THE DOCK

THE DOCK

CH 1

Waiting for Public Prosecutor, the police officer was thinking the third day too was going to be wasted.

It had been eight five days since the accused were arrested. They would get bail if the challan was not presented in another five days. The bail for the accused would mean the hangman’s noose off their necks and getting around the Investigating Officer.

Why was the investigation not completed within 90 days? Nazar Singh would have to answer the question. He would have to go through the grind before the senior officers for months. To come out of the ordeal Nazar Singh would have to make offerings of thousands of rupees. A mild punishment was certain. It could be worse than that.

He won’t be the first cop to suffer in this case. Scores of them had been suspended during the investigation. A couple of them had to pay with their jobs.

The case under investigation was not an ordinary one. The accused in the case were killers of Bunty, the grandson of town’s prominent social worker Lala Hardial, reverentially called Lalajee by all. Bunty was kidnapped and then killed. The incident had been garnering headlines from the day one. The case was discussed in newspapers, radio, television and an echo of it could be heard even in the Assembly and the Parliament.

With allegations against the police of not doing enough in the case, protest agitations were held in the town. Curfew had to be imposed. There was a house to house search. The Chief Minister, himself, had to intervene, eventually. The district police chief and the Deputy Commissioner camped in the town for days to bring the situation under control.

Police had to pay dearly for their harsh stance. Bunty couldn’t be found but his dead body was.

People were agitated all the more when the news of the killing came in.

Even the Chief Minister’s chair got unsteady.

To calm agitated tempers the whole police setup of town was changed. The Chief Minister declared the accused would be arrested before the Bhog (religious function to hold last rites) of Bunty was held.

Toughest of the police officers were pressed into service. The new officers worked hard to work on Chief Minister’s promise. All measures were employed. Every suspect was brought to the police station and beaten black and blue. Many innocents too had to bear the brunt.

The whole town was divided in the middle. On one side was Yuva Sangh, which wanted the killers to be brought to book. They were with the police, whatever means it employed.

On the other side was Lok Sangharsh Samiti. It was against anybody being arrested without any evidence or being tortured in police station.

The former had an edge over the latter.

The day bhog of Bunty was to be held, too came. As the police had failed to nab the real culprits it was not left with any choice.

Two former convicts Pala and Meeta were made to stand in for the accused.

Now Samiti was making the demand that Pala and Meeta were innocent and should be let off. Samiti held protests regularly, building pressure through media.

An opposition member in the Assembly put up the question there also. He proved on the basis of facts that both were innocent. It created a storm. Why were they not being let off, he thundered in the Assembly.

From a petty employee in police station to the Chief Minister of the state, everybody evaded this question.

The legal eagles suggested the case should be taken to court as soon as possible. A sub-judice case can’t be discussed anywhere, not even in the Assembly.

But who should be entrusted with this important task?

The Superintendent of Police himself took a call on this.

The Deputy Superintendent suggested the name of Pakhar. He was very polite and sweet-tongued. The government lawyer too was on good terms with him. Government lawyer was needed to be on one’s side to get the case to the court. Pakhar could get this done easily.

But the SP didn’t like the idea much. Rest was fine but he was not that good in documentation. He reminded the DSP of the opium case in which the culprits managed to get away just because of his incompetence. In half of the statements he mentioned the weight of the sample 5 grams and 10 grams in the rest.

Name of Gurdev cropped up on its own at this. He was an expert in written work. Much of his service had been in CIA staff. He was an expert when it came to foisting neat cases on a single suspect under three acts simultaneously.

It could be as easy as sack of stolen utensils on head, a spear in hand and opium in pocket. If it’s not potent enough then illicit liquor in a bag hung on shoulder.

Documentation so neat that even the senior lawyers couldn’t do much. Every case handled by him ended in conviction for the accused.

The SP didn’t like even this idea. Opium and liquor cases are something else. They all have similar sounding statements. A small change here and there is all it takes. The real test of an officer is when dealing with corruption, murder or rape case. Gurdev Chand hadn’t handled any such case in his entire career. This open-ended murder case was not his cup of tea.

The SP wanted an official who had sharp brain and immense power of imagination. In complex cases like these the prosecuting official had only few leads. To fit these leads into a viable case, fit for legal scrutiny, he has to weave a yarn himself. The official in the case will have to create a story as well as evidence.

The SP felt if someone could do this it was Nazar Singh only.

A rape case that he had handled with much deftness had made him a favourite of the police officer.

Orphanage warden’s brother had raped a 15 year old girl. Blinded with lust he did the deed but when he saw the state of the girl he lost nerve and fled from the scene.

Such cases were not new to the orphanage. The victims would resign to their fate after making a hue and cry for few days. The warden too thought it prudent to lie low for sometime till the storm passes.

But things got out of hand. It reached the management too. Firstly, the girl was minor. Secondly the perpetrator was an ordinary man and not someone from the management. Third reason was the warden herself. She was very beautiful. The members of management had not been able to avail of any benefit from her beauty. Now was the time to strike.

The warden tried to control things to save her job as well as her brother. She consulted a lawyer also. She kept on warding off the management people and wiping off the evidence, in the meanwhile.

A week thereafter when nothing was left in the name of evidence she too started acting brave. The management was livid. They handed over the case to police.

What could police do with the dead case?

The case was filed after seven days. The delay was enough to let the accused scot-free. The clothes the victim was wearing at the time of rape had been burnt. The clothes were very vital for the case as they contain semen stains and pubic hair of both the rapist and the victim. The scratches on the girl’s body had healed. There was no eyewitness. Only the statement of the girl wouldn’t have resulted in any conviction.

The police official advised the management to let things pass and save the orphanage from infamy.

The management was adamant. Not only the accused boy should be punished the warden too should be taken to task.

To put pressure on the police, the news was leaked in the media and the DC was made to make a phone call.

The present SP was DSP of the area then. Sensing the sensitivity of the case the case was handed over to DSP. A DSP is expected to ensure conviction of the accused. But for want of evidence what could a DSP too?

Nazar Singh was Reader to DSP then. He was consulted.

Nazar Singh astounded them with heaps of evidence.

He took the girl to his home on pretext of getting her statement. When she came back her condition was the same as it was after her rape.

The case was a success.

Nazar Singh was entrusted with the case after due thought. Nazar Singh had accepted the responsibility willingly. It was a matter of pride for him.

But as the investigation moved ahead he was in a fix.

To ensure that Nazar Singh was not disturbed during the investigation of the case the DSP ordered all the pending cases be delegated to others. He was not even required to go out for duty.

This largesse of the DSP was proving costly for Nazar though.

Things would have been easier for him if there was someone pursuing the case. He would have been able to present the challan then. But now it entailed an expenditure of more than at least a thousand, even if he didn’t commit any hanky panky himself. Such expenditure was normal in other cases. In this dead case everything had to be done anew. There was just a copy of an FIR to start with. So much else was needed to build a proper case out of it. Scaled map was needed. Photographer had to be paid. Handwriting expert was required to look into the report. Alterations had to be made in statements. Government lawyer had to be taken care of. And then there was Court Clerk.

If there was someone pursuing the case from plaintiff side things would have been easy. Now it was all left to Nazar Singh. He couldn’t spend from his own pocket and without spending the papers would not be completed. The case remained inconclusive as a result.

He would have done something if other cases had not been taken away from Nazar Singh. He would have called the plaintiffs in the Bhadaur murder case or the defendants in the cooperative society case. Who knows who is to be paid what amount of fees? He would have managed by making one of them pay for the other too.

Just like this, once, a case of section 326 had got stuck. Brothers had quarrelled among themselves. Relatives intervened to bring them to compromise. The SHO gobbled up all that accrued from the compromise. He also assured the Sarpanch that if someone asks for money he should just tell him. The brothers went home and didn’t show up again.

The government lawyer sat on the file. He was not paid anything and he didn’t pass the challan. In every meeting Nazar was asked why the case was taking that long.

One day he stumbled upon some local traders gambling. In the gambling case even if the gamblers own up to crime, they are let off by paying up a fine of Rs 50 at the most. In such cases the government lawyers don’t pay much attention. A cursory glance and the challan is passed.

Nazar threatened the traders showing them the spectre of the government lawyer.

“If you don’t grease his palms he will make you see jail. He is in cahoots with the judge. If he is taken care of he will ensure your release.”

The scared traders handed him five notes of hundred each, promptly. Two, Nazar kept for himself and three, he gave to the Government Lawyer. One note for this case and another for the earlier one…everything was sorted out.

Its not that investigating official was not paid. He was duly paid, more than he could have asked for.

But it was all with the SHO as he was the real investigative officer in the case. According to rules it was his duty to check the challan. The money part too, he had to take care of.

But as soon as the investigation came to Nazar, he shut his eyes. Once, Nazar brought himself to ask for some money. The officer not only sidetracked the demand deftly but feigned annoyance too. Can’t you do such little work for your SHO, he snapped back at Nazar.

It was this want of money that caused the delay in filing of challan even after 85 days.

It’s not that murders are committed every day. Once it happens everybody looks up for his share of fees. The Government Lawyer also expected that. He had to rack his brains for full three hours reading every word of the case papers, tallying all statements, poring over the post-mortem report and checking the map. Then he had to coordinate all the documents. The government didn’t pay him a penny for that. He would do this only if one or the other party did something for him.

Nazar had not showed up with any thing and nor did the Government Lawyer move the challan file from his drawer. It lay in where he had put it from last three days.

The first day Nazar Singh had come to him with the challan, Surinder Kumar had met him warmly. His face had lit up when he came to know that Nazar had come with a murder case. Even in a weakest case, at least, five hundred rupees were a certainty.

Surinder Kumar kept on turning the pages for long. Nazar Singh knew he was waiting for the fees. Nazar should have paid him just when he had handed him the copy of the challan. But he would have done that only if he had something with him. He kept sitting silently. Why is it necessary that he has to be paid for every case? After all it is his duty to check the challan.

When the Attorney noticed the police official seemed to be embarrassed, he too decided not to beat about the bush. He asked him straightaway:

“Where are the plaintiffs?”

“It’s Lalajee and the Yuva Sangh. You know about them. They are after the police anyway. They are just looking for an excuse to complain against the police.”

“Then there should be someone from the defendant’s side?”

“You know about them too. Samiti people protest against police daily. The matter has even reached Parliament.”

“But you are here. Isn’t it?” Nazar couldn’t make out whether the irritated attorney was being sarcastic or just joking.

“I am not going anywhere. I have sent a message to Lalajee. He will meet you.” To get the attorney off his back, he lied.

“So you want it to be checked or not?” The Attorney tried one more time as he collected the papers. He had got an idea by then that Nazar Singh was not going to pay from his own pocket.

“That’s what I am here for,” Nazar blurted in a faint whisper and stopped at that.

“Let me have a look then. You come tomorrow at around 11.” The Attorney too was an old hand. If it’s not cash then some errand would do.

Surinder knew how to get something or else to be taken out of an Investigating Officer. If nothing else he will hand him over an empty gas cylinder. Get it refilled, he will ask. It could even be a cinema ticket. Or it could be a car for the children to go for an outing. It had to be something or else.

But thankfully the first day passed off just like that. But Nazar was not easy to catch. He would have dilly-dallied for days to come and got the challan passed, in the meanwhile. Nazar knew anyway how to get a job worth Rs 100 done for just Rs 20.

What Nazar could make out as the reason for the attorney not to make any demand was that he perhaps wanted to contact both the parties directly.

It was just not possible that a contact was not made. There were so many people who could do that for him. He must have sent many lawyers to Lalajee. They must have offered lengthy explanations on why he should meet the Attorney.

“The Public Attorney has to do everything. He will weaken the case if we don’t meet him.”

Many cops too must have gone to the accused. They would have made him see reason.

“The SHO did whatever he could do. Now it’s up to the Attorney that he passes the case as it is. If we warm his pockets he would let even an elephant pass. If not he will drag it back from its tail.”

Upset, both the parties would be coming running to Surinder.

Surinder would offer solace to Lalajee.

“Don’t you worry Lalaljee. I will make such a case that they won’t be able to get any reprieve even from High Court.”

He would call the relatives of the accused home and encourage them.

“You need not worry at all. There are so many loopholes to get out from this case. If I let those holes remain just like that, no judge, even if he is a close relative of the plaintiffs, can do anything to our boys.”

The kin of accused would empty their pockets - everybody around egging him on. Bigger the offering, bigger would be everybody’s share.

But Surinder sounded like nothing had come to him so far.

If he had got something he would send one message after the other to Nazar Singh; ask for the papers and read every word of it; look for ways to declare the accused innocent and turn innocents into the culprits and make alterations in the papers to keep up the promises made with the defendants and the plaintiffs.

He had done exactly that in one case handled by Nazar Singh.

A boy of the village on a high after drinking had fired upon his neighbours. Police had mentioned the cause of fire as carelessness of the boy. It was just an ordinary case under section 336, which was bailable. If police wants it can bail out anyone. The boy’s influential family did not want their son to go to a police station. Setting it up with the SHO they presented the boy directly in the court. The court accepted his bail immediately. The rival group were left wringing their hands helplessly.

While in court to meet their lawyer they happened to meet Surinder Kumar. He took a wadful of notes himself and got it for the investigating official too. Just a minor alteration here and there in the witness statements turned the whole case into ‘intention to murder.’ The barrel of the gun was skywards initially. It was turned towards the complainant. The bailable offence became non-bailable. The boy had to bide time in jail for a month before he got bail and that too from High Court.

Nazar Singh was just not concerned with what the attorney does. He may call Lalajee or the families of the accused. He may change the statements of witnesses or alter the sections. He may do anything he wants as long as he passes his challan.

But even the next day things were as they were earlier.

When asked the reason he was told that Lalajee had not come.

Nazar Singh realised his mistake. He should have taken Lalajee into loop. If nothing else he could have provoked the Sangh people. They would have got it done anyway.

He didn’t pay much attention then. He felt if he provoked Sangh people, the attorney may get annoyed. It will be done one way or the other, he thought then.

Nazar Singh was told to collect the challan at around 11 am but he reached at 10 am.

His position was very awkward now. At police station the SHO shouted at him.

“What the hell are you doing here? Go to the attorney and pester him.” Scolding Nazar he would push Nazar towards courts.

In the court the Attorney wouldn’t entertain him.

It had been 85 days and Nazar had not been able to do anything till now.

First the attorney will poke holes into it and then the challan will go to the senior. He will try to show his worth and then the District Attorney will pick something. If the pace continues it will take another 90 days.

At 10 am the attorney had just made it to the court.

At 11 am he was found playing cards in the Bar Room. Nazar sent many messages but he was not moved.

From there he went straight for lunch. After having lunch he returned to court again.

Nazar Singh knew what was behind this cat and mouse game. He didn’t want his work to be done deliberately.

At around three he got to the chamber of the lawyer Saini. Nazar heaved a sigh of relief. Saini was close to Lalajee. He might be up to something.

Moment later his sense of relief was turned into despondency. Soda bottles were being taken to the chamber. The door was closed. One could hear bouts of laughter from inside.

At around 4 the desperate Nazar knocked at the door.

He was greeted with smoke and stench of liquor.

He was surprised to see the changed demeanour of the lawyers and the state of the chamber.

The custodians of law stared idly with red eyes. Their limbs were not in their control.

Saini’s turban had got loose. The gravy had made map on his white shirt. He was wobbling.

Surinder Kumar had his beard and moustache all spoilt. His trousers were all wet as he came back from bathroom. While lighting cigarette his hand trembled and few hair of his moustache were burnt on right side.

The state of the chamber too was just like the lawyers. It was all littered with empty bottles and boxes. Shards of broken glass were strewn here and there. Water spilt from the overturned jug had made a puddle. Crumpled napkins had turned into a small mound. Remnants of half eaten radishes and onions were splattered all over. Stray dogs outside the chamber looked expectantly at the bones of eaten chicken on the floor.

Spilt sauce, melted ice, bits of salad and chewed bones on the table presented a grotesque sight.

Nazar had heard of bar room where sometimes lawyers indulged in gambling and bouts of drinking. But this would be happening in the office also was beyond his imagination.

Nazar expected them to be taken aback on seeing a policeman but contrary happened. All of their faces lit up.

Surinder seemed to have been waiting for him. He was called in much respectfully. He was offered a chair first and then a peg of whiskey.

Nazar was in no mood to drink. He realised once he started it will take forever. He pushed the glass aside.

Before he could ask about challan, Saini nudged at Surinder. The whiskey bottle had emptied.

“You come home in the evening. We will sort out the challan relaxingly. Now you go and fetch two bottles of whiskey, two chickens and a kg of fish.”

Nazar was not averse to bringing all that. It would not take much. He just had to forward the order. Whiskey would have come from the contractor and fish from Ajit at no cost. His only worry was that how would the drunken Surinder check the challan?

Nazar had once drunk with Surinder. He was out of his senses with only half a bottle. He fought with the hotel guy first. Outside the hotel he started yelling like boors. He started passing remarks at the passing girls. While getting on to a rickshaw he slapped the rickshaw puller. If Nazar was not with him at that time Surinder would have been thrashed badly.

Nazar did not have any choice. He went to Surinder’s place. He had not reached home. The whole family was upset. Nazar found him and got him to his house.

Even on the third day things were as they were.

Waiting for him Nazar started cursing the SHO.

Lal Singh had completed three months as Station SHO of the police station. He had not come even once to the court. The judges and the government lawyers all were annoyed. If he had come even once in ten-fifteen days it wouldn’t cost him anything. It would only make things easier for the junior staff. Now whole blame was on him. Officers can’t say anything to officials like Lal Singh and it was people like him who had to suffer their admonishments.

The earlier SHO was wiser in such matters. Four bottles every festival and sending a car once in a while did the trick. The officers remained satisfied. One could do anything he wanted to.

Try to drill this into Lal Singh and he would retort.

“Why should I entreat the government lawyers and judges? I am doing my duty and they should do theirs.”

Yesterday as Nazar Singh narrated him his tale of woes he was made to listen again.

“It’s you people who suck up to these officers and then cry hoarse. If he is not doing anything about the challan, make an entry in the daily register. Send a copy to the District Attorney. Write to him that he is asking for money. Let him face enquiries.”

“If even then he is not getting on the line then complain to the Vigilance. The SP says daily to tell him, if there is any complaint against anyone.”

It’s easy to advice others. Nazar had a family to look after. He was not in a position to put his job at stake.

Nazar could never forget what had befallen one of his seniors who had dared to complain against a government lawyer.

Nobody knows whether the DA did anything to the lawyer or not but the SP was duly informed of all the doings of that police official. It was with great effort that he was able to get it off his back. He had to supplicate at both the SP and the government lawyer.

He lost it before all other government lawyers also. Nobody would entertain him. Objections were raised at every challan he sought to get pass. The boss in turn would only chide him to bear the brunt of taking on the senior officers.

Even his promotional avenues were closed. He retired only as an Assistant Sub Inspector.

So complaint was out of question. He had no other choice.

He had decided today. If the challan was not passed even today he will loose his purse strings a bit. A 100 rupees note would ensure the load was off his back. If the challan was not passed it would be turned into a big issue.

Nazar took out a 100 rupees note and put it in his front pocket.

He instructed the orderly as soon as the government lawyer get to his office he should fetch a jug full of juice.

If it were the earlier government lawyer things would not have come to this pass. If would have offered him tea, then asked the well-being of his family. While making a light talk he would be checking the copy of the challan. It would all be over in an hour. He would not ask for anything ever.

And here is this Surinder. He does not budge without money. Be it a challan for four bottles of illicit liquor or theft of a cycle. He needs 20 rupees per challan as a bribe. He indulged in calculations like he was dealing in an accountant’s office.

And there was that government lawyer who was so shaken by the arrest of Pala and Meeta in this case. Meeta was an ex-pickpocket. Gurmeet had inspired him on to the right path. Pala was a former thief. Both had turned the corner as far as petty crime went. When both were arrested by concocting a story against them his conscience was stirred. He had left the job and was now going to defend them in the case.

On the contrary was he who did not discriminate between poor and rich. When Nazar reminded him of their poor economic status he yelled back at him.

“Why didn’t you take this into consideration? Let them give a bit less if they are poor.”

Comparing the two in his mind Nazar didn’t realise when Surinder Kumar was before him.

“Are you taking a nap?” gulping down the glass of juice he broke his reverie.

“No sir…..perhaps yes sir.” Rubbing his eyes Nazar had saluted him while he composed himself.

“What is this man? What kind of officer is this SHO of yours? The case is not being pursued properly. The witnesses are turning hostile. Even the policemen are not sticking to their statements. Summons are not being honoured.” Emptying his glass he had started his game of striking at Nazar’s confidence.

All this was not Nazar’s concern. This was the job of other officials. Nazar wanted to tell this to him but he thought it prudent to keep mum.

“Don’t you worry, Sir! I’ll take them all to task. Things will be smoothened out in a day”

Silence descended between the two for a while after that.

Then Surinder took out some papers from his drawer and started turning them.

“Is my work done, Sir?” He asked when he realised that it were not his papers.

“Which one?”

“The challan of Bunty murder case - the one I had submitted to you the day before yesterday.”

“That? But you said you will send Lalajee. I kept waiting for him. Neither did he turn up and nor did you do anything.” Surinder came straight to the point.

“I had told you both parties don’t have that in them.”

“But you have it, isn’t it? It’s not necessary that you give us fees in which you have got it. There are so many cases where you gobble it all. Neither the case comes before us and nor the contesting parties. In cases like these you should pay from those cases.”

“Forget it, Sir! The DSP is such a scoundrel. He gets to know everything and does not spare anyone. Even if we take 20 rupees from anyone he gets it all on table the next day. Even then take this…” Nazar took out the 100 rupees note that had kept for this purpose only.

“That’s it!” Surinder felt humiliated looking at only one note of 100 rupees.

“It’s enough, Sir! I am giving it from my own pocket. I’ll make up for it sometime,” pushing the note below the book lying on the table, he beseeched.

“We will see then. But it won’t do for now,” pushing the book back towards Nazar showed his annoyance.

You keep it please. Even yesterday I had to spend three hundred.” Nazar was getting irritated at his bargaining tactics now. All that he had done for him in the past seemed to be all lost.

Surinder had softened a bit but he had not lost hope altogether.

He opened the drawer and took out another bundle of papers.

“All these challans have come before yours. If I go by that your turn will come in another ten days.”

“But Sir, if the challan is not presented in another five days I’ll lose my job.”

“For 85 days you didn’t show up and now that only five days are left the whole pressure is on me. After all it’s a murder case. Every word has to be pored into.”

“There was lot to do, Sir.” First was the documentation. Then I had to camp on Chandigarh for getting the finger prints and moulds changed. I am at it from the day one.” Nazar has had it. Anger was creeping into his voice.

“What makes you think I am idle? I have to take care of two courts.” He snapped back.

“You are right, Sir. Yesterday also in meeting this cropped up. The DSP was saying that you have too much of work that is not completed on time. He was also saying that he will talk to the DA to get your burden eased. I’ll also mention this that he should make it fast.”

Nazar saw light at the end of the tunnel. He had hit the right spot.

The first government lawyer had resigned. His vacancy was yet to be filled up. There was a rush among the government lawyers here to take charge of his vacancy. DA was being wooed with whiskey and goods.

But Surinder had outraced them all.

If the DSP complained against him, he would lose both the post and honour also.

“Where is the need to write to DA? Let me clear your challan first. Let the accused not get bail.”

The arrow had hit home. The mumbling government lawyer started turning the pages. The note kept lying there peeping from below the book. Neither Surinder, nor Nazar picket it up.

CH 2

Realising that his job was at stake, Surinder Kumar was back to his senses.

He started doing his duty.

His eyes were on the case papers but his mind was going over the DSP’s accusations.

The DSP was right in a way. Four out of six police stations in the sub-division were with him. Even those, which were very active police stations, with three to four cases filed every day. There was so much work to do that he didn’t have any time for anything else. He disposed off one police official and two more would be standing before him. The court work was extra.

This additional responsibility had not come to him just like that. He had to work hard for it. The minister had put in a word for him and he had paid 5000 rupees to the District Attorney. There was a shortfall of government lawyers in state. There were many vacancies. No one was supposed to come here till April. From the crowds that filed before the earlier government lawyer, it was evident that there would be enough to earn in the first month itself.

The additional court he was now looking after had the city police station under its jurisdiction. He had a taste of it many times.

While in Bathinda he had quite a reputation. He had direct contact with people and the local police too didn’t ever disappoint. There was always some one or the other who had some thing to do with the police station and he was always ready. At times it was the doctor whose car had met with an accident. He wanted his car to be let off. Then the school teacher wanted him to help strike a compromise with his neighbours, with whom he had a clash. Whiskey and such stuff were always ready. The burden of favour was extra. From car to grocery, everything was his for asking.

At Rampura, he had many opportunities. During those days SDO Gupta was caught with stolen cement and the Overseer Grewal was nabbed with coal-tar. Daughter in law of Jains burnt herself and daughter of the headmaster eloped. He had extracted his pound of flesh from all sides. One half he kept for himself and the other half was reserved for police.

In Jagraon too he had thrown his weight around amply in the case of a clash between the partners of commission agents’ firm. The first partner had taken with him all the record books with the unaccounted transactions. His wife was kept in police station till he came up with them. The record books were very important as in their absence the farmers who had taken loans would have simply declined to pay back.

Surinder realised his power during those days. The government lawyer attached with the local police station is no less than an MLA.

It was for this influence that he had spent money like anything.

His thoughts came back to the Bunty murder case. It might prove to be his undoing. He feared this ever since Nazar had told him about what the DSP had said.

He was at loss whether the D.A. was with him or not. Whether he can count on him or not? If the DSP actually complained, would he pay heed or not?

If the favours he did to him were any consideration he should be with him cent percent.

It was only ten days after he had got the duty of this court, when he had asked for a car to be arranged for him. He had to go to Amritsar to attend a marriage, he claimed. He had said he would come back by evening but had taken three days. He spent fuel like it was water. Surinder Kumar had to pay three thousand rupees for that.

He had not come out of the shock of this loss when another demand was ready. The District Attorney said the Director had asked for a VCR. It would have cost 20,000. The favour that the District Attorney had done to him should now be repaid by him by sharing at least half of the cost.

The irritated Surinder had even thought of refusing to work but he couldn’t afford annoyance of the boss. It was due to his patronage that he was able to extract rupees from everyone - from an ordinary accused to police inspectors and sub-inspectors.

If anybody has any problem he can go at the most to the D.A. with the complaint. The D.A. knew how to deal with such complaints.

He did whatever he wanted to due to his patronage in the court also. If he was paid he would deal with the case, otherwise, he would let them wait for whole day.

If his palms are greased he would ask for judicial remand instead of police remand, otherwise he would ask for police remand forcefully.

The powerful image that he enjoyed in the courts was all due to the D.A. Every body knew he did whatever he wanted. First thing every accused did on reaching court was to pay him a courtesy call.

Poring over papers Surinder was feeling as if the power was slipping out of his hands.

Surinder should not have expected money in this case. He should have known there was nothing in the case for him. Even the police chief had got transferred due to this case.

Lalajee had lost his grandson. His family was devastated. What good it would do to Lalajee if Meeta and Pala were punished. Why would he pay him for that?

The accused didn’t have a penny. They were innocent, anyway. If they had it in them they would have paid for their release by now.

Now only the investigating official was left. It’s rare to find an investigating official who would spend from his own pocket to get a case through. Nazar was certainly not the type. He had already spent more than three hundred. It was brave of him to do that. Surinder knew from his experience that a cop in such a posting would never dig in his own pockets. He had seen police officials in pitiable condition in the Police Training College. Even those Sub Inspectors, who didn’t travel in anything less than a car, would walk from Bus Stand to the college to save three rupees on autorickshaw. These days Nazar’s condition too was like those posted in the training college.

If the challan was not presented in five days it would mean trouble for Surinder also besides Nazar. Nazar would have taken care to wriggle out of such a situation by updating the records, filing the reports in daily register. The whole responsibility of challan getting late would be on him.

The DA was not good enough when it came to things like these. He didn’t take good care of his subordinates. He didn’t pay any heed to the complaints of ordinary people but would take seriously the plaints of police officers. A complaint by a SP or a DSP carried weight. If even an SHO told him that the government lawyer was not cooperating, he would change his police station.

He had his own interest in keeping the police officials in good humour. He had been posted to this district after great amount of work he had put in. Why would he endanger his own position for a subordinate official? He got the police officers to do for him petty little favours. He would give company to even lowly police officials for a drink or two. Even Surinder played averse to visiting a police station. And he, who looked after the whole district, would never hesitate.

When officers were like that, Surinder should play wise. He should have got wind of it blowing against him.

Now he was left with no choice but to check the challan and amuse Nazar.

This was a complex case. There were no eyewitnesses. The whole case hinged on circumstantial evidence. The sequence of events in the case had to be weaved so seamlessly that no room was left for any doubt on the innocence of the accused.

The papers comprised just a copy of an FIR written four months ago. That too was about kidnapping of Bunty. There were ransom letters written by the accused. There was a handwriting sample of one of the accused. Then there was a report by a handwriting expert who had attested that the letters were written in the hand of Pala. There was a post-mortem report and fingerprints picked up from where the dead body was recovered. There was report of another expert who testified that the fingerprints were those of Pala and Meeta. There was a mould of footsteps found from the spot. Again there was an expert report. The shoe shown to have been worn by Pala at the time of his arrest was reported to be the same. Last was the confession recorded before the Magistrate.

But where was the conspiracy hatched to kill the child? Who picked up the child? Where was he kept? Where was the ransom letter written? Who dropped those? From where were the letter-pads procured? Where was the child killed? Who brought the dead body there? From where were the weapons used in the crime procured? Where were the weapons now?

The case file was silent on these questions.

For once Surinder thought of letting it pass as it was. Nobody had paid him any attention till then. When the culprits are set free then only Lalajee will come to know.

Surinder was reminded of many such cases in which he had spoilt the whole case of plaintiffs.

In the Shehna case the plaintiff’s lawyer had turned him against Surinder. The advocate and Surinder had a tiff over commission. According to the convention of the court Surinder was willing to pay him one-third only. But he asked for half. The victim was trapped by Surinder and the advocate wanted half of the booty just for accepting the money. The irritated advocate played a spoilsport. Calling him just a junior lawyer he dissuaded the party telling them that they need not pay to him.

But perhaps he had underestimated Surinder. He had already found the points to get the accused be let off scot-free.

The report said the deceased was killed by hitting him repeatedly with a rod. Even the eye-witnesses corroborated that.

Post-mortem report, though, said to the contrary. The death had occurred due to strangulation, it said. There were injuries to the deceased but those were minor.

The culprits would have been punished only if there was concurrence between the eye-witness accounts and the doctor’s report.

Surinder had called the complainant’s party just because of this conflicting version. He had kept the case file under wraps for two weeks. If the plaintiff’s party offered something he would have got the doctor’s report changed. When they played into the hands of the advocate, Surinder too played it easy. He didn’t let even the investigating official know about the contradiction in the doctors’ report.

Though he had not got anything from the accused also but he had enjoyed the lesson he had taught to the plaintiffs.

He would have done the same now if it was any other case. But this was important. Its case file had even been to the CM’s office.

The file could have gone to the Director’s office too. Any carelessness on the part of Surinder would have proved costly for him. Surinder could not have played the pigeon which closes its eyes on coming across a cat.

He had got an opportunity to prove himself instead. He should prepare the whole case in a way that the seniors are impressed.

Concentrating hard he read each and every word of the file, tallied the statements with each other and then with the experts’ reports. He then checked if the fingerprints, handwritings and the experts’ opinions held each other.

It was all right up to this point. But the accused won’t be charged on the basis of this evidence if the sequence of events did not follow each other logically.

If there was something in his pocket his mind would have worked like a computer. He didn’t feel like moving his fingers now.

It was the last week of the month. These were the day of shortages. The whole salary of three thousand rupees was up on the first date itself. A thousand for the landlord of the house, seven hundred for grocer, five hundred for milkman and another four hundred for the tuition teacher – rest was distributed between the washer man, cobbler and the sweeper. Rest of the month he was dependent on advocates and police officials to make ends meet.

This time situation was a bit too tight. The last whole week was spent in village. His grandmother was ill. The other government lawyer had arrogated all his briefs.

A week before that the judge was on leave. The litigants and officials didn’t come to him at all and Surinder had to starve himself.

He had no other option but to have patience.

To concentrate more he lit up a cigarette. Puffing long drags he untied many knots.

“Nazar Singh, I don’t find anything in the case. Tell me honestly whether you want the case to see the light of the day?”

“What are you talking about, Sir? Every investigator wants the case to be a success. Moreover, this case can earn a promotion for me.”

“Then listen. You will have to prepare a long list of witnesses to doctor evidence. Then only it would do.”

“Whatever you say, Sir”

As he started on his plan, the Advocate Saini’s Munshi dropped in. There was a phone for him at Saini’s cabin.

The word ‘phone’ from Saini’s Munshi filled the whole surroundings with fragrance of whiskey for him. He felt like throwing the file that was foisted on him.

But he controlled himself. He had assessed the whole situation a while before that. He should pay attention to his duty rather than giving in to greed for free whiskey.

Saini was not going anywhere. He was always ready with a bottle of whiskey, in fact.

He was not doing any favour to him, anyway. Just a day before yesterday he had recommended a brief for him.

A doctor had been killed in an accident. He was brother-in-law of the aunt of his wife. All the brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law had come together to him for help. Surinder had done all he could. He had got the deceased’s scooter back besides his wallet, cash and a gold bracelet. Were it not for Surinder the police would have returned only a chassis instead of the scooter. Rest of the things they had not even accounted for. If it were someone else whole things would have been gobbled up by the police.

Saini wanted to argue the case without charging any fee for the sake of Surinder.

But Surinder didn’t agree to this generosity. Relatives would not have given him due credit if he showed too much favour to them. Even otherwise if a lawyer starts taking cases without charging any fees, it would spell doom for his career.

Surinder had brokered fees of twenty two hundred rupees to Saini. He had paid back immediately the commission of seven hundred to Surinder. Party was a bonus.

Surinder brought himself to see reason that work was more important than whiskey.

“You listen to it yourself. Call me if it’s important; otherwise tell him to call me in the evening.” He made the Munshi understand everything very deftly while leaving a scope for an evening sitting.”

Surinder turned his attention again to the police official.

“It would have been good if one more person was arrested. CBI people do this. When the case is weak they turn one of their own men to be an accused and later make him approver. Rest of the accused are punished just because of him.”

“Who knew at that time, Sir? We had thought that with these arrests people would calm down. Who cares what happens with them later? But it all got out of hand…”

Surinder was lost in weaving the plot as Nazar Singh spoke.

“Whatever happened has happened. Now it’s up to you,” he sought the attention of Surinder.

“That’s what I am thinking of…Let’s start the story with a conspiracy. Find some witness, someone who runs a tea stall or something like that, who can say that Meeta and Pala hatched the conspiracy at his stall. Conspiracy is very important in this case.”

“Then look for some vendor. Show him as someone who vends his things before the school where Bunti studied. He should be someone who knew both Bunti and the accused. He should say Banti was dropped and then taken back every day by his grandfather. But that day Meeta and Pala had come to fetch him instead of Lalajee. They bought sweetmeats for Bunti and had it themselves also. Later they took a rickshaw together and went away.”

“Then we’ll need a rickshaw-puller. He will say he has been plying the rickshaw from last ten years and that on that day Pala and Meeta had taken his rickshaw. Bunti was with them. He had dropped them near Dhankian Basti. This would establish the kidnapping. Ok?”

“Yes, Sir!” Nazar, who had his finger in his mouth, blurted out.

“Then locate some old woman, who has no one else in her family. She will say that the accused brought Bunti to her home. They showed a knife to her and frightened her warning her not to shout. She kept mum and suffered everything in silence. Show that Bunti was kept at her house for few days. Write it also that she brought eatables for him from neighbour shop.”

“Make a shopkeeper in his locality swear on it that she bought toffees and biscuits from his shop.”

“On the day of the murder, they took the child from there without telling the old woman anything. She wanted to report it to police but couldn’t because of accused’ fear. When they were caught she immediately came up with her statement. This will take care of the delay in the recording of the statement also.”

“The statements of the old women and the shopkeeper will testify to the illegal confinement of the child. Ok?”

“Absolutely!” Nazar responded as if listening to a tale from a grandma.

Get a rod recovered. It should be stained with blood. Get the old woman to identify that rod. So what do you think it will prove?”

“It will prove the murder.”

“Very good.”

“Talk to the watchman of hospital and the locality. The locality watchman will say he saw the accused going towards the hospital in suspicious manner. One of them was carrying a gunny bag. The bag was heavy with something he didn’t know what, then. He stopped them but didn’t check the bag.”

The hospital watchman will show them coming out of the hospital – holding nothing. He grappled with the accused. Wallet of one of the accused was dropped in the melee. The wallet had photograph of Pala. Meeta’s turban too was dropped. Get a testimony of some dyer who will recognise the turban saying he had dyed it.

“This will ensure Pala and Meeta too are identified and will also prove the dumping of dead body in the hospital,” the excited Nazar Singh butted in before Surinder could ask him.

“When the body was recovered it didn’t have any clothes on. Capitalise on this point. Get a dress of Bunty from Lalajee. Stain that with blood. Then recover that dress as told by the accused.”

“If Lalajee agrees to it, get a printing press owner to state that the accused had got the letter pads printed from him by coercion.”

“Show some utensils dealer to have sold a vessel.”

“You will have to do all this to get the case through.”

Surinder’s proposal was good but it was not easy to implement it.

The problem before Nazar was that the list of false witnesses was too long. If it were some Jatt’s case whole family would have been turned into witnesses. But it was too much of asking from Lalajee.

It would be problematic to talk to Lalajee on this. If he comes to know that police is concocting everything he may decline to give even genuine statement.

Who will chase vendors and rickshaw-pullers? There was a long list of permanent witnesses in the police station - one better than the other, even better than the eyewitnesses. Nazar made up his mind. He will make do with them only. One of them will be a vendor and the other rickshaw-puller. There was no need to ask the watchmen either. He will write their statements himself. They can be made to fall in line when they come for deposing as witnesses.

The only problem was to arrange for a printing press owner and a utensils dealer. Touts won’t fit in for them. He will talk to Ram Swaroop and Darshan of Yuva Sangh about this. They will arrange someone. Nazar will make them understand. To get at justice you have to lie once in a while.

All this he can do but it won’t be his cup of tea to get confessional statements changed from the Magistrate.

When the accused were in police custody, their confessional statements were recorded before the magistrate. The present story had not been concocted then. It was a usual statement. They kidnapped the child for ransom, hid him in the ruins and then killed him. Now the story had turned many corners.

Surinder laughed at his naivety. What was the big deal in getting the statements changed from the judge?

If it was the judge associated with Surinder, he would have got it done immediately. He got along well with him. He was a gentleman. On first day itself he had called him to his retiring room and told him:

“I’ll tell you beforehand whenever I have to acquit an accused. The one you have to get acquitted, you tell me. Get the statements of those who have got to be acquitted with the Reader and those who have to be sentenced, with the Steno. If I do the same, understand whose side I am on.”

They were on good terms ever since.

He was yet to break ice with this judge. He would have by now but it was just that there has been no one to pay.

Surinder knew, this judge was just like his judge only- even better. In a cheating case he would write the statement himself. He wrote only those things which favoured the party. The points that went against the party, he would leave altogether. No one can doubt what a judge writes, right up to the Supreme Court. He would make a party win the case just by contradicting the statements.

If Surinder wants he can get this judge to do this also. But where is the need for him to get a favour? He will have to return the favour manifold after that. To get the judge on his side was the job of the investigating official, not that of the lawyer.

Nazar too was of the same thought. He had been with that judge and had done many favours to him. But it was long time ago. He would have forgotten him by now.

Why should he take pain anyway? It was the duty of the Head Officer. He should get it done. If he gets the judge to do it for him somehow, he will be indebted forever to him. He will expect favours from him immediately.

The Head Officer won’t be able to get it done. The DSP can get it done. He got along well with the judge. He could get the judge to do whatever he wanted to.

All the witnesses in the police encounter case of Kaleke had turned hostile. Even the Assistant Sub Inspector who had been thrashed by the accused and the constable whose turban was torn by them could not stand up to it. When the DSP got inkling that the accused were about to be let off, he camped in the Retiring Room of the judge. Police’ honour will be lost if these hoodlums get off just like this. Every Tom, Dick or Harry will get at the neck of the police officials. He didn’t budge till the judge sentenced them all to three years each.

The DSP could get the judge to do his bidding and it was an easy task to get some statements changed. It was not anyone’s personal work, anyway. It was his duty to take interest in such cases.

Nazar was impressed with Surinder. He has been unduly annoyed with Surinder. He was not only a useful guy but brainy also. Nazar was mistaken to think of him as just an idle drunkard.

Pleased as punch the investigating official collected all the papers and took out another note of hundred rupees from his wallet. He kept it with the earlier note and pushed both towards Surinder Kumar.

“Leave it….if I had given the same opinion to a private party I’d have charged at least thousand. The government bothers us for free.” Surinder acted as if to push the notes towards Nazar but he didn’t really mean it.

“Don’t embarrass me, Sir. I’ve spent a lot already. There is more to be spent.” Nazar Singh was deep in gratitude.

“Ok. Do one thing. Get someone to pay the canteen bill. You have so many people who can do that.”

He struck again just when Nazar had already paid him two hundred rupees.

Nazar took out another note of fifty rupees and told him, “Take this. You pay it yourself.”

Both were happy.

Nazar was happy because he got away with only fifty rupees. The bill could have run to three hundred or even five hundred. Who knows?

Surinder was happy because Nazar was happy. There was no scope of complaint now. On top of that he had managed to wrest another fifty rupees from him.

CH 3

The time for junior staff to reach office was 9.30 am but unlike normal offices, here the employees were at their desks before 9 am. The sooner one comes, more honours he will be bestowed with, was their dictum.

The court clerk Major Singh was the first among them, usually.

But today Nazar Singh had beaten him to that. He was already there, perched on a chair, before Major Singh.

Seeing the papers in the hands of Nazar Singh, Major Singh’s face lit up. He remembered today was the last date for the case to be filed for Bunti murder case. Murder case and that too on the last day meant money.

This challan had to first go through Major Singh. He had to ensure that all papers were in place - the FIR, Remand paper, Bail bonds and the application. He had to go through the challan also. He had to check whether all the papers that police had claimed were there were actually there or not. If they were, then were they in right order? As long as a court clerk does not give a green signal, the judge cannot accept the challan.

This green flag had a fixed fee. If the papers were in order the ordinary case cost twenty rupees, and if it is Session case, then the fee was fifty rupees. The investigating officer had not to pay it from his pocket. It needed just a signal to the accompanying complainants and the accused. If the challan was to be presented on the last day, it cost emergency fee, which was double than the normal.

Major Singh knew that Nazar Singh was a straightforward man. He would ensure he was paid to the full. That is why he had welcomed him with open arms.

Even Nazar Singh had offered a chair to Major even though it was not required of a police official of his rank to stand up for him.

“Welcome Nazar Singh! You seem to be in some kind of trouble to be here so early in the morning,” taking his chair Major Singh asked him.

“Yes, younger brother, today I have to get this Bunty Murder Case off my back.” He told about the purpose of his visit even as he indicated that he should not expect anything from the case.

Major Singh could make that out instantly. He started shifting files here and there just to give an impression that he was busy.

It was time for litigants to come. He wanted the police official to get away as soon possible. Many a cowards would shy away from him on seeing a cop sitting with him. The orderly had reached the court. If he gets to a litigant first, half the booty would be gone.

Even Nazar was in hurry. He was waiting for Major Singh to pay attention to him.

“What will you have – tea or cold drink?” Nazar Singh asked of Major Singh.

“No, I don’t need anything. I had just had breakfast.” Casting a glance towards the papers in Nazar’s hands, he busied himself again.

“Why should I ask? He will get the money out himself.” Thinking this he started preparing the list of cases that were to come up that day. His attention was more on those cases in which no lawyer had appeared yet. On second priority were those cases in which the lawyer was either new or a novice. Such lawyers manage to put up a brief but are not able to sustain it for long. As soon as the accused comes to understand the intricacies of the court, he changes his lawyer. Major had to look for those possibilities.

There were only few criminal lawyers in the town. They were all in touch with him. He would always sound them about all such cases. The litigants had no choice but to go to one of them eventually. This ensured that Major Singh’s share was certain.

As Major finished the list and was about to leave, Nazar Singh stopped him.

Before putting the case file on table, he took out a note, rolled it and stuck it in his closed fist.

Major didn’t react initially. He thought it must be a hundred rupees note. When he realised it was just a twenty rupees note, he was furious. Nazar Singh had made fun of him.

Hurling the note back at him he said: “Take care of it…only twenty rupees for a murder case?”

“It’s ok, young brother. You know I have not been to the police station for whole of last two months and half. It’s either the plaintiffs or the accused who spend. Here I am on my own. I am paying it from my own pocket. Consider it as a mark of respect and not fees.” Nazar Singh was almost on the verge of crying.

It was the fag end. Let the challan be presented somehow and it will all be over for him.

“When you have spent so much already, let there be some more. Take out another note and then see what Major Singh is capable of. You will be free in an hour.” Major Singh struck a conciliatory note. He didn’t want his mood to be spoilt early in the morning.

“I’ve never played dirty, you know. When a person is in hand, I get him to pay more than he can. Remember that case of liquor confession. I had ensured fifty instead of ten and a bottle of whiskey was a bonus.”

It was just few days back when Nazar Singh had got an accused to pay him that much. He had thought that if someone affords to pay it then why he should mind. He thought the favour will be returned some day. Nazar Singh was reminding him of that favour and was repenting for it at the same time. The Station head was right. When they taste blood they start attacking their own.

“You had not done me any favour then. You had arrested someone else and got some other to confess to the crime. This was my nicety that I didn’t bring it to the notice of the judge. Not only you would have been suspended but faced a case of cheating also.” Major too knew all the tricks of the trade. He always had something up his sleeve.

Even Major Singh had his network of informers.

As soon as Major Singh entered the court, the Naib Court (a police constable employed to assist court) would give him all the report. All the cases of remands, challans, and confessional statements were evaluated on the basis of his inputs. This in turn determined their rates.

Major was told of this liquor confession case too by him. The real culprit was the nephew of the owner of the cotton mill. He was absconding right from the first day. The family didn’t want their reputation to be tarnished by him being on records of courts. They had sent their servant in his place.

The government lawyer had charged hefty fees to get the accused changed. The Naib Court had to make do with only fifty rupees. Annoyed thus he had spilled the beans.

Nazar’s first salvo had missed its mark. He tried again.

Leave that but didn’t I get you paid two hundred rupees in the Bimla rape case? The accused were not changed in that case.”

“In that case also there was a hanky panky. You had proved the real culprit in that case to be innocent. The complainant’s party wanted enquiry on higher level and get him arrested. You intimidated the accused to present the challan sooner and took thousand rupees from him. You had already taken your fees. That thousand should have come straight to us. You didn’t do any favour by getting him to pay two hundred rupees. In fact, you took away eight hundred rupees, which were rightfully mine.”

Major was not easy to be pulled down. The lawyer of the accused had told him everything.

Nazar Singh was at his wit’s end now.

Dumbfounded Nazar thought of how he got to know everything. That meant that the parties were not reliable. He didn’t have anything to fear from these court officials but if anything is leaked to his superiors then he would be in hot soup.

“Please take ten more….that’s all I have. Please don’t say no.” Nazar Singh tried again.

“If you are in so dire straights then keep it and enjoy. I’ll get it done for you for free…Go and get it initialed from Sahib. He will mark it to me.” When he saw it was almost 9.30, he thought of shooing him away.

He had got many indications from the lawyers and their assistants till now. His whole day would be lost if remained stuck with Nazar thus.

Summon papers had come back after being honoured in one inheritance case being handled by the lawyer Chahal. He will have to get the witnesses to depose now. It was not easy to get another date from the judge and the witnesses were not ready yet. The only way out was that summon papers be not attached with the missal. The judge will have no option but to announce another date. It all depended on Major. A slight delay and the papers would be on the table of the judge. Then even Major won’t be able to do anything. So it was an emergency for both to have the negotiations fast.

Mohan didn’t want to take up a case that day. The party he was handling had not yet talked to the judge. It was dangerous to start arguments in the case before that. Only Major could solve the problem. He would simply get the missal out of the cases listed for the day. By evening a new date would be announced. It was a good paying proposition for Major.

Otherwise also it was a crucial day for Major. He wanted to earn as much as possible that day as two of his installments were pending. The first installment was due for the plot he had bought. Ten thousand he had to pay every three months. Second installment was for the community lottery. The draw was on Sunday. A thousand was needed for that.

Emulating the Steno and the Reader he too had bought a plot. In just two years their plots had become worth more than double. The Steno had bought two plots. The profits he earned from one he had spent to build a new house for himself. The Reader had invested in a new truck out of the earning of his plot. While Steno was now a proud house-owner, Reader was a transporter in his own right.

As his children were growing up, he was now thinking of shifting to the town. Studying in a village school they would be able to become at the most a clerk. He wanted them to go to good schools in town and become officers. There was nothing, anyway, in the village to hold him there.

He had bought a plot six months back. The initial payment was of fifty thousand rupees. Rest had to be paid in quarterly installments of ten thousand each. He had thirty thousand with him. For twenty thousand he had invested in the lottery. He had to deposit a thousand rupees a month for thirty months for the lottery. Both Steno and the Reader had done the same.

He had thought it would be easy to pay thousand rupees a month. This much he used to save every month. He also thought he will have a way out for the quarterly installments.

But he had had it just at the time of the first installment of ten thousand. With his best efforts he could collect only five thousand and the rest he had to borrow.

The Steno had it easy. He was in direct collusion with the judge. He would get a share for every new case he took to the judge for extra consideration. That he would keep for the installment.

Reader’s wife was a teacher. His installment was taken care of by her salary every month.

Major had no collusion with the judge, nor was his wife an employee. He had to earn for himself by any means.

Nazar was not trying to understand his predicament.

“I’ll get that done also. But you first have a look. He will come after half an hour.” He implored as he returned back the thirty rupees.

“I’ve so much else to do. You get it done. I’ll take only moments to check the missal and get the papers also. You go and sit before the retiring room. If the Sahib gets there before you catch him, you’ll be stuck here till 1 pm.”

Major kept the money as he felt that if he doesn’t take the first payment that is offered, the whole day will be bad. The work will follow its own pace. As long as he didn’t get his full payment, he wouldn’t budge an inch.

Major knew that the local police had done a favour - and it was not a mean favour. All four tyres of his car were replaced with new ones. The attitude of Magistrate was bound to be soft.

While dealing with the police’ case the Magistrate had used his intelligence. He had called all the records related the case at his official residence. The court clerk too had an eagle’s eye. He understood everything.

Major got all the documents copied. He would get to benefit a lot if the documents were tampered with. Firstly, the judge would be under his thumb. Secondly if things turn against him he would have the proof. And thirdly these could be sold to the defence lawyer. It will help the accused get absolved.

Major had guessed it right. When the records were back after two days the confessional statements of the accused had been tampered with.

It was this concession that had cost four new car wheels.

Before the Inspector got the judge to pass a verdict on this, he should act fast.

As soon as the Judge entered the retiring room, he was after him.

As the judge signed on the papers brought by him, he spilled out everything.

The inspector waiting outside had come with a murder case. There were two accused but the set of copies was only one. Even that set didn’t have the complete copies.

Major also brought it to the notice of the judge that this case had become very important. The accused were being defended by Sangharsh Samiti. They will ask for two sets of copies and that too complete.

The court clerk reminded of the case which had remained in controversy for long precisely because of this.

In that case copies of the statements were furnished but records were not. That challan too had been presented in the absence of the accused. The judge usually does not accept the challan till the lawyer does not attest that the copies are complete. The accused in that case was a salesman. Record included cash-books, bill-books, stock registers and so much else. If the accused got the copies of all that done himself the bill would exceed that of his lawyer.

The police official submitted the challan first by saying that rest of the copies would be furnished in three days. The accused could not be found at first. When he was traced, the official got transferred. The new officer asked many of the investigating officials to get the copies done, everybody dilly-dallied. Nobody wanted to pay the bill for something out of which he was not to get anything. When the matter reached the session judge, the court clerk had to get the copies done from his own pocket.

It seemed it would happen in this case too. Either the copies should be completed or the lawyer be asked to get those done.

Major kept on talking till the judge agreed.

As soon as Major came out Nazar entered.

Major, who had plotted it, was at hand to watch how it unfolded.

Magistrate offered the police official a chair. But he didn’t agree to accept the challan in the absence of the accused. He should wait for at least two days, he was told.

When Nazar told him about the mandatory ninety days, he was offered another advice. It was only 10 am. He should get production warrants and call the accused from jail.

Nazar didn’t agree to this even. This would have taken entire day. He was pursuing it all alone. There was challan to be checked and sundry works pertaining to completing all papers. Nazar had neither the vehicle nor the security guard to fetch the accused from the jail.

If he can’t do anything, at least, he should get the copies completed. The judge too was a government employee like the policeman. He too had his compulsions. The policemen do this always. They present the challan groveling before him and don’t show their face afterwards. If the accused were on bail, he would have accepted the challan. There was no news of the lawyer too. Not even whether they had hired one or not. If it was some intelligent lawyer, the judge would have made him understand everything. Ask for fees of two hundred rupees for inspection of papers. Get the copies done in fifty rupees and keep the rest. If it were some rich accused, the judge would have accepted it even then. The rich litigant prefers to spend then being made to attend more hearings.

And now when there was no petitioner in sight and nor did the lawyer, what could the judge do?

Session judge had to hear the case. Every new hearing date is accounted for there. He would have been asked to explain. Why should the accused suffer for Magistrate’s lapse?

Both were right but how to break the deadlock was the question.

The judge was in quandary. He was indebted for the favour he had taken. Legally too he could not refuse to accept the challan. If the challan was returned, the accused would bail. Whole thing would be against him then.

Ultimately a solution was found.

The court clerk was called. He was asked to check the challan thoroughly, especially the copies.

To get the copies completed would be the duty of Major, not that of Nazar.

Everybody agreed to this.

Nazar agreed because he had paid Major. Now it was up to Major. He didn’t have anything to fear.

Major’s reason was because the cop was now in his trap. Would he prefer to get the copies by spending two hundred rupees or pay the balance of seventy rupees?

CH 4

Nazar Singh was waiting for his turn for last two hours. The court clerk had not paid him any heed till now.

Many came and got their work done from him, in the meanwhile. Few constables and ASIs too got some challans passed. He warded him off every time Nazar reminded him of his presence. He waited patiently. He didn’t have any choice, anyway.

Major took out a pile of files, untied the knot on top. Turned pages of each of those and tied them up again. Then he opened another file and repeated the whole exercise again.

Then he turned his attention on summons. He took a loving care of each of them. He took three minutes on each summon. His normal speed was three summons in a minute on a normal day.

When it was over, he took out the hearing cases register as if he had to complete whole month’s hearings on that day only.

When he got it over with, he started preparing the next day’s hearings. Nazar was a helpless spectator. He knew the working of the court. The next day’s hearings were looked into only after that day’s work was over. He could not do that at least before 4 pm.

All this only meant that he didn’t want to entertain him.

To get it confirmed he asked Major, “Will my turn come ever?”

“Why would it not? Do you think I am sitting idle? I am only completing the official work.” Major paid him back in same tone.

“But so many of them who came after me got their work done before mine,” he persisted.

“They have paid the full fees. Why don’t you pay it?” Major couldn’t be more forthright than this. It was noon. It was time to attend to the accused in the summary cases. Only if Nazar leaves, would he be able to collect money.

Naib Court had made many rounds. He had a pile of files of traffic challan cases. The shopkeepers and factory owners didn’t hesitate before Nazar and struck deals with Major but the traffic challans had to go through police. The Naib-court too was a policeman. He dared not do anything before the senior police official. The DSP had suspended many inspectors; he was only a small fry.

The next time when the Naib court came again, Nazar Singh cleared his throat to draw his attention. Major Singh got the signal. If Major does not do his work, he won’t be able to charge his fees either.

Both were adamant.

When Nazar Singh didn’t budge from his chair, Major Singh decided to move. The deals could be struck at other places too.

Finishing collections, Major Singh noticed it was 1 pm.

When he came back to pick up his lunch box, Nazar Singh was not there. He heaved a sigh of relief.

Major had taken his first bite when Naib Court came with the news that Nazar Singh was beside himself with anger. He was in government lawyer’s office and a conspiracy was being hatched against him.

The government lawyer was stoking the fire. He was suggesting tipping off the Vigilance to raid Major. Major had gone too far, he was saying. He doesn’t work without charging money, even if it is his own father.

Nazar Singh was more concerned about his challan, which had to be presented before evening.

Surinder came up with another suggestion.

“We are not servants of the court clerk to sit before him grovelling whole day. It is his duty to get the record completed. How are the police concerned with this?”

“You keep the challan with me. I’ll get it done. It’s not the judge’s duty to check whether papers are alright or not. If there is anything amiss verdict will be accordingly. The judge’s concern is just to ensure that whatever police says is attached with the file is there or not. That’s it.”

Nazar was silent even at this.

He didn’t want to take any chances. He had suffered once just because he had left his work to someone else. He had lost two years of his job due to that. He would have been sub-Inspector by now, otherwise, heading a police station.

He had committed this mistake when he was just appointed Assistant Sub-Inspector.

The earlier ASI had caught liquor without permit from the contractor. If it were any employee of the contractor, they wouldn’t have bothered. But the case was against one of the partners of the contractor’s firm. It was the question of honour for them now.

They got the excise inspector to alter the whole record and then got him to report that the bottles confiscated had valid permit. That he had issued the permit. And that the contractor didn’t do favours to the police department resulting in him being implicated.

The SP got the accusation enquired into. It didn’t hold but the case got stuck for four months.

When the contractors lobby failed here they contacted the chemical examiner. He couldn’t dare to change the samples but agree to hold the report for some time.

A third way was found by the lobby. They greased the palms of the concerned cop to hold on to the case file for some more time. The earlier investigating officer had been transferred. Another month and the case would expire.

Nazar was given the case file a day before the term was to expire.

He got the government lawyer to get the challan passed in a day but stumbled when it came to the court clerk.

The accused contractor was sent to Jammu by the smart contractors lobby. He was left with no choice but to present the challan in the absence of the accused.

To submit the challan without the accused meant having to do a major favour. High Court Judge was scheduled to come for inspection then. Funds were being collected for the visit. Whichever investigating official came to the courts had to pay. Nazar had just been promoted to be a Head Constable so was still afraid to accept bribes. He couldn’t take much burden.

The Court Clerk took fifty rupees and assured him to relax. He said he will get it signed from the judge on his own. The whole police station had faith in the court clerk. Nazar had no reason not to. Offloading his burden on him, Nazar actually went into a relaxed mode.

He was jolted by a notice from the SP. The accused had been acquitted because of his carelessness. He was asked to explain why the challan was not submitted in the stipulated time.

Nazar couldn’t help but wail. He went running to the Court Clerk. He washed his hands off. The contractors had approached the judge. He had let the challan rest.

That was the day Nazar learnt his lesson that he never forgot. He ensured every time the Court Clerk made an entry in his register acknowledging the challan before he was done.

This was a much talked about case. He needed a receipt and that too signed by the court clerk.

Nazar didn’t need any help for the solution to the problem. If he wants to proceed against him, he will do it himself on his own strength.

Nazar Singh knew all the staff well. By evening all of them were tipsy. One would be down in some lawyer’s chamber and another on a town square. Some one would be in retiring room with some loose woman and still others playing cards in the court room itself. Nazar knew of all the hideouts where they went to have fun. If he wants he can get them handcuffed anytime. But he was lenient towards them. They were daily acquaintances now.

Nazar had done a big favour to this court clerk also.

Five years ago Nazar was posted at Sangrur at Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court there. He had tampered with the papers of the case involving recovery of a truck after taking five hundred rupees. Fifty bags of poppy husk had been recovered from that truck. The truck owner too was slapped with a notice as to why the truck should not be impounded?

The convicted culprits appealed in High Court. As the appeal was admitted, the owner too got a reprieve.

The appeal remained pending for ten years. The truck owner died in the meanwhile.

The heirs got the papers suppressed and sold the truck.

When the appeal was rejected, notice too got resurrected.

But whom should the judge issue notice. There was no paper on record.

Police was asked to investigate.

Nazar found out after a month’s hard work. This was all done by this court clerk. If he wanted he could have registered an FIR but Nazar had a pity on his family. He had saved him by putting all the blame on the heirs.

The same clerk was now bent on snatching his bread and butter just for some money.

Nazar Singh was irritated with him but still didn’t want to take any extreme step.

He just wanted it to end with a complaint to the judge.

Surinder Kumar didn’t see any benefit in that. He knew both the judge and the clerk were in collusion. Both were privy to each other’s weaknesses. Major did all the household errands for the judge. This he didn’t do from his own pocket.

But Nazar was not in favour of getting this squabble into open. Surinder resigned himself to it.

Naib court relayed the news to Major. Now it was up to Major.

Naib Court advised that the matter should not be taken far. Nazar was a nice man, anway. Naib Court was ready to stand in for him. As soon as a new case comes to Nazar, he will ensure hundred rupees for him.

But the clerk didn’t agree with him. First Surinder grabbed at least seven hundred and then the DA got his work done. Why this discrimination with him?

Naib Court himself had told him that Nazar had to sit and wait before the DA’s office for three days. The DA wanted that Nazar takes up the issue of fees himself. It didn’t behove an officer of his rank to do so. But Nazar didn’t fall in line.

When Nazar didn’t pick the clue at all, the DA came up with a bombshell.

Recording their opinion regarding the fingerprints, the forensic department had committed a grave error. If that was not rectified, the accused would go scot-free.

The forensic experts had picked up some fingerprints from the place where Bunti’s dead body was recovered. Those were submitted with the laboratory the same day. When the accused were caught, their fingerprints were to be taken again. Then the laboratory had to tally both the prints and establish that the same people had dropped the dead body there.

Nobody knew whose fingerprints were there at the place. When it was decided to frame Pala and Meeta, their fingerprints were also taken and the earlier fingerprints were replaced with these. Then according to the rules, their fingerprint samples were taken before an Executive Magistrate and sent to the laboratory for tallying.

Laboratory people did whatever the police wanted, preparing a report. There was a box in the report which required the date to be filled when the fingerprints were taken from the site of recovery of dead body. Mistakenly they wrote the date when the older fingerprints were replaced with the newer ones. This proved that the fingerprints were furnished twice –first when the dead body was recovered and then again on the date in the report. This would turn the case upside down.

It was necessary to correct the report. The new date required to be changed with the old date.

It was not much of a task to get a letter issued from the laboratory. The problem was paucity of time. It was 4 pm. To locate the officials, get the report corrected and then get it signed from the officers was an uphill task, rather impossible.

DA should clear the challan as it is. Nazar will submit it just like that. He will go to Chandigarh later to get the letter and then attach with the file.

But this was wrong, criminal. Why should the DA be a party to a crime? If at all he had to take the burden his problem need to be addressed too. Summer was coming. He needed a new cooler. It should be arranged.

Nazar was on the verge of crying when he was told that. He tried to reason narrating his tale of compulsions. DA took out a diary. Who had taken what amount from which person, he had it all noted it there. It won’t take even hundredth part of that to get a cooler for him.

Ultimately Nazar got a fan for him to proceed forward.

Nazar had been exploited by every Tom, Dick and Harry. He did not have it left in him to spend more.

But Major had no sympathy for him.

Let alone Nazar, the clerk was not afraid of even the government lawyer.

“Has he done it for free?” he snapped back reminding of how the lawyer had binge of drinking for two days before taking cash.

Major came up with so many more tales of Surinder Kumar’s exploits.

Surinder Kumar has been making trips of his table for so many days. He would ask him to get summons issued for Head Constable Darshan Singh. He knew poor Darshan was not a good enough witness. Afraid that he might not slip up in his statement, he served the lawyers with so much devotion. Juices and dry fruits at all times, beer during the day and whiskey in the evenings. He asks for him at least twice in a week.

He would say don’t issue summons for SI Ramesh. He is such a clever officer. If he deposes once the accused can’t be absolved right up the High Court. Surinder has stakes in getting the accused acquitted. The accused can be acquitted only if Ramesh doesn’t come for deposition. Ramesh can be stopped only if summons are not issued for him.

A lawyer like him can’t take any risks.

Major was not taking any chances even then. He started preparing to tackle Nazar in an appropriate manner.

The same happened that he had already told him.

When Nazar came back he tried to be one up on Major.

“Here is the file. Do what ever you want to do. I have to report to the SSP.” Nazar threw the file on his table.

“How many accused are there?”

“Two.”

“How many copies are there?”

“One.”

“Bring two sets. I’ll do it just then.” There was no effect of Nazar’s threat on Major as he pushed back the file towards the police official.

“Both the accused have the same lawyer representing them. One set will do.”

“Get it in writing from the lawyer then.”

“I am not going to grovel before any lawyer.”

“Then do it for us.” Major retorted.

“You officials have no consideration for any one. Have you forgotten the day when you were pleading after me? If I want I can put you behind bars anytime. What is it that you do not do? You take whole files to lawyers’ homes. They have all the copies of the so called secret documents. You tamper with wills, affidavits and records. You destroy cases.”

“And what about you? You are after us the whole day. Get the report of the liquor case changed at one time and to change the report of the mechanic at others. Sometimes it is statement under some section and the map at others. If we don’t cooperate with you, you would be helpless. Now you think, I don’t know that you are going to make changes in this case too? You will come up in a day or two to get the forensic report changed.”

When Nazar came to attack all the officialdom, the other clerk Satish Kumar also got angry. He too attacked Surinder Kumar. By then whole staff joined in.

If he had time, he would have gone back to police station and registered a case of corruption against the clerk. He would have arrested the clerk right from the midst of the whole staff and told him who called shots. After all he was a police officer. Just a clerk couldn’t get away with humiliating him.

But this time he had no other option but to complain.

The Judge had finished his work and was in his retiring room. He was dictating a judgment to a steno. The orderly had strict direction not to allow anybody in till the time he finishes the dictation.

But the livid Nazar didn’t pay any attention to the orderly standing at door and barged in.

“This is too much, Sir! The clerk has taken money from me and now is refusing to get my work done. He has taken thirty rupees and is now asking for seventy more.” In a fit of anger Nazar had forgotten all the police rules. He forgot even the customary salute and began his tale of woes straightaway.

“I know how honest the police is.” The judge was at his sarcastic worst. He was not showing any favour to Major with this remark but rather showing his anger at Nazar butting in like that. Now that he had come in he should at least talk decently.

The scolding of judge deepened the furrows on Nazar’s forehead. Now the pot was calling kettle black. He thought of reminding him of the tyres he had demanded for his car. What honesty was he talking about?

He was beside himself with anger. It was just as if the ten year old incident was being repeated. He was posted at Sunam that time. The judge was Tota Ram them - very strict. If a police official received summons and did not come to depose, he would not let him go on the next date without fine. The fine too he didn’t take in cash but used to write to the Superintendent of Police. The idea was to let the SP also know.

He carried on with the pretence of being honest though. He was on cordial terms with Nazar, who ran many errands for him.

Once Nazar’s warrant was issued. That day he had to depose as a witness in a case. The Chief minister too had come to the town same day. Being on VIP duty he couldn’t come to the court.

Nazar had sent a request asking for extension of date.

The application got rejected.

Nazar was called to residence a day before the next hearing. Superintendent of the Session Judge was sitting along with the judge.

Superintendent’s daughter was to be married the next Sunday. The Judge wanted to gift him a tin of ghee (clarified butter used in cooking).

Nazar obeyed the orders willingly.

The next day when he went to the court, the Judge didn’t see him eye to eye. Nazar thought the Judge didn’t want to show he was about to do a favour to him.

He too was issued notice like others. But Nazar was still hopeful that the Judge will cancel the notice after seeing his explanation. This will ensure that others too don’t have any objection.

When the Judge fined him fifty rupees, he was flabbergasted.

When nothing moved the Judge, the demon in Nazar woke up. Fuming Nazar went straight to the Judge’s retiring room. The Judge followed him there.

“The tin that I had sent yesterday cost hundred and fifty. Deduct fifty and return the balance hundred to me.”

The Judge was stunned. He didn’t know where to look. Till the time the Judge didn’t tore off the notice, Nazar didn’t sit content.

He wanted this gentleman too to be paid in similar coin. But it was too late now. These days he had developed a think skin and had stopped annoying the officers.

Nazar’s complaint was not dismissed. Major was called immediately. He was asked to explain whether he had asked for bribe from the police official?

Major was back to his senses. He was trembling. With a tremor in his voice he had only one excuse.

“There are two accused and only one set of copies.”

“I am a responsible police officer. Why is he insisting on it when I am undertaking that I will submit it by tomorrow?”

Nazar had not cooled off even now.

“Your challan is submitted. You tell your higher-ups that. Is that alright? Now you get all the copies ready today itself. No more excuses.”

Magistrate passed a verdict which would suit both.

Nazar was happy for that. Challan was important. Copies were no big deal.

He made a quick mental calculation. It won’t take more than hundred rupees. He did not have to pay from his own pocket. He had a running account with the Photostat guy. He will get someone else to pay for that.

Both Nazar and Major seemed content as they came out of the retiring room. Major was happy that even though Nazar didn’t pay seventy rupees to him he will still have to spend two hundred for copies. Major was happy for the challan and his honour was intact too.

CH 5

Balwant Rai Munshi (a lawyer’s assistant) was the first to get the news of Bunti murder case being in the court.

“He was a friend of Nazar Singh. Nazar Singh whispered in his ear before he left court.

There is no one to defend both the accused. They are in jail from last three months. They will have to look for some lawyer now. The case can be yours for asking, if you make some effort.”

Balwinder was all ears. He was right. This was a murder case. This would mean sizeable fees. The commission too would be commensurate with that.

Balwinder needed to contact the accused before the news spread in the rest of the court.

This was Balwinder’s familial profession. His grandfathers too had spent their lives in the courts. He himself had a thirty experience now. He knew how to grab such a prize catch.

Now what trick should he employ on Pala and Meeta? He bought a new pack of cigarettes and went towards the corner of the session court to sit under the banyan tree to think over it.

He lit up two cigarettes together and drew a chessboard on earth with his fingers. He did that always when he needed to indulge in some deep contemplation.

Taking deep drags on the cigarettes he started moving the imaginary pawns.

Meeta lived in Gandhi colony. He had never married. There was no one in his family. No body to take care of him or worry for him. He had neither friendship with anyone nor enmity.

Pala had a mother, father and a wife. His lived at Dhanka colony. The whole family worked at Commission Agent Jeevan’s shop. Earlier he was a petty thief but now was embroiled in a murder case. He had the capacity to spend.

Balwinder made a scheme to make a move on Meeta first.

Gandhi Colony was a modified name for the sweeper’s colony. It was neither a town nor a village. It was not a village as it fell in town limits. Its inhabitants worked in factory instead of working in fields. It was not considered in the town because it was a kilometres away from that. Moreover it did not have a single urban amenity there.

Now his problem was whether to employ rural trick or an urban one with Meeta.

If he were from a village Balwinder would have picked up his cycle and pedalled there in no time. He would have braked before the village watchman’s house and ring his cycle’s bell.

To see a lawyer’s agent at his home, the watchman would have been brimming with pride. The ecstatic watchman would have told him ideas to entrap Meeta while opening a news channel for him.

It was said that Balwinder had some divine powers. Nothing else could explain that how did he come to know everything beforehand. When two parties were still to know of the future fight, he could come up with all the sections under which case was to be filed.

Balwinder would laugh at their naiveté. It was true that he would come to know of the fights that were about to happen beforehand. It was also true that he knew the sections under which the case was to be filed. But it was not true that it was all due to some divine powers. He performed this miracle with the help of ordinary mortals, which included the village watchman.

For this power he didn’t need any divine intervention.

Poor watchman was easy to handle. A paltry loan to one watchman and arranging help from Red Cross at the marriage of another’s daughter was enough.

Balwinder considered the watchman a mother of whole village. He knew every little thing about the villagers.

Every time Balwinder came watchman was ready with the latest news.

Last month when he had gone to village Mehal, the Watchman had given him intimation of three new cases which were getting readied in the village.

Minda’s son was readying four drums of liquor to be distilled. The liquor contractor these days was on lookout for any such information. As soon as the drums were put for distilling, there would be a raid resulting in registration of case.

Darshan of Ajitwal had started coming to the village addict Kala. Kala was not taking opium from Khahra these days. He is full of praise for Darshan’s supply of opium now. Darshan can get a raid conducted anytime now. There will be two cases of opium seizure.

The daughter of Food Inspector had started flirting with the ex-army-man’s son, who had just joined college. Her mother had come to know. Whenever the Food Inspector comes to village there would be a fight. Another case was ready.

Balwinder had stoked the fires and all three of his predictions had come true. All three cases were his now.

Now what should he do for the Meeta’s case? There was no village watchman here. His first move was a miss. But he still had many more pawns.

He lit another cigarette. For Balwinder if the watchman was mother of village, the Patwari was a midwife of the village. You can’t hide a pregnant tummy from a midwife. A Patwari knows the moment he opens up any revenue record that who is going to fight with whom in the village? Balwinder also sought out the Patwari (a land record clerk) for such projections. It was seldom that he returned empty handed.

Just the day before yesterday, he had gone to Sehna village to get Mahant’s land records checked.

As he opened the file the Patwari had opened his gossip box too.

The eldest uncle of Lambar family had died issueless. Balwinder knew what did that mean? The litigation was about to begin.

The eldest son would come up with an old will and stake claim on the land. The younger one would have another will duly attested by the Panchs. The youngest one would claim that he was adopted by his uncle.

Patwari had also revealed to Balwinder that he had the eldest son already with him. He advised him to get one of the younger two on his side. There would be cases galore after that.

The Patwari had one more news. Checking old records he had stumbled upon a piece of land that was in the name of Brars who had since migrated to UP. When the Brars had left village the land had no value but now a spinning mill was to set up just adjacent to that. This would mean the land price would skyrocket.

The Patwari had arranged the address of Brars for Balwinder to carry on. He was to approach Brars and tell them about their right. If the Brar have it in them, they would claim back the whole land overnight. If not they would file a case.

Both situations suited them.

Balwinder had spent the whole day to make arrangements for that.

He had sent one of his accomplices to UP and another had been made to follow Tara, the middle son of the Lambars.

Tara would need a deed writer for a false will. The will would hold only if the deed writer has it in his records in a back date. Balwinder had entrusted Bhola for that task. Bhola had half of his register empty. Whole of register was ready in the service of Tara.

Tara was bewildered to see the Deed-writer at his home. It was nothing less than a miracle. He thought it was a good omen. His fate was about to change.

He had come running to Balwinder who assured him there was no room for worry now. He had every trick up his sleeve to win the case for him.

Tara would need witnesses to prove the false will. He could arrange that for him – be it the Panch, Sarpanch or even a lawyer. It was just that every witness had his own importance. It was for Tara to decide how much of that he wanted.

Then a handwriting expert was needed to attest that the signature on the will was indeed that of his deceased uncle. Balwinder knew where to arrange that.

If need arose he could arrange for the village panchayat to pass a resolution in his favour. He could arrange an application in the police station. He could get the Patwari to add anything in the revenue records.

He could get anything to prove the false will as a legitimate one.

Overwhelmed Tara had filled his pocket with crisp currency notes.

His man who had gone to UP was also expected to come back with something or else.

Only thing that was not expected was to get Meeta in his trap.

If it was a revenue related case he would have got the Patwari to threaten him. But the wretched Meeta had nothing. He had no reason to fear the Patwari.

To lose the second pawn too was painful for Balwinder. He felt the urge for a pair of third cigarettes too.

A feuding party can make without a Watchman or a Patwari but not the Panchs and Numbardars. In criminal cases they had to be pampered a lot. The party that does not have village panchayat with it loses half the case in the first stage itself.

Balwinder had a whole army of Panches and Numbardars at his beck and call.

Ostensibly he was the agent for advocate Chahal. The first hour of his duty in court he spent in his cabin only and gave all the important cases also to him. But he was actually a freelancer. He “supplied” cases to many advocates.

He had his own separate section to deal with the visitors. He was there after 11 am daily.

The litigants needed Numbardars to get their documents attested. The Numbardar would put his thumb wherever Balwinder wanted him to. The litigant was happy that his task was made easier. The Nambardar was also happy to receive note of a hundred or two.

This would also ensure that Nambardars were impressed with him.

Panchs and Sarpanchs were taken care of during the times of elections. He would ensure ten to twenty votes each to every one of them.

A Sarpanch visiting the court was pleased as punch when he offered him tea or cold drink.

They paid him back in full whenever he visited village. Besides gifts bestowed on him like a sack full of corn and fresh vegetables, he availed of their sharp insights into happenings in the village.

The Panchs and Sarpanchs sustained on this only.

In the morning itself they are ready with their starched turbans. Who knows when they might be needed in a court or police station? They didn’t want to take chance on someone in hurry who might take someone else if they took too much time to dress up themselves.

This means whole day’s fun is lost - not only the refreshments but the day’s wages too.

The first thing every Numbardar does after completing his task is to run to Balwinder to give him full report. Which Numbardar had given his testimony on whose fake will and which Numbardar had got fake claim for someone else by false identification? All the information was his for nothing.

And once Balwinder got to know of a cheating or forgery case he got going. He did not sit content till the two groups were not at each other’s throats.

In this case both the warring groups were already at each others throats. There has been no bail yet. Why would Meeta need a person like Balwinder then?

As the third pair of cigarettes was about to end Balwinder’s expectations too seemed to be crashing to an end.

Now he was left with only one pawn. This was police.

Just as the thought struck him, he realised his carelessness.

The challan had been submitted. The police had nothing to do with the case now. If he knew that the case was about to take such a turn he would have been at the case from the day one - right from the day Bunti was kidnapped.

He did this always.

As soon as he got an inkling of any impending dispute he rushed to the police station. He would whisper it in the SHO’s ear. The SHO took no time to catch hold of the person.

After the spying, Balwinder kept mum for few days.

When the FIR was registered and arrests started, he would appear. He would be claiming support to the plaintiff’s group at one time and to the defendants at other.

He had come to know of Nazar like this only.

When there was a dispute over common wall in two groups of Pharwahi village, Balwinder had supported the plaintiffs.

Initially the FIR was registered under section 324. The doctor was yet to give his opinion on some injuries. His opinion would have decided if the FIR was to be converted to 326 or not.

The nature of injury didn’t really matter. If the doctor and the police officer wanted the case could be converted to more severe section 326.

For that he had to persuade the family elder of the plaintiff group to make him understand the ill-effects of section 324 and the benefits of section 326.

“324 amounts to nothing. The culprits would be let off in the village itself. It’s a bailable offence. The police can’t take them to police station. Moreover case under this section is fit for compromise. Every hearing the judge will pressurise to arrive at a compromise. What’s more the punishment under this section is just three years to maximum. Even the severest of the judges won’t pronounce more than six months.”

Then he would change tack.

“Now you see the benefits of 326! The police will take the accused to police station beating them all the way. They will be behind bars for at least 15 days to begin with. The punishment under this section is life imprisonment. Even the most lenient of judges will have to pronounce at least three years sentence. Even if the Panchayat gets the two factions to compromise, they will have to make rounds of the courts for a year – stuffing the pockets of all, beginning from orderly to the Reader, to Steno to the lawyer.”

Sensing the iron was hot he would strike the final blow.

“Loosen up your purse strings a bit. I’ll get it converted to 26 in no time. They will mock at you whole life otherwise. They will proclaim that you were not able to do anything to them.”

Balwinder had won over them with his advice. They had opened up the coffers.

Balwinder had got them to pay Nazar first and then the Doctor.

This was how he had befriended Nazar Singh.

Nazar Singh too had so far honoured the friendship.

When the Pandit family of village Maur had tried to pull a fast one on Balwinder, it was Nazar who had showed them their place.

The Pandits had beaten their domestic help at his home. They should have been charged under section 352 for beating someone in his own home.

The section would have meant a big trouble for Pandits.

It was to save them from this trouble that Balwinder had gone to their home.

“Why did you do something so foolhardy? You should consult somebody before you cause an injury to someone. You are about to be implicated in 452. If it happens you will be in soup. First the police will arrest you and then beat you up publicly. Put you up in custody and then present you in court handcuffed. Then the Magistrate will send you in jail. If it happens in a family like you nobody will have any matrimonial alliance with you for next seven generations. Why are you acting so stupidly? Go and talk to the Inspector. I too will put in a word and will ask the lawyer to do so also. The police will show the place of clash as the street instead of home. The whole case will be reduced to just 325. No problems thereafter. You will get bail sitting at home and compromise in first hearing.”

Following Balwinder they got the section changed. But when it came to hiring a lawyer, they started acting shy.

Sardari Lal was their old lawyer. There was no question of hiring any other lawyer.

When Balwinder realised his whole game plan was going awry, the police came to his help.

When Balwinder had taken care of police it was their duty to take care of him also.

First the Station head tried to reason with Pandits. He had done favour to them because of Balwinder. They should also not ignore him now just like that.

When they tried to homour Balwinder with just hundred or two, the police officer got angry.

He took away the investigation from Pakhar and handed it over to Nazar Singh.

Getting a signal from his boss, Nazar turned the tide overnight.

On paper the whole scene of fight was enacted in the street. He changed the statements and the scene was shifted again to home.

When he took the challan to the government lawyer, he threw the papers away.

“Why is there no 452 here?” he questioned expecting a fees for the reduced crime.

When Nazar Singh didn’t bother, the irritated lawyer put the section 452 again.

This was what Nazar wanted. He picked up the Pandits early next morning.

They were subjected to all that Balwinder had warned about. When the Pandits didn’t take the clue even then he went to court to ask for police remand.

Nazar Singh paraded the Pandits in whole town while taking them to court. The embarrassed Pandits didn’t know where to look as he stopped first at bus stand, then at the main gate of the court and then at the tea-kiosk.

He kept the papers close to his chest. The lawyer tried to get it out of him but he didn’t let a word escape. When the lawyer didn’t even know whether his clients were being presented to seek police remand or judicial remand, how could he defend them in the court?

It was important to have their police remand to teach them a lesson.

Nazar Singh entered the retiring room of the judge when nobody was watching. He requested him on the Station Head’s behalf that it was a matter of the honour of police. The judge was prompt to give one day police remand.

They were taken again to the police station and thrashed. They were kept hanging to the roof till they acceded to what they were being asked to.

The police had helped in getting the brief from the Pandits but how to get it from Pala and Meeta was a hundred dollar question.

The challan had been presented. Now there was no scope for either police remand or altering the sections.

If it were in Nazar Singh’s hands he would have brought them to him himself. Now he had to do his own hunting.

When the last pawn too was lost, Balwinder had no option but to accept defeat.

He wiped off the chessboard he had drawn on earth and checked his pack of cigarettes. There was one more pair of cigarettes to go.

Lighting the last pair, he started attacking Pala.

He had seen mother of Pala in court many times. She was seen at so many lawyer’s benches so often. This was not a simple theft case. A murder case means at least ten thousand rupees for a lawyer. Perhaps that was why the deal was not being struck.

Balwinder decided he will talk to the lady himself. She did not have to pay bribe to anybody. It was a just payment. It was a necessary to have a lawyer, whosoever he might be.

She had not much of a choice really. But if she hesitated, Balwinder would have gone to Commission Agent Jeevan. The money would have come from there. If Commission Agents can arrange credit from a grocer, hiring a lawyer was no big deal.

Balwinder had dealings with many commission agents. They got their commission sitting at home. What objection Jeevan could have? He would have got commission double than that of he usually got for crops.

If there was no other way left, he would approach Mohan Jee. He was one of the lawyers, Balwinder arranged cases for.

He was a junior lawyer. He didn’t accept Sessions cases. If such a case came he referred it to a senior lawyer, getting commission in return.

He was the one who had dealt with all the earlier cases of Pala and Meeta. If this brief went to him he would have referred that forward.

Balwinder was sure Mohan Jee won’t disappoint him. This was a professional relationship. He would have given whole of the share that he received out of lawyer’s fees to Mohan Jee and got his commission his return.

By the time cigarette was over, he was back in his spirits again. He was already late. Further delay could have proved costly.

Balwinder picked up his cycle and took to Pala’s home.

It seemed as if Pala’s mother was waiting for him only.

Whatever he was saying was all right but she couldn’t pay him that much as he was asking for. She could pay five hundred or six hundred, at the most, and that too in instalments.

It was a tricky situation. If she came up to at least thousand, he would have arranged some lawyer. But there was nothing much he could do with what she was offering.

Before he committed anything to Pala’s mother, he thought of checking it from Jeevan and Mohan Jee.

Jeevan didn’t show much enthusiasm. He considered Pala innocent and was sure that an innocent cannot suffer for long.

Mohan Jee surprised him by declaring that he will fight the case himself. They were sure to get convicted but in the process, he will gain experience, he said.

It was midnight by the time Balwinder returned home. He didn’t feel like having dinner. “I am not going to be poorer if I don’t get this case,” he kept muttering to himself as he tried to sleep.

CH 6

Had the government lawyer Gurmeet Singh not resigned, advocate Piare Lal too would have got a toehold in this case. One of the accused was close to Gurmeet and Gurmeet was close to Piare Lal. But now that Gurmeet himself was unemployed what good was he for him?

If only he had consulted him before he resigned! What humiliations he would have to suffer now to establish in this profession! He should have asked Piare Lal just once. If not anything else, he could, at least, have seen what Piare Lal had been through. Has anybody ever asked what degree he has and from which university?

Gurmeet need not take heart from the case of Babbu. Babbu is grandson of BJP’s local president. That is why in the first year of his practice all the town’s traders are swarming around his bench. It’s the party workers who bring them all there. How can Gurmeet emulate him?

Or he could have Billu of Sardarjee family in his mind, when he resigned.

For Billu’s practice to flourish, it was enough that his sister was married to a police officer. It was enough for all the police in the district. Sardarjee was posted at Patiala. But he can be transferred here also. Even if he doesn’t get transferred, he can still do favours to anybody. Whenever he came to town, he made it a point to visit Billu in his chamber. It was a signal enough for anybody. All the police touts paid him a visit every now and then. Constable types had to even salute him. They send him cases and not even ask for a cut.

Now how will Gurmeet get a police officer to become his relative for the sake of his practice?

By the way Gurmeet was an expert in his field. He had won a gold medal for his degree. But who looks for qualification in court?

He should have looked at Piare Lal. He was LLM with a major in criminal law. But nobody considered his degree while handing over cases.

Gurmeet had served for many years. He had vast experience in this profession. Didn’t he know that a litigant is lost the moment he enters the court? Touts numb his senses further. They don’t just let the litigant think about a lawyer.

Just once a litigant had come to him after reading the LLM written on his board. As he went to get the forms a Tout took him over.

“Any body can get a degree from Chandigarh. One can get a PhD degree instead of LLM. My counsel has studied from outside.”

‘Studied from outside’ had flummoxed the litigant. He thought his counsel had studied from a foreign country.

When he came back to get his fees returned, Piare Lal tried to persuade him. That lawyer had done his degree from Ganganagar. There the students don’t have to burn midnight oil to get degree. Visiting couple of times, depositing fees and sitting in exams is enough. The college wants money and the moneyed want degree. That lawyer had obtained his degree thus.

But the Tout had scored over him and the prospective client had insisted on getting his money back.

Piare Lal had been in these courts from last five years and he had not got a chance to show his skills. Piare Lal thought this will be the fate of Gurmeet too.

What if Pala and Meeta had not committed this murder? They were after all history-sheeters. They must have harmed many – stealing things from poor people’s homes. They must be getting away taking advantage of the law. Society should get rid of such criminals. If they had been implicated in a false case, then why should it bother Gurmeet? Piare Lal thought he should not have resigned from such a royal job.

Perhaps Gurmeet too was an idealist like Piare Lal. Initially everybody is. Piare Lal too had sworn in before he donned the black coat. “He will do the duty of lawyer with determination. He will bring truth before the judges. His aim will not be to get his client win. He will help provide clients with easy and inexpensive justice. He will not take up cases of those who feel proud after breaking law. He will uphold human rights. If he has to wage a struggle for achieving this, he will not hesitate.”

Gurmeet must have resigned keeping such an ideal before him.

But struggling to make ends meet, idealism of Piare Lal had been shattered. Hunger had made him forget all his dreams one by one. Tired Piare Lal was forced to be another ordinary lawyer in the crowd.

Gurmeet received ample salary. It’s easy to preach with your tummy full. It seemed to Piare Lal as if Gurmeet had his ego blown up. He thinks he is some kind of a god after making some petty criminals leave crime and getting few cases for lawyers like Piare Lal. When he is back to real world all his ideals will go away.

Piare Lal was not being able to make put why did Gurmeet resign? He was a realist. He was a firm believer in looking before leaping. Then why did he commit this folly?

Perhaps like him he too had started daydreaming.

Piare Lal had bequeathed daydreaming from his father. Mukandlal had dreamt of making his son Piare Lal a lawyer, even before he was born. Someone had cheated him, refusing to return two hundred rupees. He was afraid of others too following suit. This would have sounded death-knell of his business.

Mukand Lal had hired advocate Bihari Lal, who took fifty rupees straightaway. This was enough to set him off for a month. The payment was not just in cash, it was kind too.

The advocate had a lovely family, servants to look after them and a spacious house. Mukand Lal was highly impressed

After spending two years in litigation he learnt that even clerks and assistants of lawyers were so well off.

Husband and wife resolved the day Piare Lal was born that they will make him a lawyer.

Degree of Law would have entailed huge expenditure. The Bania in him had accounted it all. Beginning with small savings then would make it enough by the time Piare Lal grows up, he reckoned.

The city was 12 miles away from their village. This is nothing for a young man. He will leave for city early every morning and bring bag full of vegetables. Whatever he saves will go into the lawyer son’s account.

Kalawanti too supported. She had many skills. She could weave tapestries and could sew also. There was no dearth of clothes to be stitched in village.

They put practical shape to their dream. Their day now began at 3 am to end at 11 pm.

Till the time he studied in village school, it was comfortable. As soon as he started going to college in city, there was a sudden spurt in day to day expenditure. New cycle had to be bought; more expensive clothes and costlier books made it more difficult.

Many new shops opened in village. More vegetable sellers started coming to village. Younger brothers and sisters of Piare Lal too grew up. Expenditures overtook income.

Piare Lal took care of his responsibility well. Till BA he didn’t let any other surpass him. At Law College too he was among the top seven.

Piare Lal was good in English and Mathematics. There were tuitions available in a city like Chandigarh. Part time job partially offset his expenses.

Piare Lal’s professor told him to strive to become a judge. His English was good. He understood law well. He won’t face any problem, they told him.

Piare Lal started dreaming of becoming judge.

Instead of practicing after completing his LLB, he took admission in LLM. Scholarship was his for asking. He will prepare for competition while in university. Good, if he clears it; otherwise he will be a Master of Law at least.

Two years passed and he completed his LLM but civil service test was not announced. He enquired from Secretariat every twenty days or so. But there was no news, when the posts will be announced. He came to know eventually, disagreement in High Court and Public Service Commission over whether to have interview with written exams was delaying the whole thing. High Court was not ready for interviews. Commission had a bad reputation. It couldn’t be trusted with such an important task. But why should the Commission members take the pain to select judges for the government if they are not able to get their kin selected?

It had become difficult to stay in Chandigarh any longer after his LLM was completed. The scholarship too had stopped. There was no chance of getting professorship.

Piare Lal thought it prudent to shift base to village. He will do his practice and prepare for civil services simultaneously.

His parents brimmed with pride as the lawyer son returned home. Their dreams had come true.

A Pandit was called for auspicious beginning. A religious function of Reading of Ramayan was held to let the relatives and acquaintances know.

He was sent off to courts after all the customary rituals.

When Piare Lal came back he was astonished to see a big board outside his house. His father had spent the whole day to get the board painted.

When he reached his room, he saw a letter pad on the table. The younger brother had got it printed. In a lovely font it was written on a white paper: “Piare Lal, BA (Honours), LLM, Advocate, Punjab and Haryana High Court.”

Piare Lal enjoyed all the attention. There was a festive atmosphere at home. All the family members took turns to go out and look at the board hanging outside the home.

But the festivity started to wane in just a few days. One, two and then three months passed, he didn’t have a single case.

He was told he should have first apprenticed with a senior lawyer before starting on his own practice. This would have ensured he got to know people and received some remuneration too.

Those days Tarakki Lal had a rollicking practice. Piare Lal went to him with many aspirations in his eyes. He had faith in his degree and intelligence. Tarakki Lal had many juniors but none to compare with Piare Lal. He was confident that he will start sharing the major work of Tarakki Lal.

Tarakki Lal interviewed him thoroughly. There was no question about his degree or educational qualification. He was asked about his background – his personal, familial and political connections, if any. Piare Lal was found wanting in all these.

Piare Lal was told after two days that he was not needed. “He will be called if some junior leaves.”

Initially Piare Lal believed Tarakki Lal but when after three months he took Lakhwinder under his wings, he was very disappointed.

Piare Lal tried to find out the reasons for the boot for him. He compared himself with Lakhwinder. He was brother of the top farmer union leader with left connections. Most of the disputes in village were settled with the help of the farmer union. Whenever they failed to tackle the issue, court case too went through them. Lakhwinder will automatically ensure many cases.

The other junior Natha Singh had himself been a Naxalite. They had influence in many villages. Whichever case escaped the farmers union went to them.

The third junior Teetu was nephew of the president of the Beopar Mandal, a traders’ body. He has studied living with his uncle in the town. Anyone caught selling adulterated food-items, any raid by the Food and Supplies team, and the shopkeeper rushed to the Beopar Mandal president. Teetu couldn’t handle complex cases himself. Tarakki Lal again got cases automatically.

Why would Tarakki Lal need a person like Piare Lal as his junior then?

He was not concerned with Piare Lal’s qualification. If he is more able, he will learn the ropes sooner and will pose a challenge him only. He will go off on his own when nobody takes him, Tarakki Lal must have thought this when shooing him off.

From there disappointed Piare Lal went to Mohinderdeep. Piare Lal had come to know that even he had to struggle in his rookie days when nobody took him as his junior. Piare Lal thought he might take him precisely because of that experience.

Mohinderdeep didn’t say no to him but considered him as just another assistant. He never ever told him anything worthwhile but kept him with him picking files from here to there. He made him do errands when he was free. But he played shy when it came to payments. He used to gobble up the junior’s fees too at times.

After exerting for a year when Piare Lal realised his career was not going anywhere, he decided to go it alone again.

He didn’t have much work of his own, but soon he became a magnet for young lawyers. The lawyers who were not advised well by their seniors started coming to him. Piare Lal prepared their briefs, found references and relevant judgements for them. Whenever needed he would even stand in for them. He got his due share in the fees for that.

When it was some complex case, the junior lawyers handed him over whole cases taking their share from the fees.

In a year he too got busy. He too had a case or two now daily.

If things continued the way he would also start earning well enough, he thought.

Just then 20 posts of judges were advertised.

Piare Lal was on cloud nine. The selection was to be held without interviews. Interview meant only those candidates can go through who has some kind of recommendation. This was the last chance for people like Piare Lal as it was announced that there would be interviews from next year.

He started preparing in right earnest. For three months he forgot everything else, confined for most time in his attic room studying for the exam.

He performed well in all the papers. He was ecstatic, dreaming of sitting in a judge’s chair. He didn’t even go to the court regularly now.

When the results came, only eight candidates cleared the test. All 700 of the rest had failed.

How could this be possible? He couldn’t have failed.

There was mourning at home. He stopped going out and eating properly. He kept lying at his bed listlessly.

Everybody reconciled to the situation gradually. Parents tried to reason with him. There would be civil services exam next year too. Good lawyers don’t care about the judgeships. Moreover law practice depended on one’s own self. The harder one worked, more he would earn.

When the marks-sheet came he was more saddened. In all other subjects he had performed exceptionally well but in English his score was zero. He had done so well in that paper.

There must be some mistake. His paper must have been replaced or there was some error in adding up his numbers.

Whosoever he went to advised him to file a writ in High Court. It was only recourse.

Piare Lal started dreaming again. High Court would give him justice. Once his marks in English are corrected he will be in Merit List.

But the High Court did more injustice to him than the commission.

“Whatever score the commission had given were correct. The court had no right to decide on what the commission did.”

But it would have been justifiable only if the commission had given any marks. The court should at least check whether his answer sheet is blank and if there is anything written on it, whether it is in his hand?

Piare Lal was left shouting but no heed was paid to him.

Now his position was worse than before. He could not become a judge and now had lost even his practice.

Due to his long absence, he had lost whatever cases were there with him earlier. He had lost credibility. Nobody wanted to risk recommending a case for him lest he slipped again leaving the litigants in lurch.

Posts were advertised again after that but Piare Lal didn’t apply. He had come to know which people got these jobs. Two of his class fellows had become judges in the meanwhile.

Father of one of them was a DSP in CID. The DSP got himself transferred from Amritsar to Patiala and then deputed all his men to ascertain who had prepared the question papers. He succeeded in getting leaked two papers.

Rest of the papers were taken care of after the test was over. The examiners were located and numbers were arranged. The hard work put in by the father paid and the son became a judge.

The second of his class fellows had a father who was a junior employee in the commission itself. He was not in a position to get the question papers leaked or arranging marks later. His fellow employees helped him though.

Blank answer sheets were arranged.

One answer sheet was provided to an expert sitting at a place near the examination hall. As soon as the exam started the question paper too reached the place. Before the examination time was over, the answer sheets were replaced again.

Thus the second guy too became a judge.

Piare Lal couldn’t even go near the commission building.

It was a child’s play for the commission now to select judges. It had ample marks to provide. Sometimes these went to commission members’ near and dear ones and at others to the ministers’ children. Someone would get 90 out of 100 and someone else 92.

Forgetting the judgeship Piare Lal now decided to concentrate all his energies to his law practice.

But he couldn’t regain his lost credibility.

This proved too much for him. Piare Lal started withering away. He tried every trick of the trade but nothing came his way.

He tried to emulate the lawyer Chahal.

Chahal too has had an experience of failure in the beginning. But gradually he began to take interest in politics.

He turned his attention to the Communist Party first. The lawyer with CPI affiliation had his bench full of people always. He thought of snatching at least half of those people.

But one can not become a comrade by just wearing red turban or attending few meetings. He would have to wait for many years before he got a party card. It would have been too late by then.

Turning his attention away from Communists, he now tried to woo Akalis. Neither was there a cadre here nor a card. One can come and go whenever he wanted. Just a blue turban was needed.

But the problem was that Akalis already had a formidable lawyer. He was, in fact, a top leader. He had been minister once and had his contacts even in the centre. Chahal didn’t much have of a chance to be established in politics but there was scope for his practice to flourish. The Akali leader was a lawyer in name only. He remained eight months out of a year in Chandigarh.

Chahal started following him. He became a party member and started sitting on stage in party functions. Being a lawyer he was started to be taken seriously in party.

But soon the Akalis lost power. Now in opposition, Akalis couldn’t sit idle. They announced a programme to fill jails.

Even Chahal had to go to jail twice. He had come in politics for the sake of legal practice but here things had turned upside down for him.

Chahal didn’t lose heart. Ultimately he married a daughter of a freedom fighter. The girl was neither beautiful nor was she much educated. She had one quality though. She was the only child of her parents and had 12 acres of land in her name.

Chahal’s father in law was a Congressman. He had good influence in party. He got Chahal admitted into party and he immediately became president of Block Congress.

Next year he became member of Improvement Trust. Now Chahal was known in government and administrative circles. He started getting cases of banks and government establishments.

Ministers and even High Court judges visited him at him home often. He was great friends with the party president. If the party came back to power again he was sure to be made a minister.

Piare Lal could see he was in high spirits always.

When the party was in power, people brought cases to him out of fear. Officers too favoured him. He had plenty when in opposition too. Intelligent workers take the opportunity to get acquainted with senior leaders at such times. Sitting in office or in court with him they indulged in idle talk for hours. Friendship inculcated in lean days paid in better times. This was possible only if they brought in some clients with them

Piare Lal too tried to emulate Chahal. There was no other party which didn’t have at least two or more lawyers in its ranks. There was a vacancy only in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

To attend the morning Shakha daily he had to stay in town. He took a room on rent.

The RSS was prompt to grant him a post in the party but when in came to cases the RSS cadre went to BJP’s man only.

When he realised politics was not paying him he started adopting the ways and means of touts and court clerks.

When idle he roamed around police station. He tried to befriend cops whenever he met one. They started proving costly to him. Someone wanted to have drinks and someone else desired chicken or meat. Someone would ask for key to his room to bring his girlfriend or to play cards.

Around noon, Piare Lal went to Bus Stand. This was a standard practice with touts. As soon as policemen got out of bus with accused he was around them. He beseeched them to hire lawyer at lowest of fees. He tried to persuade the cops- dangling the carrot of half the fees as commission. He succeeded only few times. Most of the times, Touts walked away with the cases.

Family back home was putting pressure at to him get married. He was getting older for marriage. A couple of years more and he would be hard pressed to get a decent match.

Piare Lal did not want to end up like Meetpal after marrying.

His friend Meetpal had married with much eagerness. Two lovely children too followed. His income was even less than Piare Lal. Situation at home was worse.

Family was in distress. Wife complained she could not fulfil any of her wishes. Children were neglected.

It began with selling off of wife’s ornaments. Then the house too was sold. He became a drunkard. Even meals were difficult to come by at times. Hungry children wailed.

Eventually the wife took things in her own hands. She became a call girl. He just looked the other way. He never ever gave it a thought how the ends were being met.

Piare Lal could not become another Meetpal.

He too was under immense pressure now. He had to take pills at times to sleep at night.

To make ends meet he had to exploit his clients. Now he had to ask for fifty rupees instead of One rupee fifty paise for filling a form and hundred instead of twenty on the pretext of spending on a witness. At times the client came to know. Not only he would humiliate him but also took back his brief.

A time came when he became notorious for every dirty trick in the trade. If anybody needed a false testimony, or get false affidavit attested he came to him unhesitatingly. Piare Lal too didn’t care as he put his stamp every time. If anybody objected he would launch into a tirade.

“I too have to eat. If I don’t get it with honesty then dishonesty is all right. Honesty is nowhere in the working of courts, anyway. It’s all lies. Some people do it secretly and so do it openly. I do it openly.”

He had completely destroyed himself by the time Gurmeet got transferred there. He did not go to village any longer. He drank whole day, begged everybody for a drink and at times would lie down wasted in the court chambers itself.

For months neither Piare Lal recognised Gurmeet and nor did Gurmeet recognise him. They didn’t have anything to do with each other.

Gurmeet came to know of Piare Lal when one of his friends in Chandigarh asked about his well-being.

Gurmeet embraced Piare Lal when he returned from Chandigarh.

Through Gurmeet, Piare Lal started getting cases like those where accused had to make confessional statements. He would get some fees for small work.

Then he started getting poor clients’ cases. If nothing else it kept him busy. Now he started enjoying his work and the urge to drink too diminished.

His standing in court started improving. His intelligence too started to be recognised at times.

Now after Gurmeet had resigned, he was worried.

If he were in service, Piare Lal, too, might have got an opportunity to show his skills.

CH 7

Although every lawyer in the court was desperate to get the case, Sant Ram Bhandari was sitting content. He was going to represent the plaintiff’s side.

He had been associated with the case right from the day one. Bhandari was legal advisor of Yuva Sangh anyway and moreover, Yuva Sangh people were his fans. How could the case be taken up by someone else?

Bhandari was close to Lalajee also. He too was a social worker like Lalajee. Both were instrumental in the running of many organisations. As Lalajee gave his blood and sweat to give birth to an organisation, Bhandari had reared it with money. Lalajee would send men to serve at the community feast and Bhandari would arrange the stuff, Lalajee served the poor ill patients and Bhandari arranged medicines for them. As Lalajee was known for being a selfless worker, Bhandari was known to be generous giver.

Bhandari was not fighting the case for money. He had spent thousands from his own pocket already for Bunty. Till the time Bunty’s dead body was found many taxis were pressed into service to locate him. Advertisements were placed in newspapers and news spread through media. All the expenses were paid for by Bhandari.

Bhandari’s interest in the case was just like that of any other lawyer. He wanted fame. The more one gets fame more is his practice. And if the fame is spread through media, it is all the more good. Media was already talking about the case. It would have taken keen interest in the court case also. The lawyers too would be in pictures along with the accused.

There had been uproar in the assembly already. It was bound to recur once the case started. Under pressure the CM would have to ensure that the culprits are punished. Like Jethmalani and Lekhi in the case of Indira Gandhi assassination, he too would get famous.

Otherwise too, Bhandari considered it a social service to get such dangerous criminals punished. It was most heinous crime, according to him, to kill an innocent child just for few thousands. Such criminals should be hanged, he thought.

He wanted to kill two birds with one stone – social service and recognition as well.

Bhandari didn’t need to make much effort to get the brief.

Lalajee needed so much to fight the case. Neither did he have enough money nor hat much influence. Like other things he did for Lalajee, this time too Bhandari was going to come to his aid.

Bhandari had used his influence during investigation too.

He would call the station head to raid those places where Sangh thought Bunty could have been taken.

And sometimes he would call the DSP to investigate those whom Sangh suspected.

When dead body of Bunty was found, Bhandari’s help was needed again.

He put pressure on police that the accused be caught soon. When they were caught he called the Magistrate. “They were hardened criminals so more and more police remand was needed to make them speak.”

Magistrate granted fifteen days remand. And why would he not do so? Was he not living in the house provided by Bhandari free of cost?

It did not take much effort for the Magistrate to write Police Remand in place of Judicial Remand. Just a scratch of pen and lot of burden of Bhandari’s favours was off his head.

It was his compulsion also. He had to seek favour of Bhandari even before he took over.

There were more officers in town than the residences available. Those that were there were antiquated with crumbling roofs and peeling plaster.

Even then the houses were not available to everybody. Most of them had to arrange for their own accommodation.

There was dearth of good accommodation in town. There were only few houses which would suit the standards of a judge. Those too were occupied by their owners. If someone was vacant, the owners played shy of giving that on rent to judges. They did not pay the full rent.

In fact they could not pay the full rents. Their salaries were less and the rents were higher. It was better to not put it up on rent then to ask for full payment and earn wrath of the officials. Secondly it was a Herculean task to get the house vacated from judges once it was rented out.

Now which house owner in his senses will take all this trouble?

But an official after coming to town on transfer had to look for an accommodation. They had no choice but to go to Bhandari.

He had quite a few houses and he did not have any qualms on giving those to officers.

He had not made these houses to rent these out. They had come up on their own.

Like other rich people of the town, his ancestors too had made an orchard around hundred years ago.

That time it was on the outskirts of the town. As the population increased the boundaries kept changing. Others with orchards lost the sheen gradually. Scores of acres of orchards were divided into plots of 100 square yards each. Now there was no trace of their illustrious family names nor was that of orchards.

But Bhandaris name was intact and the orchard too. There was no one in his family to wither away family property. It has been a family of government servants. His grandfather was minister of Maharaja of Nabha and his father Nazim (Title in undivided India for the chief elected official of a local government). The elder brother of Bhandari was Income Tax commissioner and younger Colonel in army. Bhandari himself was Bar-at-Law. He had studied abroad and spoke English fluently. He had established his practice from the day he began.

Bhandaris never had the need to sell any part of the land. On the contrary every subsequent generation added to it.

They had to sell the orchard when the Improvement Trust started showing interest in it. Bhandari used his influence to get his property out from the Trust scheme. Every new chairman had his eye on the land.

Ultimately Bhandari brothers decided to get some income out of it.

The orchard was converted into a colony with all modern amenities.

A novel plan was made to charge hefty amounts for plots.

At first plots on one street were sold and that too to friends or acquaintances of Bhandari like retired judges and businessmen. Other people spent three to four times the original rates of the plots to be in the company of important personalities of town.

The first house of every street was built by Bhandari himself. It led to a spurt in construction all around. The street was full in days. The rates of the rest of the plots increased many times.

The scheme fetched money and eight houses too were built.

Now those same houses had become virtual goldmines for him.

Officers would come armed with recommendations to get a place in Bhandari Bagh. Bhandari would interview every one before he handed over the keys. A college principal and fire brigade incharge were denied straightaway. If the officer happened to be a Bank manager or a director of a mill, it meant prompt yes. He would become a legal advisor of the companies in return. He charged thousands of rupees as fixed fees from the companies.

Judges came to contact daily. He charged full rent, on papers, from them giving receipts too. Not only he wouldn’t charge any rent from them but would pay their electricity and power bills too.

Bhandari was not stupid. He did get his payback, but not in cash.

The landlord and tenant relationship ensured a friendship with the officers. The news of this friendship spread far and wide. He got further jobs on the strength of this friendship.

He charged hefty fees for appearing in the cases in the town court. A client, who could not pay at least ten thousand, would not come to him.

He didn’t haveany touts and nor did he have to give commission to anybody. He accepted only few cases and won them employing every trick in the trade.

When he was charging ten thousand for local cases, outside cases were naturally more paying. It could go up to twenty and even thirty thousand.

Recently an ITO of Jalandhar got embroiled in a corruption case. Police was after him.

The session judge there was very obstinate. He was not ready to grant him anticipatory bail at any cost.

Someone advised the ITO if someone could do it then it was Bhandari only.

Bhandari charged twenty thousand for appearing in the case at Jalandhar.

Then there was the case of Grewals, whose truck carrying rice illegally was caught at the border. Rajpura police picked them up early in the morning.

Grewals wanted to ensure that the police are not able to get police remand for them. A police remand would have meant their honour lost forever.

They came to know that the judge had been transferred from here. They came running. Only Bhandari could help them.

He got a wad of notes for that.

Bhandari considered these wads of notes as his rent.

This judge too had given as much police remand as they wanted.

Sangh would need Bhandari again when the hearings in the case began. He was required to approach session judge if the culprits were not charged on the basis of evidence alone. If session judge played hesitant then it could mean approaching High court also.

When he had to do all this anyway, why not do it openly by taking up the case himself, he thought.

Three months passed as Bhandari waited for offer to take up the case. Let alone making an offer, Lalajee didn’t even broach up the topic of the case ever.

Bhandari kept mum initially.

When even challan was presented, Bhandari was forced to think. “Perhaps Lalajee does not know that the plaintiffs have to hire a lawyer.”

He himself sent the papers to be signed with his assistant.

Lalajee seemed to be indifferent to the fate of Pala and Meeta accepting whatever had happened as will of God. Whatever he had lost was lost. What was the point in getting humiliated in courts now?

Lalajee sent back the papers.

Bhandari decided to talk to Lalajee himself.

These petty criminals had now tasted blood. If they are not taken to task now they will get out and then murders will only be a child’s play for them. The punishment for them was not for some personal motive. It was a social service. Such criminals should not be allowed to roam around free.

Social service was very dear to him. If punishment for Pala and Meeta meant serving the society then he was ready.

To save other innocent children from criminals like Pala and Meeta, Lalajee put his signatures.

Now Bhandari was the lawyer for Lalajee, officially.

CH 8

Pala and Meeta were committed clients of Mohan Jee.

Pala’s mother had been to him many times. Meeta too had sent many messages from jail asking for Mohan Jee as his lawyer.

Mohan Jee should not worry about the fees. Once he is out he would more than make up for it.

Mohan Jee was not so much bothered about fees. He never did with his committed clientele. They paid him sooner or later as the case gradually moved forward.

But this was a murder case. The fees would come to thousands of rupees. Pala and Meeta would have paid thousands once they were out of jail.

The fee was not a consideration before Mohan Jee. The question was whether he should take up the case at all or not?

Mohan Jee had graduated from a Munshi to a lawyer. He had quite an experience too. He had fought many small cases but he had not dared to fight one in a session court till now.

He had been playing shying of going to session court. His legs would start trembling on just listening to the name of session court, his heart would start beating faster and trickles of sweat would appear on his forehead.

In session courts there were sentences ranging from life to death. The cases went on for many days. It required hard work in session court.

Mohan Jee was ready for hard work. But he had earned his name as a lawyer after twenty long years and he was now doing just fine. He did not want to be known as a lawyer whose clients get hanged and losing, in the process, whatever cases he had in hand.

If someone came to him with a session case he would leave greed aside and send him to some senior lawyer.

But he was not in a mood to forward the Bunti murder case.

Since Pala’s mother had come to him he had been deliberating on this.

When he could not decide for himself after so many days he went to see his senior Manohar Lal.

Manohar Lal was prompt to give his nod. Judging from his performance of last twenty years he had been impressing upon him to not be shy of taking session cases. Mohan Jee had been warding this off till now.

Whatever had happened had happened. Now it was time to move a notch above where success was waiting for him.

This was a blind murder case. There were no eyewitnesses. All the witnesses police had were all touts. Mohan Jee knew every tout inside out. He was already an expert in calling these touts’ bluffs. They could not stand up to Mohan Jee.

If god forbid, the accused are sentenced, his practice was not going to suffer. Nobody was there to bother for both the accused. So nobody would notice.

And if they get acquitted all the name and fame would be his for asking.

After considering all the pros and cons, Mohan Jee decided to take the plunge.

His guru was right. His days of trepidation were long over. These days he had no dearth of cases and had ample success stories to fall back upon.

Mohan Jee just couldn’t help it. He understood everything but had not been able to get rid of his past.

He had not forgotten those days when people would laugh at his dream of becoming a lawyer. His own uncle would make fun of him.

Mohan Jee had turned deaf ear to everyone.

He had faith in Manohar Lal. He had taken him on as his assistant and now he would get him to be a lawyer.

Mohan Jee’s father expired as he cleared his matriculation.

TB had afflicted his father in young age. A paan-beeri vendor, he did not leave anything for the family when he ultimately succumbed to the chronic disease. They were left with nothing to eat.

Manohar Lal, who was their neighbour, had come to the rescue.

Mohan Jee was good in studies but he was more worried for the hungry family. He started looking for some petty job.

Manohar Lal took him under his wings. He had a good practice and was considered among the top lawyers. He thought he will get him some nice job eventually.

When he noticed the hard work being put in by Mohan Jee, he abandoned the thought. Mohan Jee had learnt all the ropes. Whatever he was told once, he didn’t have to be told again.

In about two months he had started assisting the lawyers in the documentation.

Mohan Lal decided he will not let him be an assistant forever and will get him to be a lawyer.

He encouraged him to do BA first and then he did his law degree from Ganganagar.

By the time Mohan Jee completed his degree he already had an experience and courage of the lawyers who had spent years practicing.

Manohar Lal was a workaholic at the age of sixty. He would sit in library till midnight.

He made Mohan Jee too to work like him. He made him understand every little nuance and all the cases that he dealt with.

Even five years after he had donned the black coat he learnt under the wings of Manohar Lal.

As he started his own practice after few years he worshipped Manohar Lal like a god.

Manohar Lal too took care of him like earlier times.

Now if Manohar Lal had advised him to accept case of Pala and Meeta, he was right.

He was at such a point in his career where a single case couldn’t influence his practice any more.

Every lawyer doesn’t win all cases and all lawyers do not lose all the cases. Win or loss depends upon many other reasons besides individual lawyer’s capability. But the clients don’t always understand this.

He was very cautious in his initial days of practice. He would not accept the weak cases. Those days he had to take care of who brought the case in addition to the case itself.

He had realised that a lawyer who is a favourite of the Munshis is never at loss of work. Now he turned his attention towards Munshis. He had himself risen up from the ranks of the Munshis. He was from the community and the community has to help one of their own.

The president of Munshis was a bit reluctant initially when promising help. It did not seem proper to him to deceive the lawyers for whom the Munshis worked. It was a betrayal for a Munshi to work for one lawyer and get case for another, he thought.

Mohan Jee had to spend lot of time to make him see reason.

He was not asking for all the cases. He was asking for those cases only in which the clients had come directly to them and those which came to them because of their few personal influence. The lawyers had no right on such cases.

If the Munshi gets a commission on the case brought by him he should definitely give the case to his lawyer. But if the lawyer thinks it is his right to get a case brought by a Munshi, then they have to give it a thought.

Munshis started thinking.

Mohan Jee was right. It was unfair to them. They should get their share.

It was first time that someone from Munshis had become a lawyer. That is why he understood their problems. They should help him.

The help started coming to him in form of cases.

Mohan Jee offered an advice to new Munshis too. On the off day they should not just play cards in street corners. They should come to the court. Mohan Jee too came to court on holidays and he never returned with empty hands.

When it was off in court, few lawyers could be seen but there was a horde of clients. They had some work or the other. Someone was looking to escape remand and someone else was looking for bail. Such a desperate client always fell in the kitty of that lawyer who was present there.

As he too comes on the day of off they should also come.

If they give a case to Mohan Jee on the day of off it won’t be a disloyalty to their lawyer.

Like this off days too brought in spate of cases to him.

His practice was going good now. He didn’t need any Munshi or a patron. Now he not only knew how to grab work but also how to retain it.

Like traders, he considered a client just like god. He took care of them like one’s parents. He considered it his duty to help the client by hook or crook.

Pala and Meeta too had not become his fans just like that. He had saved them many times from going to jail.

They had reformed now.

Earlier when there were scores of cases against them, they usually forgot their hearing dates.

Mohan Jee had every date noted in his diary. He would start worrying as they got late.

After waiting for a couple of hours he would start arrangements to save them. He would grease the palm of the Reader to ignore their absence. Sometimes he would persuade another of his client to stand in for Pala or Meeta.

Whenever they got caught Police kept them confined to police station for days together.

Whenever families asked about them, cops would ward them off. “You go to courts we are bringing them there only.” The families kept waiting at courts till evening. They would be back to police station next day. When the families had enough of their visits to the police station, the cops would take them to court.

Accused may or may not have someone to pursue their case was not of any concern to Mohan Jee. His Munshis kept an eye at all courts.

Whenever some accused were brought suddenly like this he too would appear suddenly on their behalf. He would spend from his own pocket the initial expenses too. It was taken care of later.

He didn’t let his client go to jail easily. Whenever the need arose he would present people to testify and witnesses for them.

Why would a client go to any other lawyer?

Now when he had not risk of losing any clients, he should take up session cases too.

Just as he made up his mind another problem arose.

Mohan Jee’s motive was not only to argue but to win the case too.

How would he win this case?

The case was to be heard by the Additional Session Judge Satinder Nath.

He had been following him from the day he had decided to take up the case.

Before making a strategy for the case he wanted to understand the psychology and ideology of Satinder Nath.

He had not taken any case in session court till now. So he did not know anything of this judge.

He knew inside-out of all other judges, before whom he appeared in other case.

It was just few days back that he had got an accused in the case of ten kilos of opium, acquitted.

That case too was tricky like this one.

The quantity of opium was substantial. The witnesses were very clever. He could not find a way to get his client released.

Mohan Jee contacted the cook of the judge.

The judge was very religious. He worshipped day and night and went to Gaushala (cow shelter) to feed the cows. He arranged langar (community feast) on days of religious importance. Many Sadhus and Saints visited his home regularly.

Mohan Jee made his client wear saffron robes and got his head shaved. Every hearing he would sit in a corner and turn the beads on his rosary.

Everybody got convinced gradually that he was some religious person.

The Judge too was afraid that if he sentenced him he might not curse him.

To check the truth, he called both the accused and the investigating official in the dock.

“Tell me the truth, Baba! What had really happened?”

“It’s all lies. I have never ever seen opium in my life. But even them I am happy in whatever God had willed for me. If I have to serve a jail sentence I will.” He opened his eyes, uttered the words and shut his eyes again, turning the rosary beads.

Now Judge turned his attention to the cop. Anger was creeping in his voice. “Now you tell. What was it that you had recovered?”

Nobody knows what had hit the cop. Mohan Jee clearly remembered he was trembling as he spoke.

“Sir, we had found him preparing illicit liquor but the Sub Inspector insisted on planting the opium case.” He found himself speaking the truth.

The truth had come out. Opium was not recovered and the case was not that of illicit liquor. Mohan Jee’s client was acquitted by the judge.

If Nathu Ram was religious, Dev Singh was a confirmed agnostic. He didn’t try to hide the fact from anyone. He wore simple clothes and roamed around the city on his bicycle. He did all the daily chores himself, be it buying vegetables from market or dropping children to school.

He was dead against such Sadhus and saints. He would call them idle, dullards and exploiters of poor people in the court. He always ensured strictest of punishment to them.

Mohan Jee had exploited this ideology of his to full.

Whenever a client had to appear in his court, he would instruct him to sport an unkempt look wearing a frayed shirt and torn shoes.

Mohan Jee had scored well in that court too. He had won the case of Nirbhai Transport conductors in that court. The expelled conductors were reinstated. He had also succeeded in getting an increase in wages of the brick kiln workers. The migrant labourer tenants had defeated Marwari landlords.

Now what should he make Pala and Meeta out to be?

The orderly of the Judge claimed he was a religious person but the cook had completely different claim. He asserted how can someone who has full chicken in dinner be religious?

The cleaning lady said he was very benevolent towards poor and that gave him generous tips on all occasions. According to the sweeper the judge was enamoured of her as she was very beautiful.

Mohan Jee was in dilemma. What kind of person was this judge? Mohan Jee was not in hurry though. There was ample time.

He should concentrate on the witnesses in the case instead.

Police had presented many touts as prosecution witnesses. Modan Singh and Babu Badmash were more important of them all. Both had been to courts many times as witnesses in different cases. To take into account all those cases would have an important bearing on the present case. And if someone had the record of all antecedents of these two, it was Mohan Jee.

The background is very important in criminal cases. Courts are peeved at witnesses who depose repeatedly. Such witnesses put the veracity of truth to doubt. Many a times such witnesses result in acquittal of the accused instead of convictions.

Mohan Jee knew how to prove any witness to be a tout.

A witness appearing in more than one case would automatically enter in the books of Mohan Jee. From the first day such witness deposed in favour of prosecution, Mohan Jee kept the record of every subsequent deposition.

The record of the case his deposition was considered as false and the time he deposed strengthened the case - Mohan Jee had answer to every question.

Courts take into account the background of the Investigating Officers too. His record should also be clean. A dishonest Investigating Officer can’t be expected to give justice to an accused.

Mohan Jee kept an eye on the records of cops too.

Which officer was suspended when? Whether it was a corruption case or a rape case? Who investigated the charge against him? What was the investigation report? Whether the court had passed strictures against any police official in any case? Mohan Jee kept the copies of judgments too.

When Mohan Jee was Munshi, he charged five hundred rupees for record of a witness. Now he didn’t sell the record. This record was used in the case in which he was arguing himself.

This too had helped Mohan Jee a lot.

Wise smugglers hired him as their lawyer. Along with the accused the touts too played court to him.

Touts were upset with him. Earlier the witnesses were a pampered lot. The accused would be after them with cash and kind to get them to go back on their testimonies.

The police too had their own worries. They were always in need of a witness. Where do they bring a new witness every time? The moment a tout testified, it increased the chances of the accused being let off going by Mohan Jee’s records.

The witnesses too had to amuse Mohan Jee.

Both Modan and Babu were known to Mohan Jee. They would say whatever he wanted them to say.

He would have made them change their statements if the accused took him on as their lawyer.

He would have become their lawyer not for money but to let go off his diffidence.

The road was clear for Mohan Jee’s reluctance to go away. But there was one problem. That was Sangharsh Samiti. Samiti was going to fight the case as defendants.

Mohan Jee too was a stubborn kind. He did whatever he set himself upon to do once.

He will contact Babajee. He will meet Gurmeet. He will offer his services to Samiti.

Whatever it comes to he will fight the case to come out of his diffidence.

CH 9

Gurmeet was very upset with the inactivity of the Samiti.

The challan of Pala and Meeta had been submitted. The hearing was about to begin. Whether they should continue with defending them, Samiti could not arrive at a conclusion.

Some people in Samiti felt it was all started to put a stop on police atrocities. After Pala and Meeta were arrested the atrocities had indeed stopped. Now there was no need of Samiti. It should be dissolved now.

A powerful section of Samiti was opposing the arrests though. They wanted to continue with the struggle. These included those people who had helped both surrender in the police station or had seen them both in the police station long before their arrest.

Police could not find the perpetrators of the crime even after Bunti was murdered. When the chief minister came to commiserate with the grieving family, he had ordered transfer of the whole police set up at local level.

When the new officials too could not come up with anything, they opened up old records. Raids were started at the house of every man who was there in police records.

Pala and Meeta were history-sheeted criminals. Their investigation was imperative. They were nervous. They thought if the police arrested them, they would get more severe thrashing and if they presented themselves on their own, they might be safe.

Pala used to sweep before Jeevan commission agents’ shop. Jeevan took him to Gurmeet. Gurmeet was a government lawyer then. He himself took Pala to police station with him.

Meeta too had come to police in somewhat similar situation. He was brought by president of the Cartwheel Pullers Association, Sardari.

Jeevan, Sardari and Gurmeet wanted the struggle to continue till they were not let off.

Besides Shamu, Ajit Singh and Hem Raj, Baba Gurdit Singh too supported them.

When the agitation against police repression was at its peak Baba too had to spend a night at police station. Pala and Meeta were in police station then. Shamu and all too had to spend many days at police station in illegal detention. They too had seen Pala and Meeta there.

To get Shamu and others released Samiti had got High Court to raid police station. This raid was conducted a day before Meeta and Pala were shown to be arrested. The Warrant Officer had shown them being present in his report.

“If they were the culprits then they would have been arrested on the first day itself,” the section supporting the demand for continuation of struggle emphasised.

Gurmeet was the one who was the most upset of them all in all this.

He had resigned from his job to take up the case of Pala and Meeta. To get at his motive he had to be dependant on Samiti. If Samiti too surrendered his mission would be lost.

He had met the estranged section of the Samiti many times in past few days. He had tried to persuade them of the innocence of Pala and Meeta many times. He had exhorted them to rise above petty political considerations and unitedly put up a fight against injustice. But nobody was moved.

He was upset with the Baba too. Whenever he went to him to resolve the issue he was told to wait for few more days.

Baba had his own compulsion.

Baba knew what was in store. Nobody would have supported them, neither Congressmen nor the Akalis or the BJP people. They would have to fight on their own strength. Baba didn’t want the Samiti to break up on the issue. He wanted to give them an opportunity to leave on their own.

There was no need for immediate action. The case was at preliminary stage. There was no need for a lawyer on accused’ behalf. Gurmeet was following the case at his own level secretly, anyway.

Police was changing statements every now and then to strengthen prosecution case. Papers were being changed. Gurmeet was getting every changed paper. What more anyone following the case can one ask for?

On being pressed by Gurmeet, Baba made one thing clear. Samiti will fight the case of Pala and Meet at any cost. Till the time is ripe Gurmeet should continue to fight the case. Samiti will handle things later on.

To arrive at an early decision, meetings were held at shorter intervals. It was disappointing every time.

In the first meeting Akalis announced to leave.

It was the same old logic. Police atrocity had stopped. If the accused were the real culprits they would get charged and if not they would be set free. They didn’t want to interfere in judiciary’s working.

Everybody knew this was not the real reason for them to leave Samiti.

Last time the Chief Minister had come, a meeting of Akali workers was called. The CM had gently rebuked the party leader. If the ruling party itself starts opposing the police, it harms the party more than the police. People hold the ruling party responsible for the police excesses.

The CM made the Party leader understand. He was gullible and was playing in the hands of the leftists. He should have seen through their manipulations and supported police instead of those leftists. With punishment to Pala and Meeta, Sikh honour would have enhanced. Akalis should propagate that Sikh community was being targeted unduly for being separatism and terrorism. Sikhism does not allow for the killings of innocent. It was criminals like Pala who defamed Sikhism. This propaganda will strengthen the government. Only a strong government can ensure that the Party leaders do not have to indulge in agitations again.

“But nobody listens to us even now,” the Party leader had lamented. Party leader’s grouse was immediately addressed. The DC and the SSP were called. They were told to take care of Party leader in future.

From that day onwards the Party leader was started to be offered chair in the police station. He too had started speaking the language of police. Now he saw the real offenders in Pala and Meeta. What was the role of his party now in Samiti?

In the next meeting Congressmen played truant.

They were proud of their hundred year old history. The judicial system that they had given to country was unsurpassed. Every thing was in writing now. Same law applied on the President of the country that applied to his sweeper. To make courts free from interference of politicians, they were kept independent. Even a Prime Minister cannot interfere.

If the Samiti was so much in sympathy with the accused it should hire a good lawyer on its own expense. They were not ready for anything beyond that.

Congress workers were upset over the fact that the real credit for the whole agitation had gone to Baba and his supporting organisations.

It was true that they had not taken part much in the protests and demonstrations but their leaders had delivered crackling speeches. Even this was true that they had not offered any arrests but their number was the most in every delegation that went to meet officials. If they kept on supporting Samiti like this, the Baba will step up on them to get higher and higher.

They didn’t see any political mileage in further struggle. Such cases go on at times for decades. The party could not be associated with the communists for so long.

BJP did not have much to do with the Samiti even earlier. It was only when Lalajee himself had spoken against police excesses that few of them joined Samiti. The party was not willing to admit that Pala and Meeta were innocent. They were professional criminals, it contended. If for some reason they could not commit any crime for some time or could not be caught, that did not free them of stain. They could indulge in crime again any time.

It was possible that they were presented before the police. It was also possible that Baba and others had seen them in police station. Perhaps they were not interrogated by the police earlier. The police might have found a clue after the investigation.

Party offered the example of the murder of wife of Kharaiti Lal to corroborate its point.

Balwant had served at Kharaiti Lal’s shop for more than fifteen years. Kharaiti Lal had full faith in him, like his own sons. He was privy to all his financial transactions. He made many rounds of Kharaiti Lal’s residence to get and give cash from his wife.

Once as he came to give twenty thousand to Kharaiti Lal’s wife, his loyalty to family gave in. He noticed her putting the cash in almirah.

After an hour he came back with his face covered to rob all the money. He threatened her and took all the money. To her ill fate, as he was slipping away, she recognised him.

“Balwant, it’s you?” escaped her mouth and that became his nemesis. Balwant strangled her and to hide the evidence, put the house on fire.

In the afternoon he joined the mourners after drinking half a bottle and started wailing.

For next 24 next hours nobody suspected him.

Then the police got the information. People came to know only when on he got the amount recovered and his blood stained clothes too.

If someone says he saw Balwant wailing for Kharaiti Lal’s wife it does not mean that he didn’t kill her.

Instead of supporting Samiti, BJP insisted on getting Meeta and Pala punished now. It announced to disassociate itself from Samiti in public. The party stand was clear. Police morale was already very low and if BJP does not support it terrorism may get more encouragement. Judiciary too was afraid. If the party raises its voice against it, it will lose whatever courage it was left with.

It was in everybody’s interest that Pala and Meeta were punished. Even if two innocent persons got hanged it would not be a catastrophe. There had been many innocents murdered earlier also. If two more get killed it won’t mean that world was going to be empty. If they are punished others will be warned.

Party’s new policy was clear. It considered Pala and Meeta murderers of Bunti. It will adopt all means to get them punished.

In just days all confusion was cleared.

Now only Baba and its supporting organisations were left besides some social workers like Jeevan commission agent.

The newly formed Samiti too was very clear. People had reposed faith in Samiti and it had to live up to it.

A legal cell was established by the Samiti to fight the case. Gurmeet was made in-charge of that. He was given the authority to nominate rest of the members.

Gurmeet had sent first invitation to Piare Lal. Public may have any opinion about him but to Gurmeet he was someone whose worth was not recognised. He should have got a chance to show his skills.

Mohan Jee had offered his services himself. He had been the lawyer of Meeta and Pala from the beginning. He was ready to fight the case without charging any fees.

What more Samiti could ask for? His services were much needed. Most of the witnesses in the case were police touts. They had deposed in hundreds of cases earlier. The Legal Cell needed record of all those earlier cases to prove them to be partial to police. Mohan Jee had it all.

Praying for the success of the team of Legal Cell, other fronts of the Samiti too took over their duties.

The first task fixed was to get bail for the accused.

Ch 10

Pala and Meeta had been in custody from last ninety days. The police had failed to submit challan in the period. This was going to form the basis of their bail.

It was perhaps their last day in jail.

Pala and Meeta were busy collecting their things, preparing to go home.

The fellow prisoners were congratulating them. In murder cases accused don’t get bails for months together and here they were being let off in just three months.

The tough-guy of Bhadaur, known simply as Bhadauria, however, was not ready to believe that police could fail to submit challan in ninety days. He would have believed if it was some ordinary case. But this case had been in news all over. It had got political overtones also. If Pala and Meeta manage to get bail, many police officers would have to face music. His experience said that police would do everything even if they had to collude with Magistrate to show challan having been presented in back date.

For Bhadauria the police station, court or jail were not something new. He had experience of over twenty years. He had been charged in cases ranging from possessing a knife to murder. He was in jail even now for murder. His family and friends had done everything and had been to Supreme Court even. He had not got bail. They thought they would manage bail just like that.

Poor people were comparing themselves with Bhinda of Dhanaula. He had got bail thus. But there was no comparison between the two cases. He was member of Shera’s gang. Shera spent money on his men like anything. Bhinda was his right hand man. He was doing everything to get him released.

Bhinda had got bail also because the old man he had murdered had nobody to care for him. There was not much land in his name. Everybody in family who could have pursued the case realised they would have to spend more than they could ultimately earn from the land, if at all, they got that. They did not want to earn enmity of the gang on top of that. Just to show the world they filed a complaint but didn’t pursue it further for a day. Without someone pursuing a case it can’t go much further. Police was already partial towards Bhinda. If they could do it they would not have arrested him even. But they had to complete the formalities for fear of their seniors.

“Why do you waste money on lawyers? Give the lawyer’s fee to me. Bail is bound to be granted, you will get the case cancelled too.” The police official had showed them the way just at the time of the arrest.

Shera honoured his words. The police official fulfilled his promise. Ninety days passed and he was bailed out.

“Somebody should ask these fools, what makes them so confident? They are just making castles in air. They will get back to their senses by evening.” He thought as he preferred to ignore them.

Pala and Meeta had no idea of Bhadauria ignoring them. But they realised that some friends had started swarming around them. According to the convention in the jail, before they left Pala and Meeta had to gift their things to them. Though there were not many fans of theirs, they had nothing with them to give.

They were not like Bhinda or Bhadauria or Seth Hazari Lal. One or the other relative of theirs was always on a visit to them in jail. All of them came with many things of daily use. Oils, soaps, pickles, biscuits or even cigarettes – all these were not the things which one need to take back with him. Even if someone tries to, jail officials were sure to catch these. So why not make friends happy instead of having jail officials grab their things. Bhinda had gifted even his bedding and blankets to his hangers-on.

Pala and Meeta survived on other’s generosity. They had never ever bestowed with any gifts during their stint in jail.

Meeta had no one.

Pala had visitors once or twice but they came empty handed.

What could they do? The jail was far away from the bus stand. The tempo guy took fifteen or twenty rupees each time. Sangh had also ensured Pala and Meeta were dealt with strictly. The visitors were harassed. They could not even properly meet the person they had come to see.

They were subjected to checking the moment they entered the gate.

First they were greeted by the Sentry with big moustaches. He would make Pala’s mother open her sack. He would steal the oil bottle at first instance, the ghee box was next.

Then there was the pot-bellied clerk inside. He permitted a meeting only if his palm was greased. He would also keep something or the other before letting the visitor go.

The sentry keeping watch further was quite something. Every eatable that crossed from there, he considered his duty to taste. After all he had to take care that the visitor may not poison the prisoner. Any suspicious thing he kept for further testing. This suspicion he only had on valuable or delicious things.

When Pala’s family members who came to visit him saw that whatever they brought after great effort was wasted thus, they stopped visiting altogether.

Every fifteen days Pala and Meeta were brought to court for appearance.

The bus full of prisoners arrived at the court complex at 10 am. The hearing was in the afternoon.

Pala’s family members would meet him there only. It was not much of a problem to meet their incarcerated relatives and friends there. All it took was a cup of tea or some fruits.

Poor family on one side and two persons to share, whatever was brought, on the other. It was all over in two days.

Their hangers-on too were like them only. Debu, Bahadur and Sonu did not have much expectation from them. But even then they thought it was not too much to expect at least something.

They will follow the jail convention and part with some token of their memory while going out.

Debu was the most wretched of them all. He was in jail from last three years. His clothes had tattered to such an extent that he was left with only underwear now. He hadn’t shaved for over a year and his curly black hair had turned brown. He was dark complexioned already and his skin had tanned even more. Debu had not received full meal ever and had to do back-breaking work on top of that. His muscled body had turned into a skeleton. He was the one who needed their generosity the most.

Pala and Meeta had got new clothes when they were arrested. They had also got new turban and pair of shoes. They had never had an opportunity to have such clothes. So when they entered jail they kept them aside. They had not worn these even once. Today was a happy occasion so they had worn these.

They will gift their old clothes to Debu, the Bihari migrant. Meeta gave away his trousers and shirts to Debu along with his sleepers. Pala gifted half the soap that was left and the bottle of oil. He should celebrate his friends’ release by bathing to his heart content and wear proper clothes.

Bahadur, the Nepali, was in jail from last two years. He had spent his life in officers’ homes. He liked to be nattily dressed. He was fair coloured and had a taut body then. Now he and Debu did not seem much different from each other. When Jail Superintendent’s servant was on leave, he filled in for him. He availed of the opportunity fully. He shampooed his whole body and rubbed coconut oil on hair. Pala thought he needed the comb and mirror the most. He gifted him his pocket comb and mirror.

Sonu had been in jail from last four months. He was a young boy with clean cut looks. Everybody thought it his right to cuddle him and kiss him. The prisoners were willing to him anything without even his asking. He did not have need of anything ever.

He wanted just one promise.

“Get me out of this hell. Whatever it takes I will pay more than that once I come out,” Sonu beseeched Meeta.

“You do not worry at all. Once I am out I’ll ask my lawyer to apply for your bail,” Meeta assured Sonu, holding his hands.

Sonu didn’t know whether to believe him or not. Every prisoner on being released promised him that. He had no choice but to believe every promise. After that he would keep watching towards the entrance and wait for a call for him.

He started daydreaming. Sometimes he dreamt a top lawyer has been hired for him who is arguing vehemently for him. The judge has ordered his release. He is being led out of jail with much fanfare. He is playing with his classmates, studying, roaming in streets and market, having gol-gappas, sleeping soundly till afternoon.

He didn’t know that the released prisoner had forgotten him. How can someone who himself has got rid of jail with great difficulty, think of him?

As days passed his dreams too would shatter.

By then someone else would get released. Leaving earlier prisoner he would now hold on to hope from the new outgoing prisoner.

The same hope he had now from Pala and Meeta.

The way they were reassuring Sonu had Debu and Bahadur too tempted. Why don’t they too press upon them to think of them too?

Pala and Meeta sympathised with all three. Like them they too were victims of injustice. They wanted to do whatever they could for them.

Debu had come to Punjab from Bihar for earning wages in fields. But he got into the hands of Saulbaria as soon as he landed. He had to go to Rajasthan just once with his tin drum that was to be brought back filled with opium. Saulbaria adulterated it and made two out of that one and then Debu had to get these to places he told him to. He received thousand rupees a month for this.

Debu got greedy. He saved money to bring two drums instead of one, one for Saulbaria and another for himself.

Saulbaria’s sales were halved. Complaints too started coming that the stuff was not genuine enough.

Saulbaria knew at once that a competitor has emerged, who sells unadulterated stuff. On investigations he found the culprit was at home only. How could two swords remain in once scabbard? He got Debu arrested the next day. He was arrested for possessing two kgs opium and he was in jail from last three years.

Whatever cash he had was impounded. At times he didn’t have money to write a post card back home.

A year after receiving first post card some people from his family had come to visit him. Just one trip broke their back. Just the fares were enough and for the lawyers fees they had sold their ornaments. House was kept as collateral to borrow money for other expenses. Then it had become possible for them to come.

All the money was exhausted soon. Touts and court and jail officials together ensured that.

When the lawyer told them his fees they were astonished. They could not earn that much amount in their whole life. The lawyer was neither ready for credit nor for reducing his fees.

Nobody could help them.

Jail officials needed release orders. The court needed surety for releasing the order. Close relatives surety was not acceptable to the court. They were from a distant land and they had no land in their name. If Debu absconds there would be no trace of any property for the guarantors. The guarantor should be solid and local too.

The problem again was of money. There were many who were willing to stand bail but they quoted exorbitant prices. Debu’s family couldn’t afford that.

Someone told them about the ex-serviceman from Pakhon. He used to get the migrants bailed out on the condition that they would work in his fields on no fees. This was much better deal than rotting in jail. He didn’t have a dearth of such free labourers in his fields.

They went to him but he was unmoved. He had learnt his lessons and was not willing to take risk in future.

Only last month two of them had stabbed him in the back. They not only ran away but tipped the local new reporter too as they went. He flashed the news with much exaggeration.

“The Ex-serviceman keeps bonded labourers at his farm” – it proclaimed adding that it was worse than jail. Labourers were beaten to get them to work. If someone wants to go he is thrashed again. The authorities were keeping mum knowingly.

Police had to raid as the news was published. Nine of them were recovered from there.

All nine of them gave statements favouring the ex-serviceman but police paid no heed. They were made to go away and a case was registered against the hapless ex-serviceman.

Not only was he defamed he had to bail out the labourers paying eight thousand. The case was going on. He could not take more risk.

When they could not do anything they left for home.

There was no news from home after that for Debu. He didn’t even know whether they had reached home or not. They didn’t have money for train fare even. They might have been arrested by the railway police. Debu was helpless. He could not even check. He had no option but to sit back.

When another year passed, the fellow prisoners advised him:

“It’s two kgs opium case. If you contest it may take five years. If you confess you may not get more than two years. This much you have already spent.”

He hesitated initially. It was all false case. When he was arrested he didn’t have any opium with him and he was not caught from the canal bridge as was reported.

But at last he saw reason as there was no other way. He was not going to contest the president’s election that he should worry about his record. He was going to do labour only and records of labourers are not checked.

In the next hearing he filed an application.

The judge checked the papers and took into account his two and half years he had already spent in jail. That was enough, he pronounced.

Everybody was happy. Poor man’s bad days were over.

“Bring the papers,” the judge ordered.

“What papers? Even the challan has not been submitted yet.”

Government lawyer was asked why was the challan not submitted.

The Investigating Officer of the case was missing from a year. Only when he surfaces can the challan be submitted.

“Get duplicate papers. For the wrong committed by investigating official, the poor man should not suffer.”

“Even that was not possible. There is nothing except FIR in police station. The inefficient police official didn’t submit the duplicate record.”

“Another error by the Investigating Officer and the poor man is going to suffer!” This time the judge was angry at the rules rather then at the police.

“Even if a quantity as large as Mount Everest had been recovered from Debu, I could not have sentenced him for more than three years. He has already spent more than two. Now he is ready to confess. I am ready to announce verdict but rules are an irritant. First complete the formalities and then announce your verdict. It’s strange!”

“What can I do? I am bound by the rules. Good or bad I can not violate rules.”

The Judge could not do anything but sigh.

“Debu you bring any man and complete the formalities. I will give you bail.” The judge had rebelled against the rules in last hearing.

Debu wanted to cash in on it but it was possible only if either Pala or Meeta helped him. Whether he does it himself or gets someone else to do it for him.

“You do not worry about the guarantee. Even if we have to break into another house we will do that,” disturbed Pala had assured him.

He was upset wit the gentleman’s life that he had decided to live. When they are not being allowed to live life like gentlemen then why should they even try to become ones? When despite being truthful they are being implicated in false cases why don’t they risk getting caught in a case at least?

When they were caught for any crime they had committed it did not pain. In some corner of their mind they knew they had done something wrong. They were willing to face consequences. Then they had stolen or robbed enough money to fall back upon. Even the days in jail were comfortable. But why should they suffer now? Why not commit crime and be happy?

If Pala was ready to steal for Debu then Meeta can also pick some more pockets for Sonu and Bahadur. Pala would have to plan for stealing, locate a house to strike, and then take at least a week to sell the stolen stuff. If Meeta is made to sit in a bus even with his handcuffs on, he can pick many pockets before the next stoppage. Meeta will ensure his friends are released sooner than Pala’s

Meeta was particularly upset over Bahadur.

Bahadur had come from Nepal to an alien country for greener pastures. Washing used utensils his hands had worn off. But when he asked for his wages the master was incensed. They not only not paid him but committed atrocities on him too.

Bahadur was only eight years old when he had come to be a domestic help at the home of an electricity boards’ SDO. The salary was fixed at fifty rupees a month in addition to meals and clothes. Since he had to come to Punjab he had not taken a penny. He was told that an account had been opened in his name in bank and his salary was adding up.

In seven years the SDO was promoted to become XEn but Bahadur’s salary remained stagnant. He tried to bring up the topic few times but was brushed off. He was getting older and expenses too had increased. His mates took as much as five hundred. His salary should also be raised.

Ultimately he was told the spending on him too was getting costlier as he was growing older. So there can be a raise at the most of ten or twenty rupees and not more than that.

When Bahadur tried to look for another job, they were upset. They did not want to let go a servant who they had got for pittance and once he left he will have to be paid eight thousand rupees of his salary.

He was first threatened and then was got thrashed in police station. When it came to nothing, he was implicated in a case of possession of illegal weapon.

In the beginning XEn visited him few times to persuade him. If he agreed to come back as his domestic help he was willing to get bail for him. The witnesses were all his. They would backtrack once he signalled them.

Bahadur was unmoved. This was like rubbing salt in his wounds. How could he expect anything from the person who didn’t take into account his long service to his family?

The annoyed officer was not letting his case be resolved.

Bahadur was looking for an opportunity. Once he is out he would buy a real pistol. Shooting the officer on his chest he would run away to his country. He can’t be found ever again from there.

Meeta would provide him this opportunity now. Not only would he get him bail, he would arrange a pistol for him also.

It was not difficult to get Sonu released. It was the government lawyer only who was playing an irritant. He would have let go in four or five hundred.

The charge against Sonu was that of stealing ornaments worth a lakh.

The real culprit was his step mother. She was caught having an affair. And the one who had caught her was Sonu himself.

It was the day when their school management president had died. A holiday was declared and the students were let off two hours earlier.

When he came back home, the door to bedroom was closed from inside. He knocked twice but when no response came he thought mother might be in deep sleep. When he turned, the jeweller who had a shop across their house came out of the door and quietly slipped away.

Sonu had suspicion earlier too but now it was all evident.

Sonu’ step mother was young and his father was at least twenty years older than her. When his father went to his shop and he to school the jeweller would come to their house. Gradually people around came to know. His schoolmates and children in the street started teasing him about that.

His mother called him near her lovingly and told him to keep a secret. But she could not bring herself to have faith in Sonu, who till then had remained mum about her affair.

Sonu was surrounded by policemen when he came back from school the next day. The jeweller was with the police. There had been a theft at his shop and he suspected Sonu.

Sonu’s house was searched and the stolen ornaments were recovered from his cupboard.

Sonu was in jail from that day. His condition was pitiable in the jail. Some of the fellow prisoners even tried lewd acts with him.

The Judge was sympathetic towards him.

But the government lawyer pressed upon him four months was too mild a punishment. There should at least be one year’s sentence for a crime like this.

Meeta knew what the lawyer was up to. He was looking for fee. The complainant was to get ornaments worth lacs. He should share something. But the complainant did not meet him just because of that. If he pays up the case would get finished. If the case finishes Sonu would come out and if Sonu comes out he would spoil his story.

Meeta would take on the lawyer as soon as he is out and get Sonu released.

Sonu, Debu and Bahadur prayed for the release of Pala and Meeta. They congratulated them both repeatedly and reminded them of their promises.

But by evening they were all disappointed.

There was a stunned silence in whole barrack.

“Uncle Bhadauria was right…the cops submitted challan yesterday,” Meeta quenched their curiosity.

“Oh god!” Debu and Bahadur cried together.

“You need not worry. A Sangharsh Samiti has been formed outside…they have constituted a committee of three lawyers…they have told us that they will fight all those cases in which people have been falsely implicated…I have mentioned Debu, Sonu and Bahadur’s names too…they will pursue their cases also…all the expenses will be taken care of Samiti…if someone else desires his name can also be recommended…”

To comfort them and to escape from jibes of Bhadauria, Pala delivered a mini lecture.

But Bhadauria was not in a mood for jibes. He was depressed at their naivety.