Greed Lust Addiction

by Ravi Dabral

  Mr. Ahuja replied, “Suraj is alive, which makes us believe that he planned the accident to claim the insurance money.”

  The Judge asked, “Mr. Narang, please tell this court, why your client’s family claimed the insurance money when Suraj was alive and why was he hiding?”

  Gulshan said, “Your Honour, his life was under threat from the accused persons. He was waiting for the right time to file a case in the court. I request the court to consider the fact that Suraj has lodged an FIR against the accused persons proving that he was a victim in the attempt to murder case.”

  Khurana said, “Your Honour, Suraj hid until his family claimed the insurance money. Is this not something strange?”

  Khurana continued, “Now I would like to ask Suraj and Vijay, from where they had arranged the body which they used in the car accident to claim the insurance money. I have a doubt they murdered someone. Why should not charges under Section 302 of IPC be filed against Suraj and Vijay?”

  Everybody in the court was shocked on hearing this new charge of murder from Mr. Khurana.

  The Judge asked, “Mr. Khurana, do you have facts, evidence, and witnesses to prove this?”

  Khurana said, “Yes, Your Honour, my clients are gathering all facts, evidence, and witnesses to prove that Suraj and Vijay murdered someone to put the body inside the car to claim the insurance money. In the next hearing, I will prove this.”

  Khurana further said, “Your Honour, now my third charge is for defamation against Suraj and Vijay. Suraj and Vijay have leaked these fake sting operation CDs in the media, so my clients’ reputation is harmed. They are claiming ₹ 10 crores as compensation. Your Honour, please note that it is also contempt of Court to release evidence which is declared fake by the court. To proceed in the case, I shall request my clients to come one by one to the witness box to state how their reputation has been affected.

  My first witness is Mr. Kamal Kishor Rawat, a local politician holding the portfolio of Home Minister in the State Legislative Assembly.”

  Mr. Rawat came to the witness box, and Mr. Khurana asked him, “Mr. Rawat, how has your reputation been affected by these CDs? Please explain to the court.”

  Mr. Rawat said, “I am a politician and as a Minister holding a constitutional post. The public elects me based on my image and the good deeds which I do for the public. But because of these CDs released by Suraj, I have lost public trust which is the biggest asset of a politician.”

  Khurana called Mr. Devdhar Thapar to the witness box.

  Mr. Thapar said, “I have many public listed companies for doing multiple businesses, like media, hospitals, medical and engineering colleges, and so on. Because of the CDs leaked to the media, my image and my group of companies’ corporate image has been affected. Thus, our share prices have gone down by 25 percent. This loss is in millions of rupees.”

  Mr. Anand Mishra said, “Your Honour, as you are aware, the media’s image in the public eye is of a neutral and transparent medium. It is considered a watchdog of the democracy.”

  Hearing this from Mr. Mishra everybody in the court started laughing and whispered ‘image as watchdog or lapdog’?

  The Judge said, “Order, Order, please maintain silence in the court.”

  Mr. Mishra continued saying, “Your Honour, these leaked CDs have badly affected my professional career and our news channel’s image.”

  ACP Mohammad Nasim Siddique said, “Because of these CDs, I have lost the chance of becoming Commissioner of Police which was my dream. Suraj has tarnished the image of the police department as well as reduced the trust between the police and the public.”

  Khurana said, “Your Honour, all my clients combined together have suffered reputation loss worth more than ₹ 100 crores, but they are claiming only a token of ₹ 2.5 crores each that is a total of ₹ 10 crores from Suraj and Vijay.”

  The Judge asked, “Mr. Narang, do you have anything to say in support of your client?”

  Gulshan said, “Your Honour, please note that my client has not leaked these CDs to any news channel. I want to ask the editor, Mr. Anand Mishra one question.”

  Mr. Mishra came to the witness box.

  Gulshan asked him, “We saw in one of your news stories that all the CDs are fake and doctored. Then how can these fake CDs spoil your reputation?”

  Mr. Mishra replied, “The public watch multiple news channels, so the viewers who do not watch our news channel FNC believe that I did something wrong.”

  The Judge said, “I am giving the next date for hearing four months from now, 15 th March. Meanwhile, I request Mr. Khurana to come up with facts and evidence to prove a claim of ₹ 10 crores reputation loss and how the dead body was arranged by Suraj and Vijay to claim insurance money. This will be the last chance to Mr. Narang to prove his attempt to murder charges against accused under Section 307 of IPC otherwise I will have no option but to dismiss the case finally.”

  In the evening, Suraj conveyed to Guruji whatever had happened in the court. Guruji said, “These crooks can go to any limit. Whenever there is such a difficult situation in life, we should consult an expert on the subject.”

  In the Peace Hall TV set, the news was appearing that elections were likely to be held in the state any time after three months. While watching this news, Suraj remembered the advice of Captain Mahender Singh Chouhan, and asked Guruji, “Should we plan to support honest candidates or form a new political party for this election?”

  Guruji said, “Nowadays politics has become dirty, and we should avoid dirtying our hands.”

  Suraj said, “Guruji, you always say that politics is another form of social service and the only difference between social service and politics is that politicians have access to taxpayers’ money and international funds borrowed for public welfare, but social workers lack funds. These public funds instead of being used for public welfare, are being diverted by the corrupt politicians for their personal benefit. If we help honest people to reach the State Legislative Assembly or Parliament, then we can at least stop misuse of taxpayers and borrowed funds.”

  Guruji said, “You have a valid point that utilising funds for public welfare projects is secondary. In the present scenario, the first priority should be to stop the misuse of funds by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. I shall think over your proposal.”

  Guruji asked Suraj, “What is the status of the smart village project? Is there any growth in farmers’ income levels, the standard of living and children’s education standard? Suraj, we need positive results to prove that welfare meditation has the potential to make a difference in the lives of millions.”

  Suraj replied, “Guruji, the results are promising, and our ashram volunteers are in the process of compiling data and verifying the results. I will update you soon.”

  41

  Guerrilla Strategies and Eagle Detective Agency

  G uruji informed Suraj one day, that in the evening around 7:00 p.m. he wanted Suraj, Vijay, Gulshan and Seema to reach the ashram’s Peace Hall, as he had fixed a meeting with an important person.

  Suraj said, “All right Guruji, I shall coordinate, and we will be there on time.”

  In the evening ten minutes before 7:00 p.m. all were seated in the Peace Hall waiting for the important person. Precisely at 7:00 p.m., they saw a senior citizen entering the Peace Hall. The person came up to Guruji, touched his feet and smiled at everybody. Guruji introduced the person, “Meet retired top court Judge Mr. Madan Mohan Madaan.”

  Retired Judge Mr. Madaan said, “Guruji has already briefed me about your case. Today Guruji called me to guide you in your case. I have heard about these crooks including senior lawyer Mr. Khurana who is well-known for manipulating facts, evidence, and witnesses for his white-collar criminal clients.”

  Mr. Madaan continued saying, “I hope you have studied that applying the law is the role of the judge. The role of the lawyer is to present facts and evidence convincingly after tactfully applying the art of cross-examination of witnesses
in the courtroom. So far after reading the case file, I can say that your homework and investigation work is not up to the mark to beat Mr. Khurana in the Court.”

  Mr. Madaan said, “It is common nowadays for crooks and corrupt people to have wealth from illegal sources, but sadly you have not collected any evidence to prove this. I suggest a few aggressive or guerrilla strategies well within the ambit of the legal framework.

  First, get access to their individual or corporate income tax returns filed with the Income Tax departments and annual returns filed with Registrar of Companies for the last ten years or if possible since the beginning of their career or business.

  Second, get their property details whether in their own names, close relatives or benami, registered in India or abroad.

  Third, you get details of the politician’s business interests; most probably he must have invested his black money in real estate business, engineering or medical colleges, media companies, cinema halls, shopping malls, alone or in partnership with others. Here, let me share with you an interesting story which I came to know during a case hearing. These politicians buy cinema halls to convert their black money into white money by showing all movie shows as full houses even though the movie is useless. Just to explain, if only 30 percent of viewers have come to see the movie, even then they will show it 100 percent full occupancy and pay entertainment tax to the government. Thus, in this way, they convert their black money into white money to buy assets.”

  Guruji laughed and said, “Oh! This is how many useless films become a super hit, film producers and film stars give success parties, and paid PR agencies and managed media declare these as super hit movies.”

  Mr. Madaan said, “Fourth, you find Mr. Rawat’s official income after he became an elected politician. This figure you can get from government sources. Make a total of official and unofficial incomes and compare these with his current net worth or total assets.

  Fifth, you get details of his family tree to know the source of ancestral income or property as later on he can say that he got this income or property from his forefathers.

  Sixth, please check if they have any foreign bank accounts. You can track this by checking if their children are studying abroad and their education and other expenses are funded from foreign bank accounts. Please check if any of their family members have settled abroad in the last eight to ten years and taken citizenship there.

  Seventh, check if the crooks are in an illicit relationship and having mistresses, which is nowadays common among politicians, bureaucrats, and businessmen.

  These are only a few of the guerrilla strategies to attack them; I am sure you can device many more such innovative ways for all of them.”

  Guruji said, “Thank you, Madan, for your guidance. Please also suggest how they can collect the evidence.”

  Mr. Madaan said, “I suggest you take the help of professional and reputed detective agents. If you wish, I can introduce you to Colonel Krishna Kumar Pandey, retired from the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and his partner Captain Rudra Pratap Singh, retired from armed forces. They are like detectives Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, have experience and exposure in handling many national and international detective assignments. Sometimes during my tenure as a judge, when both sides of lawyers confused me by providing fake evidence and witnesses, I informally took their services to know the actual truth. They have an excellent network in India and abroad, and can collect facts and evidence for you.”

  Guruji said, “Madan but tell us how these facts and evidence will help in winning the case.”

  Mr. Madaan said, “It is a well-known saying that if money is earned through illegal ways, then vices come as free gifts. We need to dig out their secret vices in the form of facts and evidence to show the actual reality of these crooks to the judge, particularly if they are claiming reputation loss. These secrets increase the confidence level of lawyers and help during cross-examination which is an art, and lawyers like Gulshan need to learn and practice. Gulshan listen carefully, to become a good lawyer it is important to have expertise in cross-examinations, besides having strong facts, evidence and witness.”

  Guruji said, “Madan thanks for sharing your knowledge with us and I am sure your guidance will help in making the case strong.”

  Mr. Madaan said, “You are welcome. My role is to build the trust of the public in the judiciary so that the rule of law prevails in the country.”

  Suraj, Vijay, Gulshan, and Seema also thanked Mr. Madaan.

  Gulshan touched Mr. Madaan’s feet to take his blessings and said, “Sir, as advised by you I will use facts and evidence wisely and focus on learning and practising the art of cross-examination.”

  Suraj took Colonel Pandey’s detective agency contact details from Mr. Madaan. The Judge said goodbye and left the Peace Hall.

  Next day morning Suraj, Gulshan, Vijay, and Seema went to Colonel Pandey and Captain Singh’s office to discuss the case. In the reception area, Suraj saw Eagle Detective Agency’s signboard with the logo of an eagle holding a snake in its claws. On entering the meeting room, the first question Suraj asked Col. Pandey was, “Sir, I like your detective agency’s logo. What is the meaning of your logo?”

  Col. Pandey with a smile on his face said, “Eagle signifies having sharp eyes and senses, which are a must for any detective agent to find hidden facts and evidence. Snake in this logo means criminals who are poisonous and harm our clients and the nation - must be ejected out from their pits by eagles like us.”

  After saying this Col. Pandey laughed and raised his hand for a hi-five which Suraj reciprocated.

  After the initial introduction, Suraj and the others told Col. Pandey everything from the beginning. They shared the guerrilla strategies suggested by retired Judge Mr. Madaan.

  Col. Pandey agreed to help in the case.

  Suraj hesitantly asked Col. Pandey, “Sir, what is the fee I will have to pay for your services?”

  Col. Pandey said, “Let us first study the case and then we will let you know.”

  Suraj said, “Actually sir, my financial position is not good. That is why I am requesting for your fee in advance to check whether I can afford your services.”

  Col. Pandey said, “Don’t worry about our fee; it will be reasonable and affordable. If we feel that it is beyond your budget, then on humanitarian grounds, we can waive off a part of the fee. For us client is God and providing top class quality services to the utmost satisfaction of the client is always our priority, rewards for the services are secondary. We believe in Bhagwad Gita’s message of doing good karmas; fruits will surely follow either in this life or the next. I have watched the news about your incident. I realise what these crooks have done to you, the trauma and tension you have gone through. Don’t worry, be relaxed and focus on your good karmas. You are doing wonderful work for the welfare of farmers.”

  Suraj was overwhelmed after listening to the kind and motivating words of Col. Pandey and said, “Thank you very much, sir.”

  Col. Pandey said, “In fact, we are thankful to you for giving us the opportunity to serve you.”

  With a smile on his face, Col. Pandey raised his right hand for hi-five which Suraj reciprocated.

  42

  ‘Don’t Hate Politics, Hate Corrupt Politicians’

  F inally, Guruji gave Suraj permission to form and register a political party in the name of Human Welfare Party (HWP) to support honest candidates. He placed some conditions such as the political party should not have any link with ashram and that ashram learners will work as volunteers only. They will not contest elections. Campaigning and canvassing will be based solely on merits, and it should be a positive campaign without getting involved in any controversy. Candidates would be selected based on their profile, experience, exposure to doing social service, character, and reputation. There should not be any criminal charges or cases pending against any candidate; money will be spent to a bare minimum; core issues relating to farmers and poor people will be highlighte
d during the election campaign.

  Guruji advised them that the principles of Bhagwad Gita (Karma philosophy and welfare meditation), Chanakya-Chandragupta’s economic and political teachings, and modern business, marketing, administration, and management strategies can be adopted and adapted to run and manage this newly formed political party.

  Guruji specifically highlighted taking care of the candidates’ ambitions and party workers as this is one of the main reasons for failure and break-up of many political parties in India.

  Five teams were to be formed such as:

  ‘Chanakya Team’ (kingmakers or strategists or intellectuals) comprised of retired judges, army personnel, professors, principals, doctors, lawyers, bankers, financial consultants, etc. It can also include engineering graduates from IITs and other renowned universities, business and management graduates from IIMs serving in MNCs and big corporate houses, architects, authors, celebrities, sportspersons, and so on. These persons should not have any ambitions and interest in holding any political position at least for the initial five years. Their role as strategists would be crucial in guiding and enlightening the ambitious aspiring leaders to reform the society. The mantra of Chanakya Team should be not to hate politics, but to hate corrupt politicians.

  ‘Chandragupta Team’ (leaders or aspiring politicians who can hold portfolios as ministers) has persons who are already leaders in their professional or business life such as managing directors, CEOs of big corporates, social workers, activists, principals, teachers, retired army officers, ex-captains of sports teams, and the like. They should be financially secure and not choosing politics as a career for earning money. Should have clean image and passion for serving the public through welfare meditation.

  ‘Financial supporters’ or investors or honest businesspersons who neither have the time nor interest in becoming part of Chanakya Team or Chandragupta Team. They can come forward to financially support the new political party and smart village projects with twin benefits. First, for their long-term business sustainability. Second, reforming the society by helping farmers, poor people and their children at the root level of the economy, with the ultimate objective to preserve the natural resources and thus the environment.