Once the elder son of the deceased had reached the witness box and finished the oath-taking, he asked him his first question, ‘Your name is Alok Changulani and you are the elder son of the deceased Pursumal Changulani?’
‘Yes, sir,’ Alok said.
‘You live in England?’
‘Yes, in Manchester.’
‘What do you do?’
‘Service. I am a pr executive in Continental Designs and Systems.’
‘Are you married?’
‘Yes, I have three children.’
‘Since when are you settled in England?’
‘Since the last nine years.’
‘You keep coming to India?’
‘Occasionally. In my job, I’m allowed very limited leave. So, I can’t visit India whenever I feel like it.’
‘But the prevailing situation compelled you to come! You came here after the death of your father! On Sunday morning!’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Your honour,’ said Gunjan Shah, ‘only social pleasantries are going on. These things have no relation to this case.’
‘Have some patience, Mr Shah,’ the public prosecutor said in a polite tone, ‘I’ll just establish their relation.’
‘Proceed!’ the judge said.
‘Mr Alok Changulani,’ the public prosecutor again addressed the witness, ‘you must be in touch with your father by phone, by internet, or by mail?’
‘Yes, regularly.’
‘So, you must be informing your father if you had something important to tell him, and he must be doing the same if he had something important to tell you?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘And to the younger son living in England, too, and the daughter living in Kolkata?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘You consider marriage an important event?’
‘I consider it the most important event. Marriage is a very big event in one’s life.’
‘ok! Your father married again, did he inform you?’
‘No, sir.’
‘To the younger son? The daughter?’
‘No, sir.’
‘Why?’
‘Well, isn’t it obvious? He never told us because it never took place.’
‘So, there was no marriage?’
‘That’s right, sir.’
‘Your father would have informed you had he married again?’
‘Of course he would have. There was no reason not to. How could such a thing be kept under wraps? Maybe he would not have invited us, but there’s no reason for not intimating us. If he couldn’t do it beforehand, he would definitely have done it after the marriage.’
‘So, since he did not inform you about it, there must be only one explanation: the very idea of a marriage is wrong, without any foundation?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘The accused asserts that your father married her some seven months ago with full rituals.’
‘Her claim is false, malicious, motivated, and unsubstantiated. It is an attempt to lay a foundation for blackmail …’
‘Objection, your honour,’ Shah said. ‘This is assuming facts not in evidence. The witness is not disposing; he is issuing a diktat with the malicious attempt of character assassination. He is passing strictures against my client. ‘
‘Objection sustained,’ the judge said, ‘the witness must dispose responsibly. He must reply in a just and judicious manner without lacing his reply with his own, personal opinion. The blackmail remark may be expunged from the court records.’
‘So,’ the public prosecutor continued, ‘you are certain that no marriage ever took place?’
‘Yes, sir,’ the witness replied.
‘The accused was not the wife of your father?’
‘No, never.’
‘Then in what capacity was she living with your father?’
‘As his live-in companion.’
‘The accused was your father’s live-in companion?’
‘Yes, and she told us this on her own. She never claimed that she was Papa’s legally wedded wife, that she was Mrs Pursumal Changulani.’
‘When the accused had no such claim, why was she forcefully evicted from the house?’
‘This is a false allegation that she was forcefully evicted from the house or even asked to leave the house. The matter of the fact is that she herself was in a hurry to leave the house. Papa’s last rites were performed on Monday morning, and she left before the evening.’
‘What could be the reason for this hurriedness?’
‘What can I say?’
‘This is a court, and you are a witness. You have to speak.’
‘Well … it so happened … we became suspicious of this haste. Our sister Shobha, who is the eldest of us all, was the first to say that there was something fishy about it. So we asked her to open the bag she was taking with her, and show it to us. She flared up and tried to get away. She was not ready to listen to any reason. So we had to stop her forcibly. When we searched her bag, we found that there were in it ten lakh rupees in cash and a precious sapphire ring of Papa’s …’
‘This is a lie,’ Sushmita suddenly shouted, ‘a blatant lie …’
‘Order!’ the judge admonished, ‘The accused is not permitted to speak in this manner.’
‘But, sir …’
‘Call me your honour.’
‘Your honour, this derogatory thing that is being said …’
‘The defence counsel must admonish his client to be silent, to remain silent or she will be held responsible for contempt of court.’
Shah patted Sushmita’s back reassuringly, and told her to remain silent.
‘The prosecution may proceed.’ the judge said.
‘Please continue, Mr Alok Changulani,’ the public prosecutor said.
‘Well,’ Alok said in a courteous tone, ‘after that recovery, maybe we got a little harsh, but that was imperative under the circumstances. We could have had her arrested then and there, but we showed her some respect and refrained from taking such a step. But she never appreciated it. To deflect from her own misdeeds, she started spreading lies about us, that we forced her out of the house, didn’t let her pick up her belongings or her clothes, forcibly removed the ornaments that belonged to her, and what not. But the fact is she took the bag from which the money and the ring were recovered with her. Let her come forward and deny that.’
‘That’s enough. You just tell the truth without passing any personal comments or else,’ the public prosecutor gave Shah a wicked look, ‘the defence counsel will raise an objection again.’
The witness kept quiet.
‘The accused is currently under arrest for murder. What do you say about that?’
‘I can say only what is right to say. But I’m afraid I’ll be accused of passing personal comments again.’
‘Say what you want to say. I will stop you in case you appear to be getting personal as you fear.’
‘We, the family members believe that all this is happening as per a well-scripted plan. This woman became the live-in companion of our father only to act upon that plan.’
‘She became the live-in companion, not that your father chose her to be one?’
‘Sir, any beautiful and cunning woman can create such a situation that the man may think he has fallen for her while in reality, he is made to fall for her.’
‘I see. What was the conspiracy?’
‘It was to loot Papa’s assets. First she became his companion to have access to the household, then had him killed by her lover and claimed that she was the deceased’s widow. Had we not arrived in time, she and her lover would have already succeeded in their heinous plans. Had we not …’
‘Objection, your honour,’ Shah said. ‘The defence expresses severe objection to the self-assumed triple role of the witness. He levelled the charges, held the hearing and gave the verdict, all by himself. If that is proper and permissible, then the defence suggests that he may be appointed the hangman as well …’
>
‘That will be enough, Mr Shah,’ the judge ruled, ‘your objection is well-taken and is sustained.’
‘Thank you, your honour.’
‘Your honour,’ the district attorney said, ‘this is a case of murder, a case of murder is being heard in this court. Now, somebody has to highlight the modus operandi.’
‘The court can comprehend its necessity,’ the judge said, ‘but the procedure can’t be sacrificed for necessity’s sake. You first need to prove, to establish with due procedure that this is a case of murder, and there is sufficient evidence to make the accused responsible for it. If you want to present this witness as an expert witness, then first establish how he is an expert witness.’
‘Sorry, your honour, in this matter, he is not an expert witness.’
‘Then this witness has no right to declare the accused a murderer without any foundation and on the basis of his personal opinion. Unless this witness is asked a specific question, he has no right to express his opinion.’
‘I understand your honour. The witness too, understands, your honour.’
‘Proceed.’
‘Your honour, in view of the prosecution’s murder theory, I’d like to submit that three things are necessary for the murder—motive, opportunity and means. The accused sure had a motive for the murder, for no young woman would surrender to an old man for the heck of it. She must have a reason for it. And her reason, an important reason, was to get hold of the assets of the aged, lonely but filthy-rich deceased by conniving with her ex-boyfriend. This is a perfect, convincing motive that cannot be denied. The opportunity was made available to the accomplice by the accused. She briefed her lover about when her partner used to come back from work, which route he took, and where was it easier to intercept his car and kill him. The murder was committed with a different motive—the motive being the one that I just described—but it was covered up as if it was a case of carjacking. This was the way to waylay the investigating officers who busied themselves in checking the known carjackers of the area and failed to get even a whiff of the real conspiracy. The accused and her lover would have become successful in their ulterior plans had the family of the deceased not intervened in time and exposed the conspiracy. The third factor—means—that is the murder weapon, was a carving knife, which was part of a fancy, exclusive cutlery set of the Changulani household. The accused had access to it, and she made it available to her lover. Your honour, this is a summary of the prosecution’s theory on the basis of which the prosecution demands severe punishment for the accused and her accomplice.’
‘What’s the status of the alleged, co-accused?’ the judge asked. ‘Is he under arrest?’
‘He is absconding, your honour. The arrest of the accused acted as a warning for him, and he went into hiding to avoid arrest. Your honour, his flight is in itself an evidence of his guilt. Why is this man not available at home? Why is this man not available at his place of business? Because he was forewarned, and hence is absconding. No decent, law-abiding citizen goes into hiding like this all of a sudden.’
The judge nodded hesitatingly.
‘Your witness!’ the district attorney said.
Gunjan Shah nodded, and stood up.
‘So,’ he confronted the witness, ‘you have been living in England since the last nine years, but you keep coming back to India?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘This time—on the morning of Sunday the seventeenth—you had to come because your father expired. He was murdered, to be more precise?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘When did you last visit India?’
‘I don’t remember.’
‘Please, try to remember. You are on a witness stand, not a game show.’
‘Objection …’ the public prosecutor tried to intervene.
‘Overruled!’ the judge said. ‘The witness must answer the question.’
‘Your honour, I’m not yet finished with my objection.’
‘But the court is finished with its ruling. The court also wants to hear the answer to this question. The witness must answer.’
‘As far as I remember,’ the witness said, ‘it was some three years ago.’
‘And after that, you came to Mumbai on Sunday, the seventeenth of May, twelve days ago?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘No trip in between?’
‘No, sir.’
‘Your father did not inform you about the marriage?’
‘No, he did not.’
‘Is it that you did get the information but in the present circumstances and in view of the present position of the case, you deemed it unwise to confirm the same?
‘No, nothing of the sort.’
‘When you acted as a sleuth and unearthed the case …’
‘Sir!’
‘When you recovered the sapphire ring and ten lakh rupees in cash from the bag of the accused, who else was present there?’
‘My younger brother Ashok was there, my sister Shobha was there, her husband Lekhumal … I mean Lekh were there.’
‘Who else?’
‘Nobody else was there.’
‘I have heard that there is a maid, and a cook in the house?’
‘They were not there at that time.’
‘Where were they?’
‘They might have been anywhere but were not there. I don’t remember where they were then.’
‘Anybody else?’
‘Didn’t I say …’
‘You did, and I heard you loud and clear. I have two ears and both work perfectly well. Neither is deaf. Say so if you think otherwise.’
The witness kept quiet.
‘You seem to be forgetting something about the attendance at that time.’
‘I don’t think so …’
‘Don’t answer in haste. Try to remember.’
‘That’s what I’m doing but … sorry, I can’t remember.’
‘ok, then allow me to help you. At that time, the sho of Colaba police station, Chandrakant Devtale was present there.’
‘Oh! He …’
‘Or you don’t count policemen among humans?’
‘No such thing. The inspector was there by coincidence, which is why it escaped my attention.’
‘What was the coincidence?’
‘He was the investigation officer in charge of my father’s murder. He had come there for his investigation.’
‘So, whatever happened between your family and the accused, happened in presence of inspector sahib?’
‘Y-yes.’
‘The accused was caught red-handed while stealing, the stolen goods were recovered from her bag and still the inspector did not intervene?’
‘I did say it before, didn’t I, we showed compassion towards your client and didn’t act against her in the matter.’
‘You showed compassion or refrained from pushing the charge because in that case there would have been an fir and the stolen stuff had to be deposited with the police. How could you have done that? In reality, there was no such stuff.’
‘What … what did you say?’
‘The story of theft and the recovery of stolen goods is fabricated. No such stuff—the cash sum, the sapphire ring—ever existed. Now accept that …’
‘Objection, your honour,’ the public prosecutor said, ‘the defence attorney is trying to distort the facts to suit his purpose. He is trying to put his words in the witness mouth.’
‘Objection sustained. The defence attorney may either reframe his statement or change the course of the argument.’
‘Yes, your honour,’ Shah said. ‘Mr Alok Changulani, I have here some documents which contain some important information that I want to share with you. This information says that on Saturday, 9 May, you had a ticket booked from Manchester to Dubai on an early morning Oman Air flight. You went to Dubai to attend a conference, which lasted three days. You had a return ticket booked through the same airlines, on a Mumbai-Manchester late-night flight, for Friday, 15 May. Say yes or no
?’
The witness suddenly looked uncomfortable. He glanced timidly towards Bhuvnesh Dixit.
Dixit shrugged his shoulders.
‘Say yes or no!’ Shah thundered.
‘Y-yes.’
‘You boarded that flight, and went back to Manchester?’
‘Y-yes?’
‘How did you do that? Caught it midair? When the plane was flying over Dubai, you flew and boarded it?’
‘Objection, your honour, argumentative …’
‘Overruled!’ snapped the judge.
‘Th-that’s n-not po-possible,’ the witness stammered.
‘Then what’s possible? Submit to the court what’s possible. Accept before the court that you were here in Mumbai at least on the evening of 15 May, if not before.’
‘Y-yes.’
‘So, you lied in court, when you said that you had not set foot in Mumbai in the last three years, excluding the present visit?’
‘I did not do it intentionally. It happened by coincidence. I had no intention of coming to Mumbai while organizing the Dubai trip.’
‘I’ll interrupt you here. If you had no intention of coming to Mumbai, then why did you take an open ticket from Mumbai for the return journey?’
‘You have misunderstood that. I did have an open ticket, but it was from Dubai.’
‘Why so?’
‘Because my employer wanted it to be so. He intended to send me somewhere else also on short notice, but he didn’t act upon what he intended. It was later that I got the departure point changed from Dubai to Mumbai.’
‘Why?’
‘Because later I thought of meeting Papa, since I had come so close to Mumbai.’
‘So you went to Manchester via Mumbai?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘When did you reach Mumbai? And answer this question keeping in mind that you were free from the conference on Tuesday. Where were you from Tuesday to Friday? In Dubai or in Mumbai? For how long, if in Dubai? For how long, if in Mumbai?’
‘I came to Mumbai on Wednesday evening.’
‘When did you meet your father?’
‘The same day.’
‘Where?’
‘At his department store on Lamington Road.’
‘Why there?’
‘Because I knew he would be there at that hour of the day.’
The Colaba Conspiracy Page 33