by Gagan Saini
He wore a mask as well. He said, “This is a message for the armed forces to step back otherwise the results will be very drastic. If the army and air force do not turn around, we will kill your defense minister.” He went and put his gun on the head of the defense minister. The attack from Army wasn’t slowing down. Rebels at the entrance point of the city gave continuous feedback. This broadcast was being seen by all defense chiefs and the President. They thought it was a threat only.
Junaid waited for some time, but there was no sign of the army going back. He got very angry. He said, “I will count to ten; if the army does not step back, I will kill the minister.” The whole country was watching this so did the chiefs and the President. Junaid started counting. Before they could do anything, the counting finished, and Junaid shot the defense minister. Everything seemed to stand still both inside the parliament and outside. Then Junaid walked to the Home Minister and placed his gun on his head. Till now the Army chief waited for President’s permission but he could not control himself now, he ordered the Army to step back.
Junaid got confirmation of this and walked away from the Home Minister. He said, “If someone attacks us again, your Home Minister will be the next one to die.” The broadcast stopped. The President asked the army chief, “Why did you pull your army back? We can’t be bullied by some rebellions. We got one of the best armies in the world, we can’t let this happen.”
The Army chief said, “Yes Sir, you are right about we being the best, but they have our Prime Minister and the whole cabinet. The question now is if we can’t protect our own Prime Minister then what else we can do. Once we get our ministers we can deal with the rebels in minutes.”
“So, what now, we cannot go inside the city,” the Air force chief said. “Our only hope this time is if someone from inside the city can do anything about it.”
Inside the city, the story was very different. It was over half an hour already and many people were already home, and others were still struggling to rush to their homes. Those who got stuck in traffic left their vehicles on the roads and ran to their homes. It was evening time already, so all kids were back from the schools. By 6 -7 PM, everyone was home, and the streets of the city were quiet. All had their TVs on although nothing was being telecasted, rebels would start broadcast anytime and nobody wanted to miss the developments happening in the city and the parliament. The rebel vehicles started patrolling which compelled the people to stay at home.
Zahid reached Sid’s coaching center with Mr. Sinha. Mr. Sinha asked, “Where are we?”
“You will know soon sir, please come with me.” It was a coaching center from the outside but when they entered some doors and a sophisticated security system, it left Sinha totally surprised. His surprises were not over yet. He saw Simar there. “Is that you Simar? He asked.”
“Yes Sir,” Simar replied.
“And are you that Jugni?”
“Yes, Sir I am Jugni as well.”
“I don’t understand all this. Did you know this, Zahid? He asked with confusion and a bit of anger. He said yes, with a bit of hesitation.
“I know sir you have so many questions but to sum up, I can only tell you that I survived that bomb attack and became Jugni. I am still fighting crime. But Sir, before we discuss this further, we have a bigger problem here. These so-called rebels have killed the defense minister because the army attacked them.”
Sid played that video. Zahid said, “It means we will not get help from the outside?” Simar said, “It seems no because they have threatened if someone attacks them again, they will kill the Home Minister.”
Sinha said, “This is a disaster. By the way, can I ask you, Simar, one thing? Are you really alive? If yes, how do you fly?”
Simar looked at Sid. Sid Said, “Sir I will explain that to you.”
“Who are you?”
“I am a scientist who makes Simar fly. Come on sir, I will show you how.” Sid took Sinha to the bike and started explaining. This gave a moment to Simar and Zahid.
“Thank God Zahid you are alright,” Simar said.
“Oh, so you were worried about me”, Zahid asked her while looking into her eyes. The eyes of Simar were saying a lot but her lips didn’t.
Sid was explaining Sinha, but he seemed to be more worried about the city than this science. The only this thing he understood was that Simar wasn’t dead and she is Jugni. And her bike makes her fly.
He asked Sid if he could make a secure contact with someone. Sid felt this was a question regarding his capabilities. He explained to him that normal phones and mobiles were not working anymore so they had to use a satellite phone and establishing a secure line would take a little time.
Sinha turned to Simar and Zahid, “So we four are the only hope this city has!” Simar said, “Yes, and we will make the best effort to get the rebels out of the parliament.”
The broadcast started again. This time it was Sam on the TV with his face covered. He started, “We really apologize to the Delhi residents and the whole country that we created such a havoc. We are common people just like you, but we refused our future to be determined by greedy politicians.”
Everybody in the city and the country watched this on TV, live on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Sam continued, “India never got independence. Only our masters changed from British to these politicians.”
This is what he said…
Before, the people were a bit scared but now, Sam’s words were making sense to many people. He continued, “We are some friends and we faced discrimination at many stages of our lives. Then we analyzed the reasons behind that and came to the conclusion that the system in our country wasn’t good. We want to change the system of our country. But this is unfortunate that a common man is not heard until he does something drastic as we did. Now you all are listening to me. We want a few things –
First of all, all political leaders should be educated. It’s a shame to be represented by illiterate people.
Second, the five-year ruling term to be reduced to three. Once they get elected, nobody cares for five years and they just make money with both hands.
Third, all the illegal money will be brought to India from the Swiss bank. We are already working on it. That money will be equally distributed to all countrymen. We have made a website named under the name ‘I am rebel.com’ register your account number with us and you will see.
The fourth is, no person should be allowed to compete in elections if they have any police case in the past. He pointed towards all leaders in the house, more than half here are criminals. We will open voting lines soon after I finish. We will select five leaders each time and ask you guys, who need to die? Whoever will get more votes will die!” This left the leaders sitting in house shocked.
“We, all hate many of them; they reach in this position by sucking the blood of many of us. Now it’s for them to repay.
The fifth demand is we will make amendments to the constitution that all Indians will be equal. There will be no favoritism, discrimination on the basis of anything. That’s it for now and I will show you the photos of five leaders now.” Photos of the five politicians came up on the screen with their names.
He said, “The voting lines will be open for one hour and you will be able to use the internet at this time. The broadcast will stop in an hour and the screen will show you how to vote. Sam stopped talking and a screen started showing the photos and voting instructions.
In the basement, the three of them watched this on TV. Sid said to Sinha, “I got the connection with the information you gave me.” He started a video call. The video started displaying on the screen where the President and other chiefs were sitting.
“Good evening, gentlemen; I am M. Sinha, the DGP of Delhi police.”
The President said, “Mr. Sinha would you please let us know what is going on and where is your police?”
“I
am sorry Sir, I have the same information as you have got. As far as the police are concerned, all honest officers are dead, others have been bribed and the rest have been quietened with death threats. Even I was attacked. The only police officer I can trust is Mr. Zahid who is with me.”
The Army Chief said, “Mr. Sinha you guys are our only hope because we tried to do something, and the result wasn’t very good.”
“We understand Sir, we will keep you informed about our progress and please do not do anything without informing us because your one action may cost many lives, both inside the parliament and outside.”
The Air Force chief said, “We fully understand now. You guys analyze the situation and inform us, we will do as per your plan.”
“Thank you very much, Sir, for trusting us.” Then the President said, “Mr. Sinha, keep yourself and your team safe; you guys are India’s only hope.”
All of them were thinking what to do. Simar said, “All those events are now making sense. Finding the parts of the gun, your kidnapping and asking me in exchange, these all things were related.”
“And they used fire in the factory as a distraction, they entered the city when the fire was going on,” Sid added.
“My goodness, they killed so many people just for distraction, ridiculous!” Sinha said with irritation. Zahid spoke, “Now the question is, what do we do and how?”
Simar said, “I can go to the parliament and analyze the situation, we will plan accordingly.”
“It’s not safe for you to go, Simar, there is the whole army of rebels in there.”
“Sir, they won’t see me,” Simar said with a smile. Simar put her Jugni suit on and left on her bike.
Sinha looked at Zahid, “You always knew this, but you never told me, once this drama is over you have lots of explanations to give.”
Zahid nodded and moved his attention to the TV which showed the voting for politicians. Sid said, “We see through Simar’s eyes and we will see everything she sees. As Simar went through the streets they could see the streets were empty. She saw a few vehicles with armed men, but she did not engage.
Sinha said, “Simar, do not engage with any of those, we do not want any unnecessary attention at this stage.”
“Okay, Sir.” She moved forward and reached near the parliament. As she was invisible, she could go very close to the gate. She started circling around the gate and fence. She analyzed the number of guards and the type of weapons they had. She had a good time looking around. She asked, “Sid, have you recorded everything?”
Sid confirmed. Sinha said, “Just come back, do not do anything; we need a plan.” She agreed and returned at once.
Simar came and asked them, “So what have we got?”
Zahid started, “They have very advanced weapons. The guns they have installed at the gate are massive. These guns are automatic and can fire hundreds of bullets in no time. Facing these guns head on is not a good idea.”
Simar asked, “What your drones have found, Sid?”
“I have spotted around fifty men on patrol outside the main building, a couple of snipers and a big antiaircraft gun the Hydra on the roof.”
“I guess we can’t do much at this stage, we better sleep turn by turn and make a plan in the morning,” said Zahid.
“We need to be fully energized if we want to face them.” Everyone agreed to the idea. Firstly, Simar, Sid, and Sinha sat on the chairs and relaxed. They all were trying to relax but they could not. They had been through so much already. They fell asleep soon. They had turns to remain awake so that they could monitor the situation and wake up the rest if something happened. It was Simar’s turn and Sinha had to sleep. She got up and walked to Sinha who was feeding meat to Sheru.
“What is his name?”
“Sheru, he is a good pet.”
“I am sure he is.”
“Go, sir, please get some sleep.”
“How can I sleep when my city is under cease? I was supposed to stop this; my department does not have enough honest officers. I am responsible for all this mess.”
“This is not the case sir. You can’t control anybody’s character. If they have accepted to take the bribe it’s not your fault. As far as the attack is concerned, if it was meant to happen it happened. Humans face so many problems in life, we can’t complain why it happened. All we have to do is to find a solution.”
“Simar, can I ask you one thing, what was going on in your head when you were on the hijacked train and fighting alone with terrorists?”
“I kept myself calm and motivated the people to join me. When I saw the people with me, it raised my courage and when they saw someone fighting for them, it raised their courage.”
“One more thing, if you did not die in the explosion why didn’t you come back to us, your charges have been lifted already.”
“Sir, I wanted to fight the crime freely without any restraints and obligations. As Jugni I can do whatever I want and what I feel good, I don’t have to ask for anybody’s permission on each step.” Sinha did not seem to agree but said nothing, he just tapped on her shoulder and went to sleep.
Next morning the telecast started, it played a short, intense music to attract everyone’s attention. The five politicians were on the screen. They were forced to kneel right in front of the main entrance of the meeting house. Two masked gunmen stood on the sides. The cameras showed their faces one by one. The voting had been done last night and the whole country voted. Rana came with the mask on.
He started talking, “Last night’s voting showed how much you hate these politicians. If you people hate them so much, how come they end up in the parliament again and again?”
Then he turned to those five politicians and said, “Here is the deal; one by one you all will have time on the camera and you have to confess. You have to confess all the dishonesty, cheating, and scams you have done since you started your political career. One out of you will survive today; we have the details of each one of you. You have to speak the truth. If you confess correctly and it matches our information, you might survive; otherwise, today is going to be your last day. We can expose your truth, but you have to tell the citizens of this country, by yourselves, how you betrayed them.”
The politicians looked at each other; they all had their eyes full of fear. Their only chance of survival was - truth in front of all countrymen.
The whole country including Simar and the other three, the defense forces chiefs and the President watched this. There was nothing much they could do. The cameras focussed on the first politician in the line. He wasn’t able to speak.
Rana said, “It’s your only chance of survival, if you speak nothing you will die.” He started crying, “Please don’t kill me, I have done nothing bad, I am an honest leader.” Rana said, “Really? Dear Sir, we have records of all of you, we can disclose to the public by ourselves, but we want the public to know from you. If we find anybody doing this drama of being innocent, we will kill him no matter what voting says. So, mister, it would prolong your life if you speak the truth.” All the ministers got scared. The first one looked at Rana and his gun, his whole body was shivering and was drenched in sweat. He started to speak.
“My name is Raj Mohan and I am the Transport Minister now but in the last term, I was the Defense Minister. I used to be a bus conductor in my early life. I have done so many bad things in my life. That mostly includes the scams when I was a defense minister. I scammed millions of dollars when we had to buy the latest helicopters and big guns from Russia. The money allotted was for more than a thousand guns and a few hundred helicopters. Only a few came, and the rest of the money went into my account. I presented an extra budget of wood needed for the coffins of the dead army soldiers in the Kargil war. It added thousands of millions to my account.”
Rana came in front of the camera, “Dear army people who attacked us yesterday, did you just hear w
hat he just said. They make money even when you die and you are sacrificing your lives for them? Think twice before you make any plans to attack us again.”
The Army Chief shook his head with disappointment. “If this man doesn’t get executed today, I will shoot him personally.”
All the other chiefs looked at him. The President said, “Watch your words officer. You are the head of the army.”
“I am sorry sir, but I was a soldier once. We fight for honor. A soldier puts his life in danger to protect the countrymen, not to serve the greedy purposes of these filthy people.”
“Officer, control your emotions. This is the tact of rebels. They are trying to manipulate. We can discuss these matters once everything comes back to normal.”
The army chief relaxed a bit, and all started to watch the live telecast again. The camera moved to the next minister. He hesitated to speak but when the camera started to move to the next one, he started, “Wait, I will speak.” The cameraman stopped and focused on his face.
“I used to be a bully in my early career. My nature helped me to reach parliament. I was a bouncer of ministers and killed whoever they wanted. I earned heaps of money in this way. The recent riots in Delhi and Haryana were initiated by me because our home minster’s multi-million rupees scandal was exposed, and he needed to divert people’s attention from him.” Rana said in anger, “So just to turn people’s attention you guys provoked riots? Do you know how many people died in those riots?”
“I do not know, as long as I was getting money, I did not care.” Rana said, “Shame on you.” Then the camera moved to next. He said, “I scammed the relief money released for tsunami victims in 2012. People from all over the country donated money and there were no limits to the money we received. It put hundreds of millions in my account.”
Next one said, “I found drugs business very profitable. Before I allowed the smuggling from the neighbor country but later on it became very famous among youngsters so I opened a secret manufacturing plant to meet the demand. I have made billions of with drugs.”