Purvi thought for a while and started guessing it… “Wall have eyes… Maybe CCTV cameras or spy cameras… Hands may have mirrors… What if they’re mobile phones? But these last two lines seems cryptic…”

Freddy said, “Yes Purvi you’re right. I had understood this when I went back home. Looks like somebody is keenly watching and noticing our activities.” Pankaj replied, “Yes, maybe” and turned towards Purvi, who was looking at them silently. Pankaj asked her in a surprised tone, “What happened Purvi?” Purvi replied, “I too got a mysterious note from the hospital” and showed the paper which read

“EASY AS IF SAID – REMOVE THE EYES”

Purvi continued, “I finally cracked the message behind this by changing the order of letters and removing few letters. According to that, Daya sir is safe.” Freddy and Pankaj opened their mouth in shock and surprise. Pankaj said, “Then I too have something to say. I got a message from a private number when we started to return from the hospital and said the below lines,

"SUN CAN BE HIDDEN BY THE CLOUDS,

BUT WIND IS ENOUGH TO BLOW THEM OFF"

Pankaj continued, “I couldn’t understand the message, but I guess maybe this must be something related to ACP sir’s disappearance.” Freddy said, “Maybe or may not be, but did you notice one thing? All these notes we got are from the hospital. There must be someone who had been secretly taking note of our activities.

Purvi said, “All these mysteries began with Abhijeet sir’s death. Daya sir would have never killed Abhijeet sir for sure. Now ACP sir is missing… That encounter… Definitely there’s something behind all these things. We have to find out the mystery.” Pankaj said, “We cannot handle this, because CID is restricted from investigating this particular case.”

Freddy said, “No Pankaj, we must do something. We must find justice for our seniors. Now we don’t have ACP sir too. We have to search for him and Daya sir too. We must meet Daya sir to know the truth. We were silent all these days because of ACP sir. Now it is time for us to act. Without anybody’s knowledge.” Purvi and Pankaj were surprised and happy about Freddy’s words. Pankaj hugged Freddy for a minute, and the three left the dark room with determination.

Freddy, Purvi and Pankaj got back to their seats. The landline phone on the desk started ringing. Pankaj picked the call.

Pankaj: Hello, Sub Inspector Pankaj, CID bureau.

Voice: Sir, I’m Inspector Karan from Juhu Police station

Pankaj: Yes.

Karan: Sir, a software engineer named Siddharth is missing from his company called “Infinity solutions”

Pankaj: Okay, forward us the details, we will follow up the case.

Karan: Sure, I’ll get back to you with details in few minutes.

Pankaj ended the call. When he got up casually from his seat, he found some shadow in ACP’s cabin. He signalled Freddy and Purvi to follow him towards ACP’s cabin. They rushed with their guns and opened the cabin, only to get shocked after seeing a man sitting on ACP Pradyuman’s chair.

Pankaj: Sir you?

Voice: Yes it’s me, DCP Chitrole. Now your ACP Pradyuman had went into hiding somewhere. CBI is seriously searching for him. Till then, I will be your reporting boss. I have the order of high commands with me. Now you’re supposed to report all cases to me and only me. I am also supposed to have surveillance on you people. Who knows, even you people may be responsible for Pradyuman’s disappearance.

Freddy: Do you think that we’re behind ACP sir’s disappearance?

DCP Chitrole: See you know about me right… I don’t trust people easily. Now I don’t want any explanations. I’ll give you three hours’ time. I need all the current case files on my table. Now I’m going for a meeting at headquarters.

Freddy, Purvi and Pankaj were looking each other with confusion. DCP Chitrole left the bureau and went somewhere in his car. He got a call from a private number in his mobile. When he said hello, the voice on the other side spoke, “Is everything going according to the plan?” He replied in a low tone, “Yes.” The voice on the other side, “If anything goes wrong, you’ll have to face the consequences, mind it”, and the call got hanged up.


To be continued…
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Done with the chapter for now. Some mixed emotions. Some suspense. Still you may have many questions in your mind. Everything will be answered one by one. I hope I didn’t bore you this time. My next update will come soon. First of all, I would like to thank for the patience and faith you have in me. Hope you all like my comeback. Do drop in your comments on this chapter. Long reviews are highly welcome. Sincere apologies for the long delay as well as mistakes in advance… See you soon friends… Love you all to the core!