Game Plan

Part 47: Komolika

"What?",came Nivedita's shocked reply,"Komolika hospital mein hai!Kya hua?". Anurag replied,"Ved ne bataya ke uska uske cellmates ke Saath jhagra hua tha, aur unke beech hatha paayi ho gayi. Komolika ko serious injury ho gayi hai woh bol Raha tha.". Nivedita smirked at this and said," Maine kabhi nahi socha tha ke judge ke faisle se bhi pehle Komolika ko uske kiye ki sazaa mil jayegi. I guess Karma really is a-". Nivedita stopped midway. She appeared to be deep in thought. She finally said,"Onu usse injury sach mein huyi hai ki nahi tum Ved se Woh pehle check karao.". Anurag frowned and replied," I don't know yeh uska jail se bachne ka game plan hai ki kya hai...But surely...usse bhi pata hoga ke yeh sab karke Woh zyada din Nahi bach Sakti. After all humare paas Uske khilaaf proof hai.". Nivedita replied,"Shayad, woh darri huyi hai, iss liye yeh sab desperate games khel rahi hai...Jo bhi ho, Onu this time we must be careful with her. Shayad woh jaan bujhke injure huyi hai...Oh God! Onu! What if yeh uska koi plan hai jail se bhaagne Ka?Pehle usne jail mein jhagra kiya, injury ke bahane jail ki high security se bach nikli, aur ab shayad woh hospital se bhaag jayegi?". Horror crossed Anurag's face as he imagined the havoc Komolika would cause to their lives if she was free. If Nivedita's conjecture proved to be correct. "Aisa Nahi ho sakta",Anurag said as much to himself as to Nivedita,"No! Iss baar Komolika hume hurt nahi kar Sakti. Main aisa hone nahi dunga.". Saying this, he stormed out of the office.

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Ved Roy waited outside the police station, waiting for his special police informant to give him a rundown of what transpired between Komolika and her inmates. He yawned. He badly needed to sleep. Ever since he returned from Delhi after visiting Ronit, Ved just couldn't sleep. Ronit wasn't in Kolkata causing any trouble. Somehow he found it hard to believe. It just wasn't Ronit's style. And that aroused Ved's suspicion. What made him nervous and kept him awake at nights was that there wasn't any evidence or behaviour which supported his suspicion. It meant that either Ronit was being extremely careful or that Ved was finally going crazy. He was being over suspicious without any reason. It was, he believed, the worst trait of a detective. And the ultimate reason behind their downfall. On a hunch, he dialed Ronit's number. The phone rang for a few times, until someone picked up from the other end,"Bol?", Ronit Chaubey answered. Ved raised his eyebrows and said,"Main Ved baat Kar Raha Hu."
Ronit replied impatiently,"Ha pata hai bol!". Ved replied,"Kamaal hai, tujhe pata hai mera phone hai phir bhi tune phone uthaya.". "Phone to mujhe uthana hi tha", Ronit replied sarcastically,"Warna tu aur meri woh annoying behen mujhpe shak karte huye Delhi tak aa jaate hai. Aur mere se ek aur family reunion bardasht nahi hoga.". Ved looked down and said,"Fair enough. Maine bas yeh kehne ke liye phone kiya hai ki tumhari behen hospitalised hai.". "Kya hua Mishka ko?",Ronit asked quickly. Ved detected a hint of concern on his voice. It gave him a sense of relief. "Main Komolika ki baat kar raha hu.",Ved replied. "Oh", Ronit said,"Kaise hua?". This time, his voice was clipped, almost unemotional. "Uska aur uske cell mates ke beech hatha paayi huyi thi.". Ronit sighed and said,"Jinn logo ki pehle aukaat bhi nahi thi humse nazre milaane ki aaj woh hum par haath utha rahe hai.". Saying this Ronit hung up. Ved looked down at his phone still confused. He opened his tracking app to check Ronit's whereabouts. It placed Ronit in the college cafeteria. Ved gave a sigh of relief. If Ronit even dared to set foot in Kolkata, Ved would know. Ved looked up to see Constable Ghosh coming out of the police station. Their eyes met, the constable nodded and Ved quietly left the police station. Fifteen minutes later, both the men met at a small tea stall a little farther from the police station. Sitting in the small wooden bench  Constable Ghosh nervously looked around to see  if any known faces were present. The police did not like their own people interacting with interlopers like private detectives and press. Ved offered him a cream roll and said,"Yeh lo". Ghosh took a bite of the cream roll. "Kya hua tha Komolika ke Saath?",Ved asked. Constable Ghosh looked at Ved crossly, his mouth was full with the cream roll. Hastily, he swallowed it before saying,"Aap yun baar baar aise thane matt aaiye! Sir log ko humpe shaq ho jaayega". Ved smiled,"Main nahi aata agar aap mera phone uthate to.".  The constable replied,"Aapka phone uthana khatre se khaali nahi hai. Agar pakde gaye to humari naukri jaayegi.". Ved replied,"Aap mere liye Jo bhi karte hai main usko appreciate karta hu.". Ved held out a Rs. 500 note,"Yeh lijiye",he said,"Agar information achchi huyi to iska double dunga. Iss hi visit ke liye.". The constable looked around to see if anyone was watching and then quickly pocketed the Rs.500 note. He answered,"Aaj naashte ke baad Komolika ki duty thi backyard mein. Uske saath Ashwini naam ki ek qaidi bhi thi duty mein, woh wohi qaidi hai jiska Komolika se pehle jhagra hua tha aur uske baad woh hospitalise bhi huyi thi.....shayad aaj usne apne injury ka badla liya.". Ved raised his brows,"Uske injury ke peechhe Komolika thi, uska koi proof mila tum logo ko?". Ghosh shook his head and said,"Nahi, aapne kaha unhone Mishkaji se yeh bola, iss liye keh raha hu.". Ved sighed,"Aaj kya hua?". Ghosh answered,"Aaj Dus baje uski duty thi, Ashwini aur baaki do qaidiyon ke saath, unke saath ek lady constable bhi thi. Kissi kaam ke wajah se humari constable to unhe akela chhorna para, uske kuch minute baad hi backyard se Komolika ki cheekhne ki awaz aane laagi. Humne jaakar dekha ke woh zameen pe pari huyi thi aur Ashwini  usse bohot buri tarah se maar rahi thi. Uske saathiyo ne Komolika ka haath paer pakad kar rakha tha.". Ved asked, "Jhagre ki wajah kya thi?". The Constable replied,"Komolika bata rahi thi ke Ashwini baar baar uska rasta rok rahi thi, usse kaam nahi karne de rahi thi, Komolika ne apne bachaav mein usse dhakka diya, aur phir Ashwini aur uske saathiyo ne usse gher liya...uske baad ka to maine aapko bata diya hai.". Ved asked curiously,"Yeh Ashwini kon hai?". Making noisy chewing noises, Ghosh said,"Woh drug dealer hai. Last teen saal se iss jail mein hai. Chhote mote jhagre karti thi par, pehli baar usne itna bada jhagra kiya.". Ved asked,"Ashwini ki Komolika ke peechhe lagne ki koi khaas wajah?". The constable shrugged,"Kuch keh nahi sakte...ek baar Komolika ke saath uska bed ko lekar jhagra hua, usne Komolika par haath uthaaya. Uske baad woh achanak seediyo se phisal kar gir gayi.". Ved opened his mouth to ask another question when the constable beat him to it,"Jab woh haadsa hua tab Komolika apne cell mein thi aur Ashwini ya kisi bhi qaidi ne Komolika ka naam nahi liya.". Ved let out a frustrated sigh. There was complete silence between the two men. Realising that Ved's questions were at an end, the Constable ate his cream roll with relish. Suddenly Ved said,"Komolika ki hearing hai dus mein.". The Constable shook and said, with surety"Postpone ho Jayega" Ved turned his head to look at him "Injury serious itna serious hai kya?". The constable was about to take the last bite of  his cream roll when Ved asked this question. His hand carrying the roll stopped mid air. He gave Ved a reproachful look before putting the last bit of roll in his mouth. Licking the cream off his fingers he said, "Injury kitni serious thi woh to doctors bataa sakenge, magar uska chehra ab pehle jaisa nahi rahega".
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