Abhinav

Part 22 - Seek

Abhinav stood in Principal Madam 's office which was cramped by the police and Birlas and Sharmas and school staff. A security CCTV footage was being played where it seemed that the bell signaling the end of the school session had rung. There was no audio, only video.
Students ran out of the classrooms in the hundreds, glee on their faces and the Police Inspector asked for the video to be slowed down in order to recognise Abhir in the crowd. Parents were waiting just outside of the school gates, gossiping and complaining and leaving with their kids on foot and in cars.

'Maa, where are you? Where is Kalyan ji?', asked Abhimanyu, looking intently at the scene. Kalyan ji was Mrs. Manjiri's car driver.
Manjari answered defensively, 'I couldn't go to the school to receive Abhir today. Shefali and Parth were having a huge argument and I had to be present to handle the situation. Didi had duty in Birla Hospital today. I had sent Kalyan ji. But..'
'But what?', asked Abhimanyu, sounding angry.
'Abhimanyu, this isn't my fault! I had told Kalyan ji to receive Abhir but then Shivansh called from school as he had got suspended and I had to sent Kalyan ji there to get him. Abhir is independent, used to taking care of himself, how would Shivansh manage to come home alone? I would have never chosen Shivansh over Abhir but Shefali and Parth heard the conversation and I had to do it'.
Abhinav felt repulsed listening to this. Choosing between grandchildren? What environment was being provided to children in Birla House. Ruhi was such a good child that Abhinav now realised that he had underestimated how much of  that was the sole influence of Aarohi's upbringing on her.

Finally, Abhir appeared on the screen and Abhinav's heart beat in double time. Akshara's Kanha ji, give all my happiness to Abhir and give me all of his sorrows. Abhir was alone and walked disinterested till the gate. He looked around for the Birla car but was not surprised to not find it there. Akshara's mouth grew into a thin line and Abhinav knew that Akshara was thinking the same thing that he was. Abhinav turned his full attention to the screen again and saw Abhir walk out of the school premises in the direction of Birla House. A car stopped near the pavement, a burly man got out, grabbed Abhir and shoved him in the car. Abhinav shouted a pointless warning in reflex.
'Pause it here, zoom, zoom', instructed the Inspector as Akshara turned towards Abhinav, her face white. Abhinav nodded with a reassurance he didn't feel and moved closer to the screen. The nameplate of the car was covered with mud. The burly man had an obviously fake mustache and beard on. As Abhir had walked some distance out of the school gate, the CCTV didn't have a very clear footage. The driver was hazily reflected in the mirror of the car.

'Inspector, what has happened with my son?'.
'Don't worry, Madam. This footage is good for us. Our artist will get to work immediately. Soon, we will know the faces of both the men'.
'Why my Abhir, Inspector? Who are these people?', asked Akshara, her voice reflecting her dread.
'Kidnappers. They probably learnt that Miss Jain was unwell and found an opportunity to make ransom money from the rich students of this elite school. These kidnappers are always in the lookout for soft targets. Lonely kids with indifferent parents..'.
Akshara flinched as though slapped and the Inspector backtracked. 'I didn't mean it that way, Mrs. Sharma. All the same, the kidnappers must have known that no one was coming to collect Master Abhir from school. I have to rush back to the station and get hold of the artist. Police Commissioner Sir is taking a personal interest in this because of Mr. Goenka and Mrs. Birla. I will keep everyone updated'.
The Inspector and his staff took their leave.

Miss Jain looked flustered and angry and said defensively, 'Mr. Birla, Mrs. Sharma, I was already not in favour of granting admission to Master Abhir. I was right, the adjustment was too stressful for the kid. You both assured me that Abhir's every need would be taken care of, that he would be a model student. My school's name is going to get dragged to the mud tomorrow. I can already imagine the headlines! The Board of Directors will be at my throat when my health is already poor! Mrs. Birla, I had personally informed you about Abhir's performance and behaviour and you took no heed. Why do parents have children when they can't look after them?'.
'Dont cross your limits, Tara! My son is the best father in the world. These shameless Sharmas are respons...'

Abhinav caught Akshara's hand and pulled her out of the office. Mrs. Manjari could rant all she wanted, they had to find their Abhir.
'Abhinav, why didn't the ransom call come? We will pay whatever is asked, any amount.. why didn't the demand for money come?'.
'I can't understand anything, Akshara! There is nothing left here except blame games. We should stay close to the Inspector. Let's see the artist sketches. You go to the police station and I will talk to the driver network. Bade Papa and Aarohi ji will let us know if any ransom call comes or anything else'.

Akshara hurried outside with Abhinav, where she took the car to the police station. Abhinav watched her go and walked to a line of taxis, the drivers asleep in some of them. A particular driver was singing along to music, looking friendly and talkative and Abhinav got in.

'Where to, Bhaiyya?'.
Nikkeji, I am coming.