They are just bringing people with whom he had some issues in the past. They obviously will speak against him."
Abhijit says to Tanushree. He along with Sidharth are in her chamber discussing the case.
Tanushree smiles, "Isn't it obvious, Abhijit? Bhaskar Ganguly does have anything on him. We will get the verdict in our favour for sure. Just one more day for the defence to present their evidence, then the court will take some time to give judgement. I am waiting for the list of witnesses for the next hearing. "
There's a knock on the door and a young guy in white shirt, dark rimmed glasses enters the room and gives her a sheet of paper.
Tanushree goes through them and says, "Who is Subir Mehta? Ajay Mehta's son?"
"Yes. An old friend."
"Looks like he has turned foe. He is on the witness list."
Sidharth smiles, "I made him shave his head after winning a challenge. I guess he hasn't forgotten it yet."
Abhijit turns to see him and Tanushree lifts her eyebrows after hearing it.
"I know. That was a different time, I was a different person."
"Hmm.. What about Sameer Goenka?"
"Same. Punched him as he talked rubbish about my.. about Basundhara."
"Hmm.. Trilok Roy?"
"My manager. I think he has sold himself to them."
"We need to discuss your relations with him. We need to be prepared for that. And I need detailed information on your old friends turned enemies. Hmm.. Who is Naresh Singh Bagwari?"
Sidharth replies, "I don't know anyone by this name."
Tanushree says, "He appears to be from Uttrakhand. He must be from the same village where you were living. Try to think again and tell me. You could have met him once when you were there."
Sidharth tries to think and then says, "I don't remember meeting any Naresh when I was living there. Maybe I have met him but I don't remember anyone giving his name as Naresh."
"He is on the list. Don't worry, I will dig into this."
Tanushree sits down after asking her questions to the third witness of the day, Trilok Roy. He could not stand in front of her questioning and it was clear that the defence were not winning that day.
Bhaskar then stands up and calls his next witness Naresh Singh Bagwari. A man in his 30s gets up on the witness stand. He is fair, is of average height and health. He has curly hair, cut short and a thin moustache. He wears a simple striped shirt with brown trousers and slippers.
Bhaskar says, "Please give your introduction to the court."
The man joins his hands and makes a quick namaste to the judge.
"Nirmal Singh Bagwari, father's name Ravi Singh Bagwari, village- Champagaon, District-Chapawan, Uttarakhand."
Sidharth whispers to Tanushree, "He is Ravi Kaka's son. But I had never met him in the village."
Tanushree asks, "Did you ever meet him?"
"I think.. I met him a few days back. He worked as a security guard at.. Choti mom's place."
Saivi and Shehnaaz stare at him.
"Okay Naresh, can you tell the court if you recognize that man sitting there?"
Bhaskar points at Sidharth and Naresh turns to see him.
"Yes. He is Ratan Kumar. He is from my village. I know him well."
"Did you meet him after he returned to the village?"
"No. I haven't been home for years now."
"Ratan Kumar left the village when he was 12 years old and this man returned after 18 years. He was present in the village for three years during which you didn't return. Then how can you claim that you know this man and he is in fact Ratan Kumar?"
Naresh nods his head, "Sir, I can say that because he and I had left home together."
There's a murmur in the court and the judge orders everyone to stay silent.
"Can you please explain to the court what exactly is the story here?"
Saivi whispers, "Right. Story! He will start his story now."
Sidharth gives out a deep breath and steals a glance of Basundhara sitting on the other side.
"Mohan aur hum dost the aur cinema mein hero banna chahte the. We had planned to go to Mumbai someday. Ratan was younger to us but used to hang out with us. He too started loving the world of cinema. He used to sing Bollywood songs and dance to his tunes. One day I stole some money from my father and decided to run away to Mumbai. Mohan was supposed to join me that night but he got cold feet and didn't come. As I walked out of the village I saw Ratan sitting under a light post. Uska Baba ne Mara tha usse, imtehan kharab kiya tha. Isliye ghar chod ke aya tha. When he saw me, he didn't leave me and requested that I take him with me. We left for the city to catch a train together that night."
Bhaskar smiles, "Really! Then what happened?"
"Do din baad hum log Mumbai paunche. But Mumbai was scary. It was huge and crowded. We had no place to live and soon we ran out of money. We couldn't return home as we feared thrashing. Paise bhi nahi the ghar wapis janeke. So we did odd jobs to feed ourselves and we slept on the footpath. But we were together. As we got older, Ratan started talking about returning home. We took a place in the slum and worked as security guards. One day Ratan came home and told me that we could land up a role in the movie. A producer's assistant had spotted him. He was ready to give us roles but asked for 5 lakhs in return for making a portfolio. We had to do something as this was our only opportunity. So, we planned on robbing the Jewellery shop where I worked. But before we could do anything, the alarm got off. We fled the place. We were scared so we decided to leave Mumbai. Ratan took the train home and I left for Kolkata."
"Okay, so you are saying that you lived with Ratan Kumar while you were in Mumbai. But how can you confirm that this man is Ratan Kumar?"
"I used to work for a person named Nishikant Pandit. I saw a lady and a gentleman at his place with Ratan's photograph. I saw the photo and told my boss that I knew him and it was Ratan. He asked me where he was and took his address. Later I came to know that the photograph was of Sidharth Dewan who looked like Ratan. "
"Who were the lady and man? Are they in court today? "
Naresh nods his head and points at Saivi and Abhijit.
"Okay. Did you meet Ratan again in Kolkata?"
"Yes, a few days back. I work at Nirupama Dewan's house. I saw him there. He gave me some money to keep my mouth shut. But I had to tell the truth."
Sidharth mutters, "Truth? B****! He asked for money from me claiming that his wife is serious."
Bhaskar says, "I have presented the court exhibit D. There are a few photographs taken from the CCTV footage at Nirupama Dewan's house. It clearly shows that this man gave money to Naresh."
"Let me explain things properly to the court. Like we have heard before, Saivi Mehra had told the court that she and her husband had hired a detective to look for her brother. Nishikant Pandit is the same Detective. He got the information from Naresh and went to Uttarakhand. He found Ratan who pretended to have lost his memory to save himself from his father's wrath about running away from home. Nishikant took Saivi and Abhijit Mehra there and they convinced him to act as Sidharth Dewan. Rest My Lord is in front of everyone. Your Witness."
Tanushree stands up and walks to the witness box.
"So Naresh, you and Ratan lived together in Mumbai. Do you have any photos of you both of that time?"
"No. He didn't like to be clicked."
"Really? My Lord, we have heard that Ratan Kumar wanted to become an actor. An actor loves to be in front of a camera. I find it odd to know that Ratan Kumar who left home to be in movies, hated to be clicked. Naresh, you are lying to the court. You have no photos as he never lived with you. You lived with two men who were named Ram Kumar and Tribhuvan Ranna. My Lord, the registry of the local police station has the details of Naresh Singh Bagwari and Tribhuvan Ranna as they were caught in a shop theft. I have already submitted the copy of the same to the court. And it states the house number 66 was given on rent by Pintu Matre to Naresh Singh Bagwari, Tribhuvan Ranna and Ram Kumar. There's no mention of any Ratan Kumar in it. "
"Raa..am.. Ram is Ratan. He changed his name. Scared. He was scared to be found by his father."
Tanushree smiles.
"My Lord, Naresh Singh Bagwari is a liar. He is a thief and a cheater. He has already served in a juvenile home for a year and was in prison for six months. He fled his home and then Mumbai only because he was involved in robbery the both times. Is it right to consider the words of a criminal and accept my client as Ratan?"
"Miss Roy Chowdhry, what about the photos from CCTV?"
"I am coming to that. My Lord, these are a few photos as well."
She gives an envelope to the court.
"You can see Darshan and Barun giving money to Naresh as well."
"Miss Roy Chowdhry, it's Darshan's home. He can give money to his security guard. And Barun works with Darshan. He visits their house regularly. He can give a few bucks to him as tips."
"Exactly! If they could give him money, so could Sidharth Dewan. My Lord, my client was at his step mother's home for a family meeting. He was there as Sidharth Dewan, her step son. He could give a tip to a guy who opened the gates for him. Is it a crime or does it make him a criminal?"
Tanushree takes a step, "My Lord, Naresh Singh has no substantial evidence that my client was with him as Ratan Kumar while he was in Mumbai. He has no goodwill. I don't think based only on his words or some photo of my client giving tipssome money to a security guard, my client should be proved a con man. That's all My Lord."
Sidharth waits at the terrace of a high rise building. A touch on his back makes him turn to his back to see her standing. Her face is expressionless, her eyes red, indicating she had cried a lot and her lips pursed with a hint of a sad smile.
"Why am I here?"
"I wanted to meet you."
"Why here? We could meet at my place or some restaurant. Why here? Why are we here, Basundhara?"
He asks her as she steps beside him.
"Are you upset? Are you upset that I called you here out of all places? This terrace where you talked to me about getting a divorce."
Sidharth turns towards her, "No. I am curious that you chose this time to meet at the terrace of a building where I had bought an apartment only for you as you loved the view. Basu, I might not have loved you but your happiness meant something to me. I asked for divorce for the same reasons. You and I both know we weren't really happy."
Basundhara nods her head.
"You are right. Sorry to have called you here. I couldn't meet you anywhere else. It was important."
"What? What's important? Is it about that witness Naresh? Do you think he was telling the truth?"
"I know the truth, Sid. I know the whole truth. I don't have to rely on some paid witnesses to ascertain my beliefs."
Sidharth doesn't say anything but waits for her to speak.
"Verdict will be out very soon. What will you do then?"
"What do you want to know?"
"Sid, answer me please."
Sidharth looks away, "If the judgment is in my favour, I will be back at Dewan Group, taking my rightful place. And if I don't, I will continue my fight. This is not the end of the road."
"What about us? You will file for divorce. Right?"
Sidharth gazes at her still face.
"Do you want me to lose the case?"
"No. Maybe yes. I don't know."
He takes a moment to study her. Something was different with her and he couldn't understand what it was.
"Why, Basundhara?"
"You are in love with Shehnaaz. If you win the case, you will file for divorce. And if you lose, you are not Sidharth. You are free to marry whoever. That will mean I can go back pretending my Sidharth is gone and I am his widow. Maybe losing the case would be good for both of us."
"But you know I am Sidharth. You can't just pretend things. No matter what the outcome of the case be, I can't just go ahead and marry anyone when I am married to you."
She stares at him and a lone tear escapes her eye.
"Sidharth.. our marriage.. means nothing. You have someone in your life with whom you see your future. You are happy with her. You can always marry her if the court rules against you. Let's just pretend you lost, don't you think it will be good. You can always be successful. You are starting a business anyways. "
"But I am still married to you. I know who I am. I don't need the law to prove it."
"So what will you do then?"
"Like I said, I will continue fighting. No, not for getting a divorce from you, or for properties. I want to fight to get back my identity. I want my identity back. This case was always about that."
"Then what about your life? Don't you want a life? Divorce will take time."
"What life? How will I live if I am nobody? Basundhara, I want my life back. Nobody had the right to snatch it away. No reason can justify what they did to me. I want my name back."
She gives him a sad smile.
"I wanted to hear that."
"What is going on in your mind? Bologi kuch?"
"Will you punish the people who did wrong to you?"
He takes a moment and then answers, "Yes. I lost three years of my life because of them. I was fighting for my life. I was lost, scared and lonely despite having my family here. How.. how can I forget those?"
"Hmm... I can.. understand."
Sidharth shakes his head, "No, you won't. Nobody could. I.. Still have nightmares of that.. day.. the events of falling down from the mountain still haunts me. I.. was scared when I opened my eyes at that hospital. I didn't know where I was, what was my name and what was happening around me. The mental trauma was more painful than the physical suffering, I knew I was at the wrong place but I couldn't recall anything. How can I forget everything?"
Sidharth rubs his temples.
"It was karma. I did wrong and I suffered for that. And somewhere I am thankful for what happened. It was a test. And I got some life lessons that have changed me today. Still, I can't forgive them. They shouldn't have done that."
Both stood there in silence for quite some time.
"Sid, will you punish me for what I did?"
He turns to see her, "Haven't you suffered enough? We both have suffered for our stupidity. Why should I let you take punishment for something I did or your brother did?"
"But I knew about things and stayed quiet."
"We do what we have to do. It's circumstances that makes us do things. You did wrong but I don't want you to go through anymore troubles."
"Why have you changed so much? You shouldn't think about me."
"What do you want, Basundhara?"
She turns and says, "I know in my heart that you will win this case. And after you do, I want you to get justice for all the wrongs people did to you. It doesn't matter who is involved, just do the right thing."
"Are you up for something? I can feel it. Bolo, Basundhara. Kya chal raha hai tumhare dimag mein?"
"Tum."
She touches his cheek, "You are always there in my mind. I will always love you, Sid. Always."
She kisses his cheek and turns to go away.
A few more chapters to go.
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