“Arrey, I had overheard my owner, Mishraji, talking to his lawyer a few years back. Remember the time when I had told you Krishna had stolen some spare parts from the workshop and our owner had handed him over to the police?”
“Hmm, but that was a few years back. What if the laws have changed since then?” I was still not convinced.
“Arrey, pagli, this is Bharat sarkar. They don’t even revise school textbooks, then how come they change our laws. You are so naive. Our laws are what the British had designed for us. We just keep amending them. Everybody knows that.” Kalu laughed.
“Kalu, I am awed by your intelligence. I was just wondering what if your crooked mind had been channelled properly. You might have turned into a praiseworthy citizen, no?” Even Kalu had to chuckle at her suggestion.
Finally, the next weekend, Kalu and I went to Mrs. Sharma’s house. She lived in a two-storey bungalow in Rajinder Nagar. The main road covered the front face of the bungalow, but the huge compound offered some privacy. At the gate, the guard ushered us into her bungalow. Mrs. Sharma had employed a guard and a maid, and a gardener usually worked for fixed hours. The entrance led through a garden, which had a swing.
The guard opened the door for us and asked us to wait. He went back to the gate while Mrs. Sharma slowly emerged from the stairs above.
“How are you, Manju?” she asked. I touched her feet immediately.
“I am good, Bibiji. This is my husband, Kalu.” I smiled. She nodded at Kalu, who squatted near the door.
“So what brings you here? When is your due date?” she asked, pointing at my bloated tummy.
“It’s three more months away. I came to enquire if you will still employ me after I have the child,” I said.
“Yes, yes, you can join any day you want as I have mentioned before. Would you two like to have some tea?” she asked and tried to get up. Since she had arthritis, she had difficulty while moving.
“Allow me, Bibiji. I will make it,” I said and rushed to the swanky kitchen before she could protest. Two years back, she had refurbished it into a modular kitchen. I knew every nook and cranny of the bungalow as I had previously worked here. I put the kettle on and slipped into her upstairs room while Mrs. Sharma was busy chatting to Kalu. Now what should I steal? I thought. The item had to be such that it should be noticeable but not too pricey, Kalu had cautioned. I finally decided on the expensive diamond-studded necklace that she wore occasionally in weddings. I quickly stole the necklace from her jewellery box and hid it in my blouse and came down. I prepared the tea and went into the drawing room.
“Thank you, Manju. I don’t know how I can manage without you,” she said. Five minutes later, we left the house.
“Did you manage to steal?” asked Kalu as soon as we had turned the corner of the road and lost all sight of the guard.
“Yes, I stole a diamond necklace,” I said, my eyes gleaming.
“What! That’s too expensive. You should have taken the mobile phone or something like that,” he said.
“Well, she is sure to notice that it’s gone. She checks it once every fortnight and also wears it in weddings and other functions,” I said.
The night passed with few anxious moments. The next morning, Kalu sold the necklace in the black market for ₹30,000.
“I thought the cost of that necklace was at least one lakh. Bibiji herself mentioned it once, if I remember correctly,” I said when he returned with cash.
“Yes, but it’s a stolen item, so nobody will give us more than this,” he said.
Two more days passed with no sign of police to arrest me. After Kalu had returned home that night, I asked him, “Why don’t the police come? By now, she should have noticed the missing necklace.”
“Arrey, relax. They will come only if she files a complaint, and if they don’t, then all the better for us. We have at least got the required money.”
The very next morning, amid the noises outside, I found two constables standing at our doorstep.
“Yes?” I asked.
“Madam, is your husband at home?” asked the burly constable. The other looked very young, just out of school. Meanwhile, Kalu emerged from the room, still half asleep, and shouted happily.
“I told you they would come. Yes, so you have finally found the culprit?” he asked, clapping his hands.
“So, are you not denying it?” asked the younger constable.
“No, no, why would I? Now take her away please. Don’t worry. I will come tomorrow to meet you at the court,” said Kalu, hugging and kissing my neck.
“Kalu, you are under arrest on charge of murder,” said the burly constable.
“What! No! No, there was no murder. We merely stole a necklace,” shouted Kalu.
“You just admitted it, you idiot! You weren’t even surprised to see us here. We have a witness who saw you coming from your owner’s house late last night,” said the younger of the two. They took Kalu to a nearby waiting police Jeep.
“No, no, Saab. I just went there to return the slips that the accountant had asked me to. I did not murder anybody.” I was shocked. What had just happened? Some nearby neighbours had assembled by now, and Ramcharan, Kalu’s colleague, informed me that Mr. Mishra had been murdered last night and Kalu was the prime suspect.
I went to Karkarduma Court the next day. Kalu was produced before court under police escort. He was handcuffed. The courtroom was very busy with people waiting for their turns. This event attracted some media attention, too. Evidently, Kalu’s employer, Mishra, had been very rich, which is a very important point.
“Don’t worry. I will be out soon. I am innocent.” He smiled. A government lawyer had been appointed for Kalu as we could not afford to one on our own.
“Charge?” asked the judge. He went through sheaves of paper and declared,
“Accused to be sent to judicial custody pending trial.”
“Bail, Your Honour?” asked the government lawyer meekly.
“Denied.” Kalu laughed when he heard the judge say those words. I stared at him. How could he be so casual when he was facing such a serious charge?
“Sab nautanki ho gayi re. We did a meticulous planning but failed to factor in fate. Look after the child. You are on your own now, Manju,” he whispered as he was taken to Tihar Jail.
???????????? ending
ReplyDeleteThats the end bro !!!!!!!!
Delete