‘Yes, your honour,’ the public prosecutor said with poor grace, ‘of course, your honour.’
‘Thank you, your honour,’ Shah said. He shuffled through the sheets he was holding in his hands, and picked one out. ‘Your honour, this is a statement, a transcript of the conversation that took place between the deceased, Pursumal Changulani and a mysterious visitor, at his flat in Tulsi Chambers at 7 p.m. on Thursday, 14 May. There was a listener to the conversation and the visitor had no knowledge of him. The host knew of the listener but he never knew that the conversation was audible to the listener from where he was. The conversation was penned down much later on Friday, 24 May. I have here the original, handwritten copy of the listener, but I would like to offer the computer-generated transcript of the conversation for the witness to read.’
‘This is against the procedure,’ the public prosecutor said, ‘such transcripts must be first presented for the court’s perusal.’
‘I have a copy for the court and one for you, too. The collective perusal thus will save the court’s time.’
The copies were handed over to the court clerk for onward distribution.
The proceedings of the court stopped for the next five minutes. Thereafter Shah addressed the witness.
‘You read the transcript?’ he asked.
‘Wait a minute,’ the public prosecutor rose to his feet, ‘I don’t think it is mandatory for the witness to answer your queries regarding this transcript. You need to first establish the authenticity of this document before the witness is questioned about it.’
‘I told you before,’ said a visibly irritated Shah, ‘that I have the original, hand-written copy of the listener, and I am ready to present it in court.’
‘Even the original copy needs to be authenticated. Suppose you yourself prepare a text, stick a tag to it of a particular context and present the text to the court as an authentic exhibit, then how can it be deemed as permissible? How can it be permitted?’
‘This is preposterous,’ Shah flared up, ‘you are alleging the defence of having prepared a counterfeit script?’
‘No,’ the public prosecutor replied with patience, ‘I am just presenting a possibility that such a thing can happen. It did happen or not is a different matter. My emphasis is on the point that it could happen—I repeat—it could happen.’
‘So what needs to be done?’
‘The writer of this text needs to be brought to the witness box, and asked to authenticate it under oath. Since you need time to do that, I request the court to postpone the hearing for a next date, and issue an order to keep the accused under police custody till then.’
‘Your honour, I strongly object to this request by the prosecution.’
‘Why?’ the public prosecutor said in a surprised tone. ‘I was doing it for the convenience of the defence …’
‘My convenience does not depend upon the favours granted by the prosecution.’
‘But you must need time to present the witness who allegedly heard the conversation.’
‘No, I don’t, because that witness is present in the court right now.’
‘Who is the witness?’
‘The one who will now come to the witness box. I request this witness to vacate the box for some time, so that I can present the other witness. Mr Ashok, please step down.’
Ashok Changulani stepped down from the witness box and stood to the side.
‘The author of this script, please come to the witness box and be sworn.’
Sushmita got up.
‘This is the so-called listener?’ asked a surprised public prosecutor.
‘Yes,’ Shah said, ‘any objection?’
‘I was not aware that …’
‘No problem! Ignorance is bliss, they say. You’re lucky, Mr Dixit, that you’re blessed.’
‘Mr Shah,’ the judge said, ‘please, refrain from personalities.’
‘I beg your pardon, your honour. Now, I request you to order the witness to step into the witness box and be sworn.’
Both the orders were issued and carried out swiftly.
‘Are you aware of this text?’ Shah asked.
‘Yes, I am,’ Sushmita said.
‘And how so?’
‘Whatever is written here has been written by me. It is in my handwriting.’
‘This is the computer-generated transcript of your statement. Kindly compare these documents and tell us if there is any difference between the two?’
The witness spent five minutes on it.
‘There is no difference,’ she then said.
‘You are certain that what is written in the original is in the typed copy as well?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘This is a complete transcript of whatever you heard at Tulsi Chambers on Thursday, 14 May at 7 p.m.?’
‘I can’t claim that. I penned it down eight days after it took place. There’s every possibility that I forgot certain things.’
‘So, the conversation that you heard that evening is not fully documented here, it could be less?’
‘A word-by-word account is not possible, sir, even if documented immediately. How can human memory take the place of a tape recorder?’
‘Very well-said. So, this is less than the actual conversation?’
‘Yes, I think so.’
‘What about additions?’
‘What sort of additions?’
‘Any additions you would have made inadvertently? In other words, is it possible that this transcript is longer than the actual conversation?’
‘Not at all. It could be shorter, but not longer.’
‘Please, endorse both the documents.’
The witness affixed her signature and the date on both the documents.
‘Mr Dixit, are you satisfied now that due procedure has been followed, and the defence did not violate any procedural requirement?’
‘Yes,’ the public prosecutor said dryly, ‘the prosecution is obliged.’
‘Do you have anything to ask the witness?’
‘No.’
‘Thank you. Madam, please leave the box, and let the previous witness occupy it again.’
Ashok Changulani returned to the witness box.
‘You are already under oath, so we can proceed.’
The witness kept quiet.
‘Please read this transcript carefully.’
He followed the instructions.
‘Now tell us, were you the mystery visitor to your father’s flat at Tulsi Chambers on that evening?’
‘No.’
‘Please, give a thoughtful reply, a truthful reply.’
‘That’s exactly what I’ve done. One need not think for a truthful answer, it comes out automatically.’
‘Everything mentioned in this conversation indicates towards your current financial distress, your urgent requirement to arrange a big sum of money.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Not maybe, it actually does.’
‘ok, it does. But, as you said, it indicates, it does not conclusively single out Ashok Changulani.’
‘It may not be so conclusive, but it does, doesn’t it?’
‘How’s that?’
‘Just some time back while standing in this very place, you uttered with your own tongue that ups and down could happen to anybody. This is exactly what the mystery visitor uttered and what is written in this document.’
‘That’s just a coincidence. I don’t have a copyright on the “ups and downs in business” phrase.’
‘The deceased termed the visitor an emotional blackmailer. Only somebody close to him could have emotionally blackmailed him.’
‘I am not the lone person who was close to him.’
‘But nobody else has this big a liability on their head. Nobody else has to repay a five-crore-rupee debt!’
‘That’s a coincidence.’
‘Why do so many coincidences happen to you?’
‘They happen to others too, but you’re singling me out.�
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‘As per this transcript, you have taken financial help from your father previously on a number of occasions.’
‘This is a common trick with you lawyers. You are trying to put words in my mouth. You started with the presumption that I was the mystery visitor of this statement. I say it again and again and again that it was not me.’
‘You never received any financial help from your father?’
‘I did, many a time. Parents like to bless their children, the blessing can be oral or financial.’
‘When he had helped you previously, then why did you not think of going to him this time, too?’
‘I did think about it, but I was not ready to expose my specific weakness—that of being a compulsive gambler—to him.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Earlier, whenever I got financial help from my father, it was for my personal or social or business needs. I had a gambling debt riding over me, how I could have the temerity to stand before my father and confess that I was a compulsive gambler?’
‘But we know that you are being chased by enforcers who are notorious for maiming and even killing their subject. You were under such grave danger, and still you didn’t choose to go to your father for help?’
‘I didn’t. I won’t lie, I was trying to garner the courage to go to him but before I could do that somebody … somebody …’
His voice choked.
‘The transcript says that your father called the mystery visitor a professional borrower, that is, someone who habitually asks for help. Were you one such habitual borrower?’
‘No, never. Most of the times the financial help that I received from Papa, I didn’t even hint to him about it. Generally, Alok knew of my problems and it was he who used to tell Papa about them. And Papa,’ his voice choked again, ‘used to help me without my telling him so. Mr Lawyer, shame on you for even thinking that I could have murdered such a godlike father.’
The witness broke down and sobbed openly. His sobs echoed through the silent court.
For some time, the silence in the court continued.
The witness curbed his sentiments and said in a husky voice, ‘I am sorry that I was carried away by emotion, I used uncivil language, I beg your pardon, sir, from the core of my heart.’
‘Never mind,’ Shah said sympathetically.
‘Mr Lawyer, you levelled so many allegations against me with respect to this transcript, I didn’t retaliate. Kindly permit me to say just one thing, let me say it as a humble request: Never in my life did I behave disrespectfully with my father. There may be a difference of opinions, a heated argument, I never even raised my voice before him. Never did I call my father “old man”. It never even once occurred to me to use this rotten, insulting, uncivil address for my father. The mystery visitor called Papa “old man”, and this is evidence enough to establish that it was not me.’
‘Who was it then?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Take a guess.’
‘No!’
‘ok, we take it that you were not that mystery visitor mentioned in this transcript …’
‘Thank you.’
‘… but now you have to tell us where you were on the day of the visit, i.e. the evening of Thursday, 14 May?’
‘Do I need to remember something that happened two weeks ago?’
‘Yes, and let me say this, it would be in your own interest. If you were not at one place, then you were at another place. The best way to establish you were not at a particular place is to tell what was that other place where you were!’
He looked indecisive.
‘I don’t want to keep you in the dark,’ Shah said, shuffling through the papers in his hand once again. ‘It is an established fact that you had a booking for an 11 p.m. Mumbai-London flight of British Airways on Thursday. Doesn’t this clearly and decisively indicate that you were in Mumbai on that day?’
He kept quiet.
‘And I have confirmed information from London that when the flight landed at Heathrow, you were not among the passengers who got down. It was a non-stop flight, hence there is no possibility that you got down somewhere in between. In the flight manifest, your seat was listed as “no show”. Hence, it is highly likely that you were in Mumbai even after 11 p.m. on Thursday night. Now give us your answer.’
‘Yes.’
‘What yes?’
‘I was in Mumbai then.’
‘When did you arrive?’
‘Two days earlier, on Tuesday morning.’
‘And what was the reason for the visit?’
He again hesitated.
‘Social?’ Shah asked insistently.
‘No.’
‘Professional?’
‘No.’
‘Then?’
‘My life was in danger in London. I left the city for some time to save myself, and find out a way to handle the impending danger.’
‘Who was a threat to your life?’
‘The enforcers of the casino. They would have killed me for sure had I stayed there any longer.’
‘Why did they not act against you earlier? Why did they let the debt mount to five crore rupees?’
‘Because they were under the impression that I was a rich and propertied person. I had told them that I owned the building my restaurant at Bayswater was located in. I had fake papers for the ownership of that building, and I had handed them over to the casino management, who did not doubt the authenticity of those documents initially. The market price of that building is much more than six lakh pounds, so they were not bothered by my rising credit. They were alarmed when the credit reached six lakh pounds. It was then that my documents were subjected to acute scrutiny and they came to know that they were fake.’
‘Why did you let the credit soar? Did you not have any apprehensions about it?’
‘I did, but I am a habitual gambler, someone who lays their trust in gambler’s luck. Every day I thought that my luck would take a turn and I’d cover all my losses, or my restaurant would start having a good run and by and by I’ll continue addressing my liabilities. But my luck never had any mercy on me, no day turned out to be my day. And I was terrified when I learnt that they had come to know that the papers I had given them were fake. I felt like I had been struck by lightning when all my pretensions were exposed. They would surely have killed me had I stayed in London, for I had no way of repaying my debts. Had I not moved out in time, they would not have let me. Once in their hands, the recovery of my body floating in the Thames was just a matter of time.’
‘I see. What did you do after reaching Mumbai on Tuesday morning? What was your agenda for the days ahead?’
‘I wanted to tell Papa about my ordeal. I went straight to his Lamington Road store from the airport. From there I came to know that he had gone to Alibagh on an urgent errand and wouldn’t be back till night. I was also told that he would possibly not return that day. Then for the overnight stay, I preferred to go to a hotel than going to Tulsi Chambers. When I reached the store the next day, I came to know that he had returned last night, but in the morning immediately left for Kalyan, leaving word behind that instead of returning to the store, he’d be going home. Then at about twelve, I went to Colaba. I reached the flat at Tulsi Chambers and rang the bell. I opened the main door with my key and entered …’
‘Did you know some other person also lived in that flat those days?’
He hesitated again.
‘Please answer the question.’
‘I did. I knew that the accused lived there, but I had no idea in what capacity. We never even imagined the wife thing. We first thought her to be a guest, and later found out, after Papa’s mur— … after what happened to Papa, that she was his live-in companion.’
‘Please, continue.’
‘At that time, she was not in the flat. There was nobody there. I felt very relaxed in the vacant flat. Then it occurred to me that instead of sitting before Papa and narrating to him the story of my misery,
I better write a letter to him summing up all my troubles. I could leave the letter there for Papa and return to my hotel. Papa could have had pity upon me and called me back or else I would have faced the music.’
‘So you wrote a letter?’
‘No, I could not. I just sat there with paper and pen when the doorbell rang. I thought the accused had come back. I was terrified when I went and opened the main door. The enforcer of the casino was standing there before me like death personified.’
‘He reached Mumbai?’
‘Not just that, he reached Tulsi Chambers. What a stupid fool I was to think that he wouldn’t be able to find me easily! It was then that I realized that it was not for nothing that casino enforcers had a reputation that they could dig out their subject from anywhere in the world.’
‘Do you know that person?’
‘Yes, I know him well. His name is Arthur Finch. Over six-and-a-half feet tall, so big that I look like a circus dwarf in comparison. You can well imagine how powerful he was from the fact that he extended his arm and lifted me a foot above the ground, despite the fact that my weight is eighty kilos. He brought me inside the flat in that fashion and closed the door with his foot behind him. I was surprised when he dropped me on the sofa, he didn’t fling me on the ground. Then he told me that by that time he had done a thorough research about my background, and had come to know that my father was a filthy-rich local trader. This information had toned him down for the time-being or otherwise he would have broken my bones mercilessly, made mincemeat out of me. I lied to him that I had come to Mumbai for the arrangement of money, and had a return ticket booked for Thursday night.’
‘You had?’
‘You know that I had. I had a ticket booked, but I didn’t intend to return for some time. I used that ticket to misguide him. I showed him the ticket and said that by Friday noon I’d definitely meet him in the casino with the money. He had duly enquired about Papa’s financial status and after seeing the luxury of the house, he was convinced that I could pay the debt with Papa’s help. Hence he left me with one last warning.’
‘Warning!’
‘Yes, but not an oral warning, the kind that is usually issued in such matters. He gave me a sample of what I would have faced had my father not been rich enough to bail me out of the situation.’
The Colaba Conspiracy Page 35