Kabir Khan smiled. ‘I hope all of them sweat for the rest of their lives. We are about to get the phone number of the person who is the mastermind behind Subhash Parikh’s death and the Mumbai blasts, considering he used the same MO in both cases. It is big—’ He turned towards Patankar. ‘Hey!’ he shouted and lunged at him. The latter quickly turned and hid his phone behind himself, refusing to hand it over to Kabir. ‘Hey, give me the phone,’ Kabir thundered, mentally berating himself for not following up on his instinct sooner. He had sensed something was amiss when he noticed Patankar fiddling with the screen in the manner that didn’t seem like he was searching for a contact.
Patankar was stronger than Khan had anticipated. By the time he was overpowered and the phone taken away from him, it had been reset. All the data had been wiped. Khan was furious. His lapse of concentration, albeit for a moment, had cost him a very significant clue. He grabbed a length of rope lying in the corner and started whipping Patankar. The latter squealed in agony. Krishnan ran up to Kabir and tried to restrain him. Madhavan too joined him. But Kabir was like a man possessed. It took them a while to bring him back to his senses.
Krishnan called in the forensics team. Fortunately, after thoroughly examining the phone, they said that the data could be restored. But they would need twenty-four hours to do it.
A constable opened the door and walked in. ‘Sir, Mr Choksi wants to talk to you,’ he said looking at Kabir Khan.
‘I’ll be there in five minutes.’
102
‘I had never imagined that my last case would be so emotionally draining,’ Krishnan confessed as they waited for the lift.
Kabir laughed in response.
‘Given what Madhavan found, do you think we should stop treating the king like a suspect?’
‘DGP!’ Kabir said in mock outrage. ‘Who do you work for? The king or the state?’
Krishnan grinned at Kabir’s theatrics and the latter merely rolled his eyes as they got into the lift.
‘I need to speak to my relationship manager,’ Nirav Choksi demanded the moment the two of them walked in.
‘What for?’ Kabir Khan calmly asked him.
‘I remember the case where I had recommended a loan for the Ola cabs. However, I don’t have any evidence to support my case.’
‘How will the relationship manager help?’
‘Well,’ Nirav explained, ‘I always speak to my bankers on their recorded line for investment-related instructions. I want to see if in this case too I spoke to them on a recorded line. If indeed I did, you will have evidence of what I said.’
‘Please do, provided we listen in on that call,’ Kabir said, not taking any chances this time.
Nirav readily agreed. A phone was brought in and Nirav called his Axis Bank relationship manager.
‘Yes, sir. I remember those loans. In fact I remember because we normally do not fund Ola cabs. However, in this case, we made an exception for you. After all, if we don’t do it for you, whom will we do it for.’
Kabir snorted at the relationship manager’s obsequiousness.
‘Thank you! Thank you, it’s very kind of you to say so.’ Nirav smiled as he spoke, secretly hoping his stature with the bank would lead Khan and Krishnan to take a softer stance on him. ‘I was wondering if we had spoken on a recorded line, or was it a mobile phone conversation.’
‘Let me check,’ the relationship manager said. ‘May I put you on hold?’
‘Of course!’
The relationship manager returned to the call a couple of minutes later. ‘I checked, sir. You had called on our landline. All calls to the wealth management unit of the bank are recorded. As I mentioned earlier, we normally don’t do such loans, however, this one was done specifically based on your recommendation, as you are a VIP customer.’
‘Could you give me a copy of the conversation?’
The friendly relationship manager suddenly became a bit cagey. ‘If you don’t mind my asking, why do you need the recording, sir?’
‘Just so that I too have a record of the discussion.’
‘I will have to check bank policy, sir.’
‘Yes, of course, I understand. If at any point you think this is becoming an issue, let me know. I’ll speak to your CEO.’
‘That won’t be necessary, sir!’
‘Can you please send the clip to my email ID and to another email ID that I will give you?’ Nirav glanced at Kabir, and at his nod gave his email address, and disconnected the call.
It took the relationship manager half an hour to obtain the recording and send it. Dropping the CEO’s name during the conversation had done the trick.
Back in the DGP’s cabin, Krishnan, Kabir and Madhavan crowded around Krishnan’s laptop to listen to the conversation between Nirav and the relationship manager.
It was a five-minute-long conversation about some investments that Nirav was authorizing the bank to make. The Ola cabs featured in the last few minutes of the conversation.
‘You guys don’t fund Ola cabs?’ Nirav was heard asking the relationship manager.
‘I’m not sure, sir, but I can check it out for you.’
‘Someone I know wants a loan for five cabs at once. It won’t amount to a lot, roughly twenty-five lakh.’
‘Can you give me some details about this person, sir?’
‘His name is . . .’ There was a few moments’ silence. Then Nirav’s voice was heard again, softer this time, asking, ‘What’s his name? Your taxi fellow.’ From the question and his manner of speaking, it was clear that Nirav was speaking to a third person.
That’s when a third voice spoke: ‘Patankar. Dilip Patankar. Stays in Dahisar.’
Nirav repeated the information to the relationship manager. ‘Can I give him your number? I’ll be obliged if you could help him out. I’ll even make sure the repayments come in on time.’
‘Sure, sir. Give him my number. Or else if you give me his number, I will make sure someone contacts him.’
‘Great! That won’t be necessary. He will get in touch. Thank you,’ he said to the relationship manager before hanging up.
The moment the call ended, Khan turned to Nirav. ‘Who was that?’ he asked.
Nirav Choksi looked at him, lines of worry creasing his forehead. ‘Aditya,’ Nirav said. ‘The other person on the line was Aditya.’
103
‘If there is one man in this world who has not committed a crime, let him stand up,’ a frustrated Kabir said.
A knock on the door distracted them momentarily.
‘Yes!’ he barked.
It was Kutty. ‘There was a call from the chief minister’s office,’ he said.
‘Hmm.’ Krishnan nodded, raising his hand and asking him to wait. He looked at Khan. ‘If we are done with Choksi, let’s send him back. We can always call him again if we need anything.’ Khan concurred. Krishnan gave instructions for Nirav to be taken back to his hotel and then turned to Kutty.
‘Now tell me,’ he said.
‘They have decided to allow the excavation on the eastern side of the temple,’ Kutty announced. Suddenly realizing that he had not given Krishnan the complete picture, he added, ‘The site where they discovered two steps near the eastern wall of the temple. The chief minister is now keen to give the go-ahead to excavate further. He is afraid that in light of the multiple issues cropping up at the temple, if he doesn’t give approval it will devolve on him.’
‘So what do they want from us?’
‘Any excavation needs to be signed off by the police chief from a law and order perspective.’
‘Is that normal protocol?’
‘Not normal, sir. However, since the area falls within the zone that has been cordoned in accordance with the Supreme Court order, they require your sign off.’
This was a distraction Krishnan didn’t like. He wanted to get away from the extraneous temple drama and focus on the actual murders. Monitoring an excavation was the least of his problems.
‘
Tell them to go ahead. They can send me the paperwork later.’
‘Okay, sir. Thanks.’ Kutty walked towards the door.
‘And listen,’ Krishnan called out; he had just remembered something. ‘These are the steps close to the vault, right? Make sure we are adequately covered from a surveillance perspective. Cameras covering all angles. Security personnel 24x7. Personally brief the ACP.’
‘That will not be an issue, sir,’ Kutty replied. ‘We already have them.’
‘What?’ Khan asked.
‘As a matter of precaution, the ASI had installed CCTV cameras on site when the digging of the road began. Standard protocol, sir. They have rules for all sorts of digging around monuments like the Padmanabha Swamy Temple. Accordingly, work cannot commence unless CCTV cameras are installed.’
‘Okay, thanks,’ Krishnan said, dismissing Kutty.
‘Aren’t the eastern wall and the excavation site close to the place where Kannan was murdered?’ Kabir wondered out loud.
‘Yes, they are.’ Madhavan stepped in.
‘How on earth did we miss the excavation site? And the cameras there!’ Khan remarked.
Krishnan walked up to the table and rummaged through a few sheets of paper. He pulled out the list of CCTV installations in and around the temple. There was no mention of the ones at the excavation site.
‘I think I know why it is not there,’ Khan volunteered. He had been thinking hard. ‘The ASI comes under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. They installed separate CCTV cameras on the site, apart from what the temple had. Given that there is hardly any collaboration between the state and the government at the Centre, there is a massive communication gap. Our list didn’t show the installations by the central teams.’
‘We need to get them ASAP. The CCTV cameras there are closest to the murder site.’
Kutty and Madhavan were promptly dispatched to get the feed from the Archaeological Survey of India.
The footage from the cameras around the ASI excavation site was easy to obtain. Madhavan had contacts in the relevant offices which enabled him to get the feed without having to make too many explanations.
Although Krishnan and Kabir were hoping for fresh leads from the footage, they were not prepared for what they saw—at 2.58 a.m. on the night of Kannan’s murder.
Khan reached out and paused the video. He had a shocked look on his face.
‘Can we zoom in?’ he asked Krishnan bleakly.
The DGP just shook his head, too shocked to speak. Madhavan pressed play.
On the screen a scuffle was taking place between two people. One of them was Kannan but it was the other who raised eyebrows. Kabir and the others watched in horror as the murderer searched in the autorickshaw for something. Moments later, he emerged with a small tube and inserted one end of it in the vehicle’s exhaust pipe and the other end into an unconscious Kannan’s nostril. He waited for some time, nervously looking around to see if anyone was coming that way. Then he pulled out a small bottle from his bag, and poured its contents into Kannan’s mouth. Although Kabir, Krishnan and Madhavan knew what would happen next, watching the killer part lift, part drag Kannan’s lifeless body and push it over the tank wall was not easy. Clearly the killer did not share their sentiments, for he stood there and observed the body roll down, till it hit the water. And then Subhash Parikh turned and calmly walked back, as if nothing had happened.
Madhavan and Krishnan stepped away from the screen, wearing matching expressions of disbelief on their faces. Kabir, however, was still staring at the screen. At a point on the bottom left.
Someone was hiding and watching everything.
‘Who—?
‘What is he doing there . . .? How can he just stand there and not help poor Kannan?’ Krishnan was aghast.
Kabir looked at the video intently. He paused the video and moved closer to it. ‘He is not watching,’ he said, a note of revulsion in his voice. ‘He is recording. He is clandestinely recording the murder.’
104
The mood in the police headquarters was sombre.
‘This case is getting weirder by the day!’ Kabir remarked. ‘Everyone seems to have a secret. Damn it! What is this? A murder fest?!’
Krishnan was pacing up and down when Sundari called. He answered the call with a curt ‘What is it?’ He didn’t appreciate his thought process being disturbed. However, he realized his mistake almost immediately; Sundari was not in the best of health. He had to be sensitive towards her. He walked to the other end of the room, and spoke in soft tones.
‘But then everything is unprecedented till it happens the first time,’ Khan said, looking at Madhavan. When the other man gave him a blank look, he realized that he was responding to his own thoughts and not to a question Madhavan had asked.
‘So Subhash Parikh,’ Madhavan began, ignoring Kabir’s flight of fancy. ‘Now that we have clinching evidence that he killed Kannan, can we at least claim that we have solved one murder?’
‘Technically, yes,’ Khan said impassively. ‘But we still do not know the motive. And catching the murderer without a clue about the motive is pointless. Particularly in this case, given that the murderer himself is dead.’
‘And we don’t know who killed him.’
‘Or why.’
Kabir rose from his chair and paced around the room, distractedly running a hand through his hair. ‘Subhash was killed a couple of nights after he murdered Kannan. The only person who knew that Subhash Parikh killed Kannan didn’t utter a word about it. Why? We have no clue. Obviously Parikh was killed because he knew something which the killer didn’t want the world to know. What did Subhash know that got him killed?’
‘Let’s go over what we know about that night.’ Krishnan had finished his call with Sundari.
‘Nothing,’ Khan retorted. Their complete lack of information about the night Subhash was murdered was frustrating. ‘The only thing we know is that he was awake at 12.30 a.m. when he called Lakshmi Narain Sharma by mistake.’
‘The driver.’
‘Yes,’ said Khan. ‘Sharma heard multiple people speak, and the only thing he could make out in the conversation was something about land in Surat. But what does Subhash Parikh have to do with Surat?’
‘He was a known trader in bullion and jewellery. He had an antique showroom on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Not much is known about his clientele except that they were mostly foreigners and included the high and mighty of the world. He imported stuff from all over the place. He was raided a few times by the FBI, but they never found anything amiss.’
‘All this information is available on the Internet.’ Krishnan was dismissive.
‘True,’ Madhavan agreed.
‘Who can help us make sense of the Surat link? Who would know?’ Khan wondered out aloud.
‘Let’s talk to Nirav Choksi. Wasn’t he Parikh’s oldest friend? I think we should call him here,’ Madhavan said.
Khan picked up the phone and dialled Nirav Choksi’s number. It was switched off. ‘Let’s go to the hotel. We will meet him in his room.’ And he walked out of the room with Krishnan. Madhavan stayed back.
Twenty minutes later, they entered Hotel Lotus Pond. Khan tried Nirav’s mobile again, but it was switched off. On their way to the hotel, Krishnan had checked with the reception and had been told that Nirav was on the premises. Kabir checked the hotel manifest and called Nirav from one of the house phones. There was no answer. He tried leaving voicemail, but the message box was full. Annoyed, Kabir went back to the reception and told them that he was trying to reach Nirav Choksi. He mentioned that he was with the DGP, investigating the recent death of one of the hotel guests. The receptionist was spurred into action. She asked a colleague to man the desk and escorted them to the floor where the audit team was staying.
She knocked softly on the door to room 545.
‘Coming!’ Nirav answered from within the room.
Kabir looked at the manifest in his hand. The room number listed for Nirav
Choksi was 543. He looked at the receptionist questioningly and passed the manifest to her.
‘We changed his room, sir. The AC in his earlier room, 543, was giving trouble. So we shifted him here. Temporarily.’
‘Have you got it repaired?’
‘Not yet, sir. No unauthorized personnel are allowed on this floor. That’s why we cannot get that done till the team leaves. In any case, we are not allocating rooms on this floor to anyone else.’
The door opened just then. Nirav stood in front of them in a towel and a T-shirt. ‘DGP. Mr Khan. What a surprise! What brings you here at this hour?’
‘We have a few questions,’ Khan supplied shortly.
‘Of course! Come on in,’ he said, holding the door open for them.
Once they were all inside, he added, ‘Though I can’t help but wonder what it is that you could not have asked me when I was at the police station for the most part of the day.’ He smiled.
‘We tried calling. Your phone was switched off,’ Khan responded, rather curtly.
‘Well, I always switch off my phone at night. Old habit.’
Khan ignored that and came directly to the point. ‘Mr Choksi, this is about Subhash Parikh.’
‘What else could it be about?’
‘Did Subhash Parikh have any connection with Surat that you are aware of? Any family ties? Any enemies? Business interests?’
‘I don’t know much, except for the fact that he had recently bought some land in Surat. A few acres.’
‘How do you know that? Did he normally tell you whenever he made these investments?’
‘No, he didn’t. He had offered to help Aditya, told him that in case he wanted to start anything in Surat, he would happily give him a part of the office that he intends to build there. Apart from that, I have no idea about his connection with Surat.’
‘Interesting. Did Parikh offer him a job?’
‘He just offered him the space and infrastructure in case he wanted to seriously pursue jewellery designing and diamond trading.’
‘If he had intended to build an office complex, it must be a large parcel of land?’
In the Name of God Page 25