‘But why?’
‘Think! Try to apply your mind. The bodyguard is one of the two guys who conned us last night. I said yesterday as well that this guy, who was posing as Govind Rao Apte, was a hired hand, which is why he has a new job with a new guy today. The real son-of-a-bitch is the one who was posing as constable Ganpat Rao Tingre, who never opened his mouth. Gailo, we need to use this bodyguard fellow as a ladder to reach that bastard who robbed us of our stuff yesterday in Johri Bazar. You got it now?’
‘Yes, I got it loud and clear. So, there is a chance that we might get back what was robbed from us?’
‘It is still too early to say that. Now you leave that place and reach Dadar like a bullet.’
‘Will you be there?’
‘Yes, but I can’t tail him because he has just seen my face. I will definitely do something but presently I don’t know what I’d do. I’m disconnecting.’
He put the phone back in the pocket and returned to the hall.
As expected, the bodyguard fellow was not in the cabin.
‘Happy now?’ Rajaram asked.
Jeet Singh nodded.
‘Then sit.’
He nodded again, and sat across the table facing him.
‘You took your time coming back?’
‘To give you enough time to have a talk with your bodyguard.’
‘I would not have objected had you come with a bodyguard.’
‘I am not so important a fellow that I need to go around with a bodyguard.’
‘A bodyguard does exactly what the name suggests—he guards the body. And a good bodyguard is like Gandhiji’s three-in-one monkey.’
‘I did not get you.’
‘A good bodyguard never hears anything, never sees anything, and never says anything. Got it?’
‘It’s still a no-go.’
‘I sent him away or not?’
‘Thanks, boss. So you are the same Rajaram guy who called me during the day?’
‘Yes, my full name is Rajaram Lokhande.’
‘Fine!’
‘What are you doing these days?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Because you need not do anything now, because you just finished one big task?’
‘What big task?’
‘The Johri Bazar task.’
‘What happened in Johri Bazar?’
‘Don’t you know?’
‘No, I don’t.’
‘Well, then this issue is over.’
‘Yes, it is and it must remain so. Now, are you going to continue talking about this and that, or will you come to the point?’
‘Don’t be in such a temper, yaar.’
Jeet Singh remained silent.
‘Hmmm,’ Rajaram said.
‘What hmmm?’
‘How about a drink?’
‘No.’
‘Why? Don’t you drink?’
‘I do, but presently we have to talk about important things. No?’
‘It’s about time.’
‘To talk?’
‘To drink.’
‘Man, if you are just practising dialogue delivery,’ said Jeet Singh, half getting up, ‘then postpone the actual talk to some other time. Now, I too am busy …’
‘Arre, don’t be like that. Keep sitting.’
Jeet Singh settled back into his chair.
‘Don’t be cross about it,’ Rajaram said in a new tone. ‘There was a reason why I talked about the Johri Bazar incident.’
‘How come you know something happened there?’
‘Everything need not be published in the gazette to be known. It was a big incident. Somebody took a huge risk by taking on the major league players. There will be whispers. The bigger the job, the more the whispering. Once something like this gets out, it spreads far and wide. No?’
‘Yes.’
‘I called Valpoi, left a message for you but when you did not respond, I thought you were busy with another job.’
‘You were wrong.’
‘I agree, but when I heard of that incident, the first image that came to my mind was yours.’
‘Boss, there are bigger con artists in the world than me, only you don’t know about them.’
‘But you must know about them?’
‘Why so?’
‘Well, people in a line of business know each other.’
‘I don’t. Now, shall we come to the point …?’
‘Certainly, but one important thing before that.’
‘I am listening.’
‘This is rush time, and we are occupying a cabin. The owner will ask us to leave if we don’t order anything. So we must place an order. No?’
‘Yes. All right.’
‘What will you have?’
‘Who will foot the bill?’
‘Why are you asking?’
‘Peter Scot if I have to pay, otherwise any.’
He laughed, then summoned the waiter, and ordered Johnny Walker Black Label.
Both of them stayed silent till the order was served. Jeet Singh smoked a cigarette during that time. Rajaram said he didn’t smoke.
Both of them said cheers.
‘I am all ears now,’ Jeet Singh said earnestly.
‘A big sum of money is on my radar,’ Rajaram said with equal earnestness.
‘How much?’
‘Fifteen crore rupees, could be twenty as well.’
‘Where is it, in some bank?’
‘No, yaar, no.’
‘Then is it at somebody’s private place?’
‘No, it would be on the road, moving from one place to another.’
‘Where exactly?’
‘Between Mumbai and Goa.’
‘The money is going to be sent from here to Goa?’
‘It would be taken from here to Goa.’
‘Keep talking.’
‘The Goa assembly elections are going to be held ten days from now. A Maharashtra-based party is contesting there for the first time.’
‘Which one?’
‘Maratha Manch. Ex-smuggler and black marketer Behramji Contractor is the president of that party. He has become a white-collar politician now, and his party has the strength of forty MLAs in the house. They also have three MPs in the Lok Sabha, one of whom, Madhukar Rao Sable, was recently shot dead by his own trouble-shooter Bada Batata. MP finished, trouble-shooter in jail.’
‘I don’t want history, boss.’
‘I had to narrate it to illustrate the status of our Gandhi-capped neta Behramji Contractor as of today.’
‘ok then.’
‘Netaji Behramji Contractor is dreaming big. He says his party will double in strength in the next assembly elections in Maharashtra while no big party—Congress, BJP, Shiv Sena—would get an absolute majority. So every party will be dependent on his support. In this scenario, this ex-smuggler and black marketer is dreaming of becoming the chief minister.’
‘Surprising!’
‘His party status will get upgraded to national from regional if it garners a significant number of seats in Goa. This is why he is so keen to ensure good results for his party in the coming elections there. His election in-charge for Goa is a fellow called Uttam Rao Patil. He has recently returned from Goa and informed his party president that their party is weak in electoral terms because the other parties are spending huge sums of money on their campaigns. The contest there is for note instead of vote. Freebies like saris, bicycles, blankets, sewing machines, mobiles are being distributed among the voters. So Maratha Manch has to counter the other parties with a similar strategy otherwise none of their candidates can win. As a result, Behramji Contractor has decided to pump money into his party’s campaign, and the first instalment—which would not be less than fifteen crore rupees—is going to be sent to Panaji this Monday.’
‘How are they going to transport it? But before that, tell me how do you know all these secret details?’
‘Isn’t it obvious no such thing can be accomplished without an inform
er?’
‘You have an informer within the Maratha Manch party?’
‘Yes, and that too in the inner circle, not on the boundary line.’
‘That’s why you know so much!’
‘Now, let me answer your first question. There is a security agency in Mumbai which feeds cash into atm machines. Every big bank has hundreds of atms in Mumbai and nearby areas. The security agency has a very modern, imported, armoured van. The bank concerned hands over the cash, and a list of atms to be fed, their locations and the amount to be fed into each of them. A responsible bank officer is also attached with them. The security agency feeds the atms at its own risk and charges its fee from
the bank.’
‘There must be armed guards with it?’
‘Maybe, but we must not be worried about them, as we are not going to rob the money meant for the atms.’
‘Why not? That amount too would be no less.’
‘True, but it would be suicidal to try robbing a moving armoured van on the crowded roads of Mumbai.’
‘Hmm.’
‘It would be easier to ambush the van at an isolated place on the Mumbai-Goa highway.’
‘Won’t there be armed guards with the van on the highway?’
‘As per my information, there won’t be any. Only the driver will be armed, and will act as a guard if need be.’
‘But can a lone armed driver counter an ambush?’
‘He won’t be alone. Netaji Contractor and his lackeys will accompany the van. They will travel as a convoy. Netaji will be seated on the front seat of the armoured van, besides the driver. A jeep with the party flag will be in the front, acting as the pilot car, and there will be one more car behind it. The van will be behind that car, while there will be four more cars behind the van. All these cars will be decorated with party flags, banners and Netaji’s posters. There are a number of police pickets on the Mumbai-Goa highway, and it is common for them to stop vehicles for routine searches. Netaji’s presence and that decorative convoy will guarantee that no such search is conducted for the vehicles of
the convoy.’
‘Super!’
‘There is no other way to transport such a big amount of money safely across a distance of 568 kilometres.’
‘Have you marked any place for the ambush?’
‘Yes, there is a small place named Kunkauli near Madgaon, on the highway. The road becomes comparatively narrower from there, as it passes through two mountains for some distance. There, Netaji’s convoy will find the road jammed, and the situation there will be that of riots. He will be told that a truck has crushed a girl on the road, and the villagers have torched it in rage. He will be told that they are also pelting stones at other vehicles.’
‘You will organize this jam?’
‘The drama of the jam will be staged by us. So that the police comes and expresses concern for Netaji’s safety and persuades him—mind it, only him, meaning his armoured van—to take a diversion.’
‘Police who?’
‘Us.’
‘Great! Will Netaji agree to take the diverted route?’
‘I think he will, given we successfully terrorize him with the graveness of the situation on the highway.’
‘Then?’
‘There are Bhairavnath Temple ruins nearby, covered by trees and bushes on all sides in such a way that a person unfamiliar with that area passing through the nearby dirt road won’t even be able to see the ruins. Will anybody be able to see the armoured van if we park it in those ruins?’
‘So, everything regarding the plan is in place already!’
‘Yes, everything is in place, except the vault-buster. But now, even that is in place, no?’
Jeet Singh said nothing. He took a sip of whisky from the glass, and shoved the cigarette into the ashtray after taking the last drag.
‘You can apply your skills on the vault in those ruins, without being disturbed by anyone.’
‘What will Netaji and the driver do during that period? Will they be waiting for me to open the vault so that they can clap at my success when I am done?’
‘Don’t joke about it,’ he said with a tinge of unpleasantness in his voice for the first time. ‘This is a serious matter.’
‘I am sorry, boss.’
‘I am taking a big gamble for this project. I have to spend a lot of money beforehand for the success of this project.’
‘How so?’
‘I need to arrange a truck to be torched. And I have to pay a rented mob to create a ruckus and jam the highway. Then I need a police jeep, fake cops, and have to make arrangements regarding some other things as well.’
‘Some other things like?’
‘Like the guarantee that real cops don’t show up when this drama is going on.’
‘Fine. What will you tell the people taking part in this drama?’
‘I will tell them that all of it is part of a film’s shooting, which means I need to arrange for cranes, cameras and other paraphernalia along with the people to handle it.’
‘It’s a big programme. You sure you’ll handle everything?’
‘Yes. Whatever I have to do—or I have to get done—will be done perfectly. You don’t worry about that.’
‘All hired hands? No one your own?’
‘Other than me, there will be three other partners in the heist, two more if you agree to become a partner. What do you say?’
‘I will talk about that later. First tell me, what will you do to Netaji and the driver?’
‘They won’t be there in the ruins when you try to open the vault.’
‘Where will they be?’
‘You need not worry about that.’
‘Are you planning to finish them?’
‘No.’
‘I take your word for it …’
‘Yes, take my word for it. They can be anywhere but not there to disturb you.’
‘Hmm.’
‘Now tell me, what do you say? Or better tell me first, will you be able to do it?’
‘Nobody has ever asked me this question.’
‘So you will!’
‘You know the answer, man. Or would you have been sitting here? Or called Valpoi?’
‘Would you be a partner or limit yourself to opening the vault?’
‘I’ll open the vault. Now tell me, how much will I get?’
‘You tell me what you want?’
‘Fifteen.’
‘Granted.’
‘Crore.’
‘What! Have you gone mad?’
‘You asked me to tell you so I did.’
‘If you want all of it then who am I? A bloody volunteer? A special service provider to lockbusters?’
‘No.’
‘Then.’
‘Ten percent of the amount recovered. One and a half crore to me if the recovery is fifteen crores. Two crore to me if the recovery is twenty crores.’
‘This is too much, way too much.’
‘Boss, that’s why I asked that you tell me.’
‘Your role is safe. It is us who will be in real danger. We will have to suffer if anything untoward happens. I’ll be the one to bear losses if we fail in this mission. It is us who will be doing time if we get caught. You have to take no risk. You have to do a safe, neat, straight job.’
‘I know, I know. Now will you make an offer or not?’
‘Ten, ten peti.’
‘You are an ok fellow, I really like you, so, one khokha.’
‘This is too much …’
‘Then let me tell you a cheaper way.’
‘What?’
‘Rig the vault with explosives and blow it up. Some of the money will burn down, but the left over would still be worth enough for you.’
‘The vault part of that van is bullet-proof and bomb-proof. It can only be opened with keys. There’s no other way to unlock it.’
‘Well, then it’s a problem … your problem I must say.’
‘You opened the Double B
ull Casino’s vault for ten thousand rupees.’
‘So you know about that, too?’
‘Am I incorrect?’
‘No, you are not. But I had asked for ten lakh rupees. I was hoodwinked into accepting ten thousand.’
‘Then why don’t you make the deal final at ten lakh?’
‘Boss, this nagging won’t be over till midnight. You are not buying vegetables, that you can buy from another shop if the rates are too high at one shop. You know only I can do this job, and still you are trying to bargain. If this is a special job, and I am the special fellow who could do it, then why shouldn’t the fee for it also not be special?’
‘But …’
‘No buts. Now let me make a final offer. Ask for the bill if you don’t agree. I am making this offer only because I am in dire need of money these days. I will do it for fifty lakh if you pay half of it in advance.’
‘Advance … twenty-five lakh in advance?’
‘Yes.’
‘What if you can’t open it?’
‘Then I will return all of it.’
‘What if you have spent it by then?’
‘I will still return it to you.’
‘How will you do it then?’
‘I will do anything, take suparis, kill people but return the money to you.’
‘When you’re needy, when you can do this, then why don’t you do it now?’
‘I am waiting for some time, trying some other options. I will do exactly these things once there is no other option left.’
‘You don’t look like that dangerous a person.’
‘I am not a dangerous person. But compulsions compel people to do bad things. I had pledged not to engage in any unlawful activity for some time. But see, here I am, sitting before you and talking about a heist.’
‘What if this deal fails to settle? How would you fulfil your need then?’
‘There is an easy way left, but I won’t act upon it.’
‘Why?’
‘Because there is still a bit of humanity left in me.’
‘What’s the easy way left?’
‘Boss, you will get mad at me if I tell you.’
‘No, I won’t. Tell me, what is it?’
‘I can approach Behramji Contractor and tell him—in lieu of a fee—that some people are going to loot his money this Monday, en route to Panaji.’
Rajaram’s face changed many shades.
‘So, that’s what you intend to do?’ he asked angrily.
The Colaba Conspiracy Page 22