Charge: partner in the conspiracy of murder; arrest made under section 120-b of the ipc.
Co-accused: Jeet Singh.
What a paradox! The protectors of the law had finally delivered justice, and how just it was.
Finally, when the fir was registered, then those who were accused in it were not arrested, but the one who had made the complaint was put behind bars.
The police could not arrest Jeet Singh as fast as they had arrested Sushmita. This was because he could not be found at the usual places—like Crawford Market and Chinchpokli—that the police knew about.
Sushmita could call Gunjan Shah about her arrest with great difficulty. Shah informed Navlani about the arrest and Navlani called Jeet Singh to warn him in advance.
It was clear that the police did not know of Jeet Singh’s new dwelling, the Vithalwadi, Kalba Devi flat, but it was just a matter of time for them before they found out.
Jeet Singh had to solve a new problem now. He had to find a safe place to stay if he wanted to avoid being arrested. He could not take shelter with friends like Gailo or Pardesi, because since the last incident, guys like them were also on the police’s radar.
He had seen the day’s newspaper in the morning, but as expected, the names of Anil Ghumre or Jamal Haideri were not mentioned in it.
He had hardly put the phone back on a nearby table after taking Navlani’s call when it rang again.
He picked it up.
‘Badri!’ came the voice.
‘Yes, who’s there?’
‘Me, Rajaram Lokhande.’
‘You called early, boss! I was expecting your call in the evening as discussed last time. Is there any good news? Are you going to agree on the advance thing?’
‘Bad news, Badri, bad news.’
‘Boss, don’t say that, my heart has started sinking.’
‘Your heart has just started sinking, mine has already sunk.’
‘What’s the bad news—that you can’t give me an advance?’
‘Forget the advance. A new problem has cropped up.’
‘What new problem? Where has it cropped up?’
‘In my scheme, to ambush the convoy with that politician’s money, en route to Goa.’
‘Already?’
‘Yes. In the current situation, that project is finished.’
‘Good God! What happened?’
‘I can’t tell you over the phone. Let’s meet somewhere.’
‘Where?’
‘You tell me, or we can meet where we met last time.’
‘No problem. Paramount Bar opens by this time. When shall we meet?’
‘You choose the time.’
‘I woke up late today, so I will take some time to get ready. So, let’s meet at twelve.’
‘Fine.’
‘I will be there at twelve.’
Jeet Singh stepped inside Paramount Bar.
The bar was nearly deserted at that time. There was another man instead of Kirpekar behind the bar counter.
He went to the corner cabin where he had met Lokhande earlier.
Rajaram Lokhande was sitting there with another person like the last time. But this time Jeet Singh didn’t have to give him a questioning look. Rajaram nodded at the other man the moment Jeet Singh entered the cabin and he got up and left silently.
Jeet Singh sat down in front of Rajaram.
‘Who was he?’ Jeet Singh asked casually.
‘You know who he was,’ Rajaram grumbled.
‘Bodyguard?’
‘Yes.’
‘What happened to the other one?’
‘I don’t know, he’s missing since yesterday, not even answering the phone.’
‘Maybe he did not like the job, the long work hours!’
‘Maybe. I had to arrange another fellow at a short notice.’
The waiter arrived.
Rajaram ordered beer, and both of them remained silent till it was served.
Both said cheers half-heartedly.
‘Boss,’ Jeet Singh then said, ‘why do you need a bodyguard? Are you a gangster?’
‘Yaar, forget the small talk. I have to discuss something serious.’
‘Fine, go ahead.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Now, tell me what has sabotaged your plan?’
‘ok, listen. Our subject—Behramji Contractor—whose money we were going to rob—has come to know everything about my scheme.’
‘You don’t say. How did it happen? Did someone in your team turn informer?’
‘No.’
‘Then?’
‘Whatever was done was done by Netaji’s political rivals. They somehow came to know of the currency movement of the Maratha Manch, and they leaked it to the Election Commission.’
‘But how did they come to know about it in the first place?’
‘I am not sure, but I it appears to be the handiwork of the same person who leaked the info about the convoy to me. First he made money off me, then his greed led him to Netaji’s political rivals to make even more money. But this is just guesswork, actually anything could have happened.’
‘Right.’
‘However, now the convoy will be thoroughly searched at the Maharashtra-Goa border, despite Behramji’s political pull. Netaji’s name won’t be able to prevent the search. If he insists on following his plan, the money will definitely be seized. Behramji is no fool, he won’t provoke trouble knowingly. So, he has shelved his earlier plan, and made arrangements with a top smuggler who operates on that route. Making such arrangements was not a problem for him, as everybody knows he himself was a smuggler before entering politics. That smuggler has taken the responsibility to transport the money in eight instalments to Goa. The money that was collected to be transported in the convoy has already been divided into eight parts, and sent to eight different locations to be moved to Goa by different means.’
‘I must say you are quite an expert at getting confidential information.’
‘One has to work hard if one wants to hit the jackpot.’
‘You said it, boss.’
‘Shall I go ahead then?’
‘Yes, yes. Sorry for interrupting. Please go ahead, I am all ears now.’
‘Now, the process of feeding atms will be followed in reverse. The way atms are fed here is that a huge sum of money goes from the bank to different kiosks, and then fed into them. In this case, small amounts of money will reach Goa from Mumbai via different means, and then collected at one place.’
‘What would be the role of the security service in that?’
‘Zero, because I have been told that Behramji Contractor thinks that the information about the money got leaked to his political rivals from the office of the security service.’
‘But to do that, they must have the information beforehand that their armoured van was going to be used to transport currency!’
‘They must be aware of it, otherwise how can they leak the information regarding the movement of the money?’
‘That’s true.’
‘And in any case they would not have agreed to take the risk of carrying such a consignment without proper information, for they too would have been held responsible in case the police found anything objectionable during a check. Suppose their armoured van is captured, then how would they claim that in spite of the set-up being theirs, they didn’t know anything about the load?’
‘But if they were still ready to do that, it would be like taking a big risk knowingly. How come?’
‘I think they agreed to do that for two reasons. First, Behramji would have assured them that their vehicle was not going to be checked because a leader of his stature was himself going to travel in it. He would have told them that he would save them in case any such situation emerges. Further, we must not forget that Netaji himself was a big gangster in his past life. He could have threatened the security agency with dire consequences if they dared disobey him.’
‘What could be the second reason?’
‘But when he can issue such a guarantee, can’t he guarantee that there will be no raid?’
‘He can’t do that because the action will happen straight from the top. The Chief Election Commissioner himself is involved in it. The Enforcement Directorate will supervise the operation and our ex-smuggler and black marketer Behramji, whose political career is no older than a few years, has not become a politician of such stature yet that he can influence officials at that level.’
‘So that project has been dropped now?’
‘Yes, and the money I spent on it so far has also gone down the drain. But we can still get something, even if it is peanuts compared to the previous amount.’
‘How’s that?’
‘I told you that the money was divided into eight instalments and sent to eight different hideouts. Badri, I happen to know of one such hideout. Now don’t ask me how I know of it.’
‘I won’t, but where is this place?’
‘Netaji has a bungalow in Khandala, that’s one of the hiding places. There is a hotel called Duke’s Retreat on the Mumbai-Pune road, and the bungalow is just half a kilometre from there. ’
‘But I had heard that he lives in Colaba.’
‘He lives in Colaba too, but prefers to stay in Khandala during the summer because it’s much cooler in the hills than here in Mumbai. He comes every day to Mumbai for his political assignments, but makes sure to leave by night.’
‘And what about Goa?’
‘He goes there in his helicopter, but from there too he comes back to Khandala at night, even if he has to be in Goa the very next day as well.’
‘That’s very surprising! So, one-eighth of the total amount destined for Goa is in the Khandala bungalow?’
‘Yes.’
‘There must be tight security there!’
‘There is security in the bungalow, because the guy is a neta, but it is not very strong because one or two crores is not a very big amount for Netaji. Security is just a status symbol for people like Netaji. And he’s an old gangster, how can he imagine himself without security?’
‘But, boss, please don’t mind this, you are nothing compared to him, and if you still need security then he must need ten times more security than you.’
‘Not that much. Not that much. The security of the bungalow is mainly managed through trained dogs, and there are four of them there.’
‘Not specially due to the money, they’re always there?’
‘Yes.’
‘You know where he keeps the money in the bungalow?’
‘Yes. What’s the point of this meeting if I don’t know that?’
‘Good!’
‘The money would be in a vault-like safe which can’t be busted.’
‘Everybody bloody makes that claim.’
‘Yes, everybody does that because they are not aware of the rare talent of a certain vault-buster known as Badrinath.’
‘So, my job is the same there too—to bust the vault!’
‘Isn’t it obvious?’
‘You said there are four dogs there, while just one is enough to tear me down.’
‘Yes, that is so. They say the dogs are Rottweilers. They are big, ferocious dogs.’
‘Great! So, this too is a way of committing suicide.’
‘But they’re nothing to be afraid of.’
‘Because they are admirers of lock-breakers! They don’t attack them!’
‘Don’t be frivolous. I am trying to discuss something serious.’
‘Then tell me first things first. You want me to go inside that bungalow?’
‘Yes, but I will also come with you. You can’t enter the bungalow without me—not even if you could fly.’
‘What will you do?’
‘My prime task would be to make the dogs inactive.’
‘How’ll you do that?’
‘I have set up a fellow in the household staff.’
‘So quickly?’
‘I am by habit a fast worker.’
‘And skilled in setting people up.’
‘There are five such fellows in the staff who stay there in the night—two bodyguards, one dog-trainer, one driver and one cook. There are two maids also, but they don’t stay back for the night.’
‘Still, that makes it nine of them, if we add four dogs to the people in the staff. We have to face nine of them before getting near the vault.’
‘Only in theory, but not in practice. See, only the cook sleeps inside the bungalow to fulfil Netaji’s needs at odd hours. The bungalow is in a compound that is open from all sides, and there is a small cottage in the back where the dog trainer, both bodyguards and the driver all sleep.’
‘How can they guard Netaji from outside the bungalow?’
‘As I told you earlier, the guards are mainly ornamental for Netaji, to show in public that he is a VIP. In the presence of four trained, butchers of dogs, the guards’ presence inside the bungalow is not needed. They have to act only if the dogs suddenly start barking in the night. In that situation, the guards come out to see the reason behind it, and the trainer comes out to calm the dogs.’
‘What about the driver?’
‘I am not sure about his role in such a situation. But given he is the driver of a crooked fellow like Behramji, he must have some additional talents other than driving.’
‘He must assist the other three fellows in such situations!’
‘It’s quite likely.’
‘What if the dogs don’t bark in the night?’
‘Then obviously they must be enjoying a good night’s sleep in the cottage.’
‘Fine.’
‘You see, they are watchdogs and they do exactly that when they are let loose in the compound during the night.’
‘Right!’
‘The compound wall is very high, and the main gate is also of equal height and cannot be jumped over. The dogs come on alert the moment any unknown person even steps near the gate or the boundary wall. And you can well imagine what the dogs would do to the person who insists on scaling the wall.’
‘Yes,’ Jeet Singh said with a shiver, ‘I can imagine.’
‘Those dogs are trained for assault. They don’t bark in such situations. They stay alert and listen, waiting for the appropriate time and then just charge at the intruder when he is within reach. After that, the guards and the trainer would wake up not because of the barking of dogs, but because of the intruder’s cries.’
‘Don’t they bark ever?’
‘They do, but only when they are tied and they can smell some danger. At that time their barking is like a demand to be freed for the action.’
‘You described the terror of the dogs very well, boss. My heart sinks even imagining them.’
‘Badri, I’m telling you, you need not fear them.’
‘And why so?’
‘I told you before also, one of the fellows in the household is with us.’
‘Who’s that fellow?’
‘The cook. His name is Fazal Haq. All the information I have about the money, security arrangement, etc., was given by him. He is totally with us. He will extend any help possible to us, if need be.’
‘Fine!’
‘I have to go inside the bungalow with you because he is not ready to deal with anybody else other than me.’
‘How will he help us?’
‘Once everybody falls asleep, he will throw meat laced with sedatives to the dogs. They will sleep like dead at least for two hours after eating it.’
‘Great! Will he then open the main gate, the main door of the bungalow?’
‘No.’
‘Then?’
‘He will leave a specific window of the first floor open. There is a tall tree that goes up by the wall of the bungalow. A thick branch of that tree
comes very close to that window. One can climb the tree, and enter the window by way of that branch.’
‘Great! Now tell me about the compound wall which you say is very high.’
‘The wall is eight to eight-and-a-half feet high and scaling it won’t be a big thing. One can stand on a car’s roof and go up the wall. Jumping down from it is not going to be a big problem.’
‘Is it topped with any barbed wire or sharpened glass?’
‘There is barbed wire but it can be cut. You can first cut the wire, then climb the wall, lie on it over your belly and pull me up.’
‘The wire could be electrified.’
‘It could be but it is not.’
‘Sure?’
‘Yes, for such an arrangement, permission has to be secured and a warning sign indicating that the wires are electrified has to be hung there. Netaji wouldn’t like to advertise his security arrangements.’
‘He’s a neta, he can do it without permission.’
‘He sure can, because law and order is not meant for netas, but the wire isn’t electrified. Had it been so, then switching off the current would have been included in the deal struck with Fazal Haq.’
‘What did you pay him?’
‘Nothing as of now, but he will claim one-third of the total money we steal.’
‘So much?’
‘He was asking for half.’
‘You don’t say!’
‘He knows nothing can be done to succeed in this project without help from inside.’
‘So, his fee is for feeding the dogs sedative-laced meat, and leaving a window open?’
‘He will do some other minor things too, but there is another major task.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘He will tell us the location of the safe.’
‘So, the location is also a tricky matter?’
‘Yes, there is a safe in the bedroom which is a decoy to fool an intruder if he succeeds in accomplishing the apparently impossible job of entering the bungalow. Once he gets inside and finds that safe, he’ll stop looking further, as nobody has two of such specialized safes in one household.’
‘What if one has a lot of stuff?’
‘Then he buys a bigger safe.’
‘Fine, now what’s in that fake safe? He can’t keep it empty, for then it would look suspicious.’
‘It’s not empty, it has been loaded with papers which look very important at first but are nothing more than junk. If a skilled thief succeeds in opening the intricate lock of that safe, then it would be a big anti-climax for him when he finds that the safe is used for documents storage. Badri, it’s only you who can open a safe in record time. Any other guy would either fail or would take too much time in opening it, and hence he won’t be in a position to start searching the bungalow all over again.’
The Colaba Conspiracy Page 29