The Jugni

by Gagan Saini

  Zahid did not pay much attention to it and said, “I know,” and continued his work. The policeman kept on standing there.

  He again said with a blank face, “It was me who did this”.

  Zahid looked up and paused for a few seconds.

  “Sorry, what did you just say?”

  “Sir, I killed the CM, not Simar mam.”

  Zahid stood up with anger and caught him from his collars and pushed him to the wall.

  “Why?” Zahid shouted very loud

  By now he had attracted the attention of everyone there. The whole police station paused. The man started crying.

  “I was given a large sum of money. It was so selfish and foolish of me that I did that.”

  Zahid loosened his grip. His red eyes were filled with anger. A few other policemen gathered around there. One policeman asked, “So why are you telling all this now, all of a sudden?”

  “It took six months when I realized my mistake,” he continued crying.

  Everyone present there wasn’t happy with him, they all showed angry faces. Zahid said to him, “Do you know because of your greediness we lost the most efficient police officer and the hope for a better future.”

  “I know sir,” he was slowing down with his crying.

  “I realized this last night. The same people who gave me money tried to rape my wife last night when she was returning from her mother’s house. They already had an eye on my wife when they contacted me regarding killing the CM.”

  “Then what happened?” Another policeman asked.

  “They were not successful in their evil ideas. It was because of the ghost of Simar Madam, the same lady who is dead because of me.” He started crying again.

  Zahid got angry even more. “That’s enough with the ghost stories. Come to the point.”

  “I am telling the truth, Sir! She got rid of those culprits and saved my wife. Last night I realized if you hide fire in your house it will burn your house first.”

  Zahid asked him, “I don’t know about that ghost but tell me do you have the courage to tell this in the court?”

  “Yes sir, but I am concerned about my wife’s safety.”

  “We will take care of it.”

  “There is one more thing I want to talk to you alone, Zahid Sir.”

  Zahid took him to a room. Others could see from a glass window some intense conversation was going on. But it ended soon. Zahid came out and asked the constables to take him to the lock-up.

  Then he called Mr. Sinha and fixed an appointment to see him. He asked another police officer to ensure the safety of that policeman’s wife and family.

  He planned a massive attack on the underworld with Sinha and other high-rank officers. Based on the information from that policeman, the police raided many areas. It was a spontaneous and massive operation. As it was so sudden, the time of leakage of information was very little. Police caught everyone who contacted that policeman regarding the assassination of the Chief Minister. The crime world shook with this operation. By the evening, it was all over the news that police had now caught the real killer of the minister and Simar was innocent.

  Zahid and Simar’s family were present in the Supreme Court when their lawyer presented all the evidence. The policeman described how he positioned himself and made it look like Simar pulled the trigger.

  Judge asked him, “Why did he kill the minister.”

  “My family was in danger. If I didn’t do it, they would’ve killed my family.”

  This was a bit shocking for some policemen as he said in the police station that he was given money. This was the thing he discussed with Zahid in a closed room that if he confesses, he did not want to mention the money part. Zahid was ok with that as long as he confesses and helps to catch the other involved people. After a long hearing and considering all the facts, the Judge sentenced him twelve years of imprisonment. As he did under a threat, therefore, he wasn’t considered the main culprit. The judge declared Simar was innocent and she was framed. Zahid, Jaspal, and mother were very much relieved by this. Everyone who supported Simar was happy.

  It’s been a few weeks now; everything is back to normal except for the news reports of the ghost-girl which kept on coming one way or the other. This was bothering Zahid a lot and he wanted to know the truth behind this. Because of his busy schedule, he did not get time to find out the truth.

  India was going to host the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in a few months. It was a proud moment for the country to host such an event. For players, it would be a testing time, but for all the corrupt people, it was a chance to make fortunes.

  Many business people wanted to get the contract to look after all the supplies for the event. They all knew that a huge sum of money would be available.

  Tenders were already in and the Sports Minister, Shridhar Shah was supposed to announce the company’s name in a week’s time. All companies were trying hard to get the contract. Many of them tried to offer bribes but Shah was an honest man, he did not accept any offers.

  Yogi, a very desperate businessman managed to see him personally.

  “Mr. Shah, you know why I want to see you. Why not we find out some way which benefits us both?

  “Mr. Yogi, please come to the point.”

  “Okay, how much do you want? I can give you a share of my profits. You will make that much money which you have earned so far doing this job in such a short time!”

  “Thanks for your offer, Mr. Yogi. I am not for sale. Your tender is with us. Just wait for the result. The company which would have provided the best deal will be selected. I wish you the best of luck.” Shah walked away, and Yogi stood still at the same place looking at him in anger.

  Yogi’s brother was one of the gang leaders of Delhi. While having drinks in the evening in an old warehouse, he told him about this and asked him to sort it out.

  “Who else is there in Shah’s family?” His fat and dark brother asked.

  “A wife and a son of age seven.”

  “Consider your work is done.” They laughed and finished their drinks.

  Next day the bell in a school rang and all the children ran happily out from their classrooms. It was time to go home. Some waited for the bus and others for their parents.

  One middle-aged man approached a kid and said, “Hello Son, I work for your dad, he is busy at work today, he asked me to drop you home.” He presented an ice cream as well. The kid’s attention went to the ice cream and he walked with him.

  They walked to the next street where a van was already waiting for them. He picked the boy and threw him in the van. The boy started crying. The cries of the boy were silenced by making him sniff some liquid from a handkerchief. The van just disappeared into the streets of Delhi and people were so busy to notice anything.

  Shah’s wife rang Shah, “Where are you? Have you picked up Avi from school?”

  “Darling, I messaged you that I am busy today and you need to pick him up.”

  “I did not receive any message. Oh my God, my poor son will be waiting for me.” She hung up and left for school in her car.

  When she reached there, there was nobody except a security guard near the locked main gate of the school.

  She asked the security guard if any kid was waiting for his parents. He told her that he did not notice any kid waiting for anybody. She pulled out her mobile phone from the purse and rang her husband.

  “Avi is nowhere! I looked for him; I don’t know where my Son would be.” She was not able to hold her tears as she was talking to Shah.

  “Don’t worry dear, go home, he might come there. If he doesn’t come in the next one hour, I will call Mr. Sinha. He is my friend I sure he will help.”

  She sat in her car and calmed herself before she could drive. Shridhar delegated his work at the office to someone and left for home. By the time he reached
home his wife had called all the friends of Avi and he wasn’t with them. Shridhar hugged and asked her, “Anything?”

  “No, I have called almost all his friends, he is not with them.”

  “Hey, once he told me that he has a best friend named, Riya. Have you checked with her?”

  “No,” said his wife and got the number of Riya’s house from one of his friends. She called and coincidently Riya answered instead of her parents.

  “Dear, I am Avi’s mother. Is he with you or was he with you when the school finished?”

  “Yes Aunty, but he went with a man from uncle’s office because Uncle was busy. That’s what he said.”

  “Dear, how did that man look like?”

  “I don’t remember aunty, sorry.”

  “That’s alright, thanks, dear.”

  Shridhar was listening to this conversation over the speaker.

  He rang Mr. Sinha straight away.

  “Hello Sinha, Shridhar here.”

  “Hi Shridhar, it’s been a long time since we spoke. How are you?”

  “I am in trouble Sinha, I need your help. Someone kidnapped my son from the school,” Shridhar said in a restless and worried voice.

  “Oh, that’s terrible. When did it happen?”

  “It happened a few hours ago. I am pretty sure it has some connection with the games’ contract.”

  “What about that?”

  “We have tenders already and I am supposed to announce the winning company’s name tomorrow. Lots of companies are interested in this. They are doing whatever they can to get the contract.”

  “Hmm, you might be right. I will appoint the best police officer to help you out and investigate this.”

  “Please Sinha, it is a humble request, don’t appoint just any officer. Please delegate this duty to the best. It is a matter of national image in the world that the games go smoothly. I want to make the decision without any pressure.”

  “I understand that. Officer Zahid Khan will be able to help you. He is one of my best officers.”

  “Thank you, Sinha. That means a lot to us.”

  Mr. Sinha sent Zahid and several other policemen to Shridhar’s house. His wife was crying uncontrollably when they reached their house. Zahid started a routine investigation. Shridhar told him about Yogi and their conversation last night. Zahid asked a policeman to find the details of Yogi and to follow him wherever he goes. His phone was monitored by the police. Zahid went to Yogi’s house and interviewed him. The lack of any significant evidence limited his actions. He could not get any information from him.

  The whole day the police kept on searching, but in vain. It was night now and Zahid came empty-handed to Sridhar’s house.

  “Any clue, officer?” Shridhar asked with a hope in his eyes.

  “Sorry Sir, we tried our best and are still doing, but so far, no significant lead has been found. We are keeping an eye on Yogi.”

  The ringtone of the landline phone attracted everyone’s attention. Zahid waived his technician to get active and asked Shridhar to answer the phone.

  “Hello, Shridhar here.”

  “Your kid is with us. If you don’t announce the contractor’s name as I say tomorrow, you won’t see your son again.”

  “I want to talk to my son. Is he alright?”

  The man brought the phone near to Avi, he was crying. “Remember what you have to do tomorrow. I will ring you just before your press conference and you will do as I say.”

  Before the technician could trace the call, he hung up.

  “I told you Zahid, its all about the contract.”

  “I understand that. Have you guys decided on the company?”

  “Yes we have, but it’s not Yogi’s. They know that whatever company’s name I announce will be final irrespective of our decision. As it happens with a verbal agreement and to keep it a secret, we don’t do any paperwork until the name is announced. Whatever I announce can’t be challenged. They are taking advantage of this loophole in our policy.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. On one side, it’s national pride and another side, the life of my only child. Anyway, Zahid you better have some rest, you been working hard since morning.”

  “I guess so as well. Staying here won’t help. I am going to the police station to see if I can find any record for Yogi.”

  He turned to the technician, “Continue to monitor and try to trace that call. If you find anything call me straight away.”

  “Ok, Sir.”

  Zahid left 3-4 policemen at his house for safety and left.

  He went to the police station sat down on the chair, rubbing his forehead. He was so tired running around since morning, he fell asleep on the chair.

  On the other side, it had been hours since the poor kid Avi gained consciousness and was still in the moving van. All his crying and ‘let me go home’ had died out along with his energy through these hours. He couldn’t sleep and he had never felt this afraid as he was feeling right now while sitting in a fast-moving van, packed with dangerous, ugly bad men. His helpless eyes constantly looked out the window for any help, but he could not see anyone on this lonely road.

  The men were talking to each other in a very rude language which he didn’t understand fully. He remembered, once his mother told him that if he ever feels afraid, pray to God because God always listens to little kids. In this stressful condition, he only remembered the prayer from the morning assembly. He folded his hands, closed the eyes and started singing the prayer in a very feeble voice. It was only a few seconds of his prayer when one man sitting opposite him noticed.

  “Hey guys, look what he is doing.” That man brought it to others’ attention.

  They looked at Avi praying and laughed out loud.

  Their group laugh disturbed Avi’s prayer and he opened his eyes and looked at them with a little anger.

  “Hey kid, what are you doing? Are you asking God to come and rescue you from us?”

  Avi did not answer but that was exactly what he wanted.

  The other man said, “Listen, kid, in this world, there is nothing like God. If there is something real in this world, it is the devil. Look at us, we are here, we are real. Where is God? Is God coming to save you?”

  “My mother says if His kids need help, God comes by himself or sends His angels,” Avi replied in an afraid and innocent tone.

  All the men laughed even louder than before. One man from behind said, “I need to see his mother. Seems she has lots to teach. I want to learn prayers as well.” He winked at the other men and they all laughed.

  “I am interested in the angel. I heard they are very beautiful.” This time the driver spoke. The group’s laugh was not stopping. Avi closed his eyes again.

  This humiliation of Avi was stopped by the mobile ringtone of a man sitting on the passenger seat in front.

  “Hey everyone, be quiet, its boss.”

  The whole van went silent.

  “Hello.”

  “What is going on?” It was Yogi’s brother on the other side of the phone.

  “Everything is going according to the plan. We are changing our location every two hours. We left our previous place half an hour ago and will reach the destination in about forty minutes.”

  “That’s great, I don’t want you guys to be traced. My internal sources from the police department have told me that phones are being tapped, signals being studied. You guys need to be careful.”

  “We are professionals, boss. Don’t worry, nobody can trace us.”

  “How many men do you have?”

  “Well boss, in my van we are eight and there is another car following, it has five more. We are driving at some distance to avoid any attention.”

  “That is awesome. Just ring me once you reach there.”

 
“Okay boss, speak to you soon.”

  As he finished speaking over the phone, they were about to cross a big flyover bridge. It was a quite high and curved bridge with a road running under it. There was no traffic at all, maybe because of the very early morning time. As the van reached the middle of the curve of the bridge, the driver noticed someone standing in the middle of the road a few meters away.

  He honked, but that person did not move. The horn diverted everyone’s attention towards the road, but Avi kept on praying with eyes closed.

  “What was that?” One man sitting in back seat asked the driver.

  “Someone is standing right in the middle of the road,” the driver replied.

  “Watch out, it might be an angel you asked for.” Everyone laughed.

  The man sitting on the passenger seat beside the driver was serious.

  “Must be some homeless person, as the van will go closer, that person will move. We cannot stop under any circumstances. Just blow the horn again.”

  The driver did the same. That did not help. The van approached very near but that person did not move at all. The driver had to apply breaks with full force. The van slid for a few meters and finally stopped just a fraction away. The driver could see the person now. As the dust flew away and with the help of the headlights, he could clearly see that person. It was a girl, a beautiful girl.

  The driver said, “It’s a girl.” He informed the people sitting at the back.

  “A girl? She might be looking for a lift. Bring her inside, we will look after her,” the man sitting beside Avi said.

  The girl stood still as they were speaking. The driver came out of the van and saw the girl properly. Skin-tight black & blue dress creased her toned body curves. Leather boots with high heels made her taller than him. A few front strands of her black untied fluffy hair were flowing with the air. He was unable to see her eyes because of the sunglasses. She stood still.

  After being enthralled by her beauty, the man realized his duty.

  “Hey silly girl, moves away otherwise we will run you over.”