‘What happened?’ she asked.
‘Where is Vicky?’
‘He has gone for a meeting in Taj Lands End. Why?’ Pallavi said.
‘Tell him to call me. We have been getting a lot of complaints about Suyog Gold. Apparently, people going to your dealers asking for cancellation of the scheme are being turned away. It was brought to my notice just ten minutes back. The RBI is referring the case to law enforcers and the SEBI.’
‘Oh my god! How did this happen? I am sure there is some misunderstanding there. The agents had clear instructions to refund the money to anyone who wanted to cancel the scheme within thirty days.’
‘I don’t know then where the problem is, Pallavi,’Aditya said. ‘I just don’t want you to get into trouble. Talk to Vicky and find out what is going on. Your dealers and distributors should be of impeccable integrity. You are dealing with people’s trust.’
‘Undoubtedly, Aditya,’ Pallavi agreed. I’ll check with him.’
‘I am worried about you. I tried to stall it, but doing so would have been so obvious.’
‘You’re such a darling,’ Pallavi said in a soft voice, and blew him a kiss. ‘Are we meeting tonight? Vicky had mentioned that he will be out in the evening. I can come to your bungalow.’
‘Not tonight, Pallavi. This is year ending for us. I’ll be late at work,’Aditya said.
‘Year ending?’ Pallavi asked. ‘We are in June!’
‘Well, the RBI works on a financial year of July to June. In any case, we will be meeting this weekend,’ he said, and then, after a goodbye, disconnected the call. But Pallavi’s invitation had distracted him, and now he wished he was with her instead of at work.
The moment Pallavi got off the call with Aditya, she dialled Vicky’s number.
45
August 2016
MUMBAI
Aditya was woken up next morning by the incessant ringing of his phone. It was Pallavi. Hurriedly he picked up the phone from his bedside table.
‘Hi beautiful,’ he breathed into the phone. And then his expression changed. Pallavi was crying.
‘What happened, Pallavi?’ Aditya was beginning to panic.
‘Vicky did not come back home whole night. I am so worried, Aditya. I was waiting for him all this while. Didn’t sleep a wink.’
‘Maye he got stuck somewhere, Pallavi. He will come.’
‘It’s never been like this. He has never been out for the whole night without telling me. In fact, this is the first time he has been in town and stayed away the whole night.’
‘Where could he have gone?’ Aditya asked out of concern. He was trying to keep his calm for Pallavi’s sake.
‘Vicky’s phone had never been switched off for this long before, Aditya.’
‘Have you called his friends? Business partners?’
‘He has no family in Mumbai. I tried calling all his friends and business associates. No one has a clue. In fact, I even called the people he owes money to.’
‘You think we should call the police?’ Aditya asked.
‘Don’t know. I did check out on accidents. Even called a few hospitals in the neighbourhood. Scanned Twitter for any news regarding accidents. Nothing. I don’t know where he is!
Aditya could feel the panic in her voice. ‘Try not to worry, Pallavi. If he was in trouble he would have called,’ he said reassuringly.
‘But maybe he can’t call because he is in trouble!’ Pallavi argued.
‘You want me to come over?’ he asked her out of concern.
‘No, It’s okay. I’ll call you if I need help,’ Pallavi said and hung up. Aditya was left wondering what he could do to help her.
₹
Later that morning, when Aditya walked into his office, his secretary passed on a ‘while you were out’ slip to him. The Finance Secretary had called. He ignored the message. He didn’t want to call him back because he knew it was going to be just another call about the dividend payable to the government.
Instead, he picked up the phone and called Pallavi. ‘Any news from Vicky?’ he asked.
‘Nothing yet,’ she said ‘I am worried sick, Aditya. I don’t know what to do.’ Aditya could hear her weeping. ‘Don’t worry, Pallavi. He will be back,’ was all he could think of saying.
Without replying, she hung up.
Aditya sat at his desk, worried. He had only known Pallavi for a few months, but their connection ran deep. He felt frustrated now, desperate to help her somehow.
Finally, he decided that She had waited enough. He picked up the phone and dialled the Commissioner of Police. As he waited for for the man to pick up, he looked up at the television in his room. The stock market was on a roll that day. Reliance had announced its foray into telecom and the group’s stocks were on fire.
Finally, the Commissioner picked up. ‘Yes, Mr Kesavan,’ he said. ‘Hope you are doing well? How may I help you?’
‘I am good, Commissioner. Thank you,’ Aditya said and was about to tell him the reason for the call when he saw the TV screen, which announced ‘BREAKING NEWS’ in big bold letters. And then, ‘Sanat Rao confession in the match-fixing case doesn’t augur well for team owners. Vicky Malhotra involved.’
Aditya Kesavan panicked. For a while, he was stumped. What should he do? Should he talk to the Commissioner? Was Vicky Malhotra really involved in the match-fixing scandal? If he was, then Aditya would be taking up an issue on behalf of a criminal. And for all he knew, the reason he was missing was because he had been picked up by the police. Aditya decided to not bring it up, at least for now. ‘I am sorry, Commissioner, but something has come up. Would it be okay if I call you back?’ he excused himself and disconnected the call.
He reached out to the phone to dial Pallavi, but didn’t have the courage to go through with it.
By evening, all hell had broken loose.
46
August 2016
MUMBAI
‘Where is Vicky Malhotra?’ was the refrain of the media gathered outside Pallavi and Vicky’s residence. The crowd of reporters and camerapersons outside the house had not moved since the news of Vicky’s disappearance had broken. The police finally had to step in. Vicky Malhotra’s role in the match-fixing scandal was now being probed by the CBI, but so far, they hadn’t come to the Malhotra residence.
At the same time, the Commissioner of Police, along with the Delhi police chief, was addressing a press briefing at the Mumbai police HQ.
‘The role of the team owners in the fixing of IPL matches is currently under investigation. A team is on its way to bring him in for questioning. The three players who are in police custody have confessed to indulging in match fixing multiple times in the past. Our investigations have revealed that all this had happened with the full knowledge of the owners of the team. We have evidence that cannot be ignored. Once we have the owners in custody, we will be able to give you more information on the modus operandi.’
A reporter interrupted the briefing. ‘By owner, you mean Mr Vicky Malhotra.’ It wasn’t a question
‘Yes.’ The police chief nodded. ‘Now, will you please not interrupt me and allow me to read out the briefing?’ he said curtly.
Pallavi was glued to the channel broadcasting the press briefing. The only person in the house apart from her, at that time, was her maid.
‘Champa!’ she called out. The maid came running. ‘Give me your phone,’ Pallavi said to the woman.
Pallavi dialled a number on her maid’s phone, reading it off her own.
After a few rings, Aditya picked up. ‘Hi, it’s me, Pallavi,’ she said.
‘Pallavi?’ Aditya was surprised. ‘Whose number are you calling from?’
‘My maid’s. I am worried that my phone might be tapped, given the crap that is going on. Using my maid’s phone seemed like a safer option.’
Aditya nodded, thinking that she was probably right. ‘What is going on Pallavi?’
‘What is going on? Search me! I am as clueless as everyone else. This m
atch-fixing thing, Vicky disappearing – how am I supposed to handle everything by myself?’ she lamented. ‘Everyone I tried speaking to has turned their backs on me. They think Vicky is a criminal and don’t want to be associated with a criminal’s wife. I didn’t know what to do, so I called you.’ Her voice breaking, Pallavi started sobbing.
Aditya didn’t really know how to handle her. ‘Pallavi,’ he said, and when her sobs didn’t stop, he said it more softly but firmly. ‘Pallavi, listen to me. Please.’ This time she heard, and her sobs reduced in intensity. ‘I am there with you, I promise. We will figure out a way to handle this.’ And then he realized what he had just said. Why was he even getting involved with someone who was clearly going to drag him into a potentially criminal mess? Especially since he represented an office he needed to protect from any scandal?
But he knew that he was weak about Pallavi, and that he could not just walk away from her. She was still on the phone when he heard the call-waiting buzz. He pulled the phone away from his ear and glanced at the screen. It was Chakravarthi, the Deputy Governor. But Pallavi was still upset and Adtiya didn’t want to hang up on her. So he didn’t switch calls.
They only hung up when the sound of the doorbell ringing in Pallavi’s house interrupted their conversation.
₹
Pallavi opened her door to sleuths from CBI, along with officers from Mumbai police. They were looking for Vicky Malhotra. Pallavi politely told them that he was not there. They would have none of that and pushed their way into the house, going on to physically search every nook and corner of her three-storeyed apartment.
Pallavi nervously watched them go from room to room. She glanced at the television, still playing in the living room. She cringed at what was being said about her husband.
‘Where is he, madam? Where are you hiding him?’ An Inspector from the Mumbai police asked her crudely when they couldn’t find him in the house. ‘We do not like playing hide and seek.’
‘I don’t know where he is! He hasn’t even called once in the last thirty-six hours,’ Pallavi said, her voice breaking.
‘You let him know that if he thinks he can hide till this blows over, we will sniff him out,’ the CBI in-charge, slightly more polished than his junior, told her just before he left the house.
As they exited, a court bailiff who had accompanied them posted a notice on the main door.
‘Do you know how demeaning that was?’ she complained to Aditya later when they spoke. ‘He could have handed it over to me and taken my signature. But he chose to humiliate me. It was in Marathi, so I couldn’t read it completely. But I could make out that it said that the CBI court had prohibited Vicky Malhotra and his family from leaving the country. I was shivering with rage, Aditya. This was the first time I am going through something like this. I am an artist. A performer. I am not a criminal,’ she sobbed into the phone.
Aditya wished he was sitting right there next to her, consoling her. How had she been dragged into all this?
47
August 2016
MUMBAI
Chakravarthi walked into Aditya’s cabin later that evening.
‘I had called you in the morning,’ he said the moment he had Aditya’s attention. ‘You were on a very long call.’
‘Is that so?’ Aditya faked ignorance. ‘I must have missed it. Tell me?’
‘That gold Ponzi scheme,’ the Deputy Governor said. ‘Suyog Gold.’
‘What about it? Spit it out, Chakravarthi. I have too many things on my mind right now.’’
‘I referred the case to SEBI on your recommendation.’
‘And?’
‘SEBI has come back stating that since this is akin to accepting deposits from the customer, it is now in the remit of the RBI. They have said that if we insist that they do something about it, they will have no choice but to ban it. Clearly, the scheme won’t be able to sustain a 15-20 per cent increase in gold price over the years. The company will sink, and along with it, the money of hundreds of thousands of people.’
‘Why are they playing ping-pong with the company?’ Aditya said, frowning.
‘With due respect, Mr Kesavan, they are not the ones playing ping-pong.’ He paused. After a brief moment of silence, he added, ‘You are.’
Aditya was stunned. ‘What the hell do you mean, Chakravarthi?’
‘When I brought it to you, I did so because it was clear that it was in our remit. You forcibly shunted it out to SEBI, possibly buying time. Or perhaps because you didn’t want to take a decision at that time. Now, SEBI has thrown it back at us. And we don’t have a choice but to act on it,’ Chakravarthi said.
‘That is not an entirely accurate representation of the situation, Chakravarthi.’
‘Not entirely inaccurate either, sir.’
Aditya realized that pushing his case would only lead to a possibly embarrassing conversation. He quickly backtracked. ‘What do you suggest now?’ he asked his deputy.
‘This is a freak scheme. Unsustainable. We need to protect the investors, the people who have parked their hard-earned money with Suyog Gold. We have to tell the company that this scheme does not have the blessings of the Reserve Bank of India and that they need to pull the plug on it. They will have to stop taking fresh deposits, and return the ones already collected,’ Chakravarthi said.
‘That will have disastrous consequences on the company.’
‘Maybe, yes. We can give them ninety days to repay the money. That’s enough time.’
‘Hmm …’ Aditya contemplated what Chakravarthi was saying.
‘I understand your predicament, sir, you have a personal relationship at stake.’ Aditya froze and then looked up at Chakravarthi, who continued, ‘But if you don’t act now, the consequences could be even more disastrous, but this time for the public at large. It is our duty to protect them, sir.’ As Aditya nodded, Chakravarthi spoke again. ‘Till yesterday, I would have perhaps still given them the benefit of doubt. But looking at how Vicky Malhotra is also involved in the match-fixing saga, I am now concerned that the monies collected through Suyog Gold might have made their way to fix matches.’
‘Let us discuss this further on Monday and then take a call,’ Aditya said. ‘Send me a note on this.’
‘It is already in your inbox.’
‘Thank you, Chakravarthi. Is there anything else?’
‘One last thing, sir. CBI had sent in a query. This is regarding the notes seized during the Pathankot terrorist attack.’
‘The Sajid Mir one?’
‘Yes sir.’
‘They want to know if we have received any complaints on fake currency in circulation in Punjab, Haryana and southern J&K. I did not want to give them anything without checking with you or Deputy Governor – Currency. In fact, I had directed them to you. Not sure if they have called you already,’ Chakravarthi said.
‘No they haven’t called,’ Aditya replied.
‘Unless you missed their call as well …’
48
September 2016
JAIPUR
Sajid Mir, walked to the corner of his 12 10 cell in a high-security wing of Rajasthan Jail in Jaipur. Even though he was kept in solitary confinement, his cell was reasonably furnished – a comfortable bed, bug-free mattress, fan – luxuries that normal prisoners would never get to enjoy. But Sajid Mir was different. A few friendly and rather corrupt jail officials had provided him with all the basic comforts.
Sajid removed a loose brick in the wall. Putting his hand into the cavity, he extracted a plastic packet from it. Inside the packet was a dismantled phone, which he took sixty seconds to assemble and get to working condition. This was the phone he’d regularly use to exchange messages with his arrangers back home in Pakistan. He clicked a few buttons and the screen lit up. There was a message waiting for him.
‘Few more days. Things are progressing well. Insha Allah we will get you out of there,’ the message read.
Sazid smiled. He knew that people back home would leave
no stone unturned to make sure that he was pulled out of prison in India. He was far too important to be left to languish in an Indian jail.
49
September 2016
MUMBAI
The disappearance of Vicky Malhotra was front-page news. Speculation was rife. Had he flown the country? Was he in hiding? Did he have any benefactors in the government? Had someone helped him escape? Was he tipped off? There were too many questions, and no answers. And coming so close on heels of Ranvijay Malya fleeing, the news was a huge embarrassment for the Indian government.
Pallavi hadn’t stepped out of her house for forty-eight hours. Aditya had called a few times to check on her. The media posse outside the house prevented him for going there to meet her. ‘I hope he is safe and nothing ill has come upon him. This match-fixing thing scares me, Aditya,’ she expressed her worst fears to Aditya.
‘I don’t think such would be the case, Pallavi. You need to relax. He will be back.’ Aditya’s best efforts at consoling her had no impact and Pallavi started crying again. Thankfully, Kangana had moved in with Pallavi, so she had company. On Aditya’s recommendation, Kangana reached out to the lawyers to make sure that Pallavi filed for anticipatory bail. It was quite likely that she would be booked as an accomplice.
Aditya made sure that he too was with her, giving her moral support along the way. And because he was sure she wouldn’t be able to take the news without breaking down, he didn’t tell her about the impending action against Suyog Gold.
₹
Monday morning was no different. The newspapers were ruthless, and now, reports were coming in that the brother of one of the reigning superstars of Bollywood was also involved in the betting. One of the three arrested cricketers had named him. The brother had been picked up and taken for interrogation, where he had agreed to turn witness and implicate the key persons involved – Vicky Malhotra being one of them. Things were not looking good.
Aditya was in his office, reading the Times of India, when Chakravarthi walked in.
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