Bihar Diaries Page 15

  Raju and Krishna waited in their Bolero.

  Ranjan was about to knock on the door. That was the only option to get into the house. He hoped that an unsuspecting Shanti would open the door as Horlicks was fast asleep. But first, he took a chance and gently pushed the door. And it opened, just like Alibaba’s cave! Ranjan tiptoed inside. His heart was beating fast. Just next to the entrance, he heard a female voice singing a bhajan in the bathroom. It must be Shanti Devi, getting ready for her morning rituals. Ranjan gently drew the bolt and locked her from outside. He could not believe his luck––it was almost too easy. But it is true––the harder you work, the luckier you get. He deserved it after all the hard work he had put in.

  It seemed that Horlicks’s children had just left for school. Shanti Devi had simply not bothered to lock the door. On the bed was lying the man we were looking for so desperately. Horlicks Samrat was sleeping like a log, totally oblivious to the intrusion in his house. Shiv Narayan and Ranjan looked at each other, making it a moment that would remain imprinted in their memory.

  Ranjan put his hand over Horlicks’s mouth and shook him. Horlicks got up with a jerk. He could not believe what he was seeing. His eyes grew wide with shock, his mouth covered by Ranjan’s hands. For an instant, he thought that Ranjan would shoot and kill him.

  Horlicks closed his eyes. So this was the end. The faces of all the people he had killed flashed before his eyes.

  ‘Oh God, please take care of my children. Let them fulfil my dreams,’ he thought.

  He waited for the trigger to click.

  When the fatal shot did not come, he opened his eyes to find Ranjan trying to tie his hands, that too, with his wife’s sari. How stupid of him! Horlicks wrestled out of Ranjan’s grip and punched him hard. He started looking frantically for his gun. Why the hell had he not kept it close by? How could he be so casual?

  Ranjan was still trying to recover from the hit, but Shiv Narayan was agile and alert. He hit Horlicks’s head with the butt of his carbine. As everything went black, Horlicks swayed where he stood. It was enough for Ranjan to hold him down and tie his hands. He then stuffed Horlicks’s mouth with Shanti’s blouse. Finally, he blindfolded him with a black gamchcha, a cloth Shiv Narayan always kept with him to beat the heat. Meanwhile, Shanti had finished her bath. Unable to come out, she started banging on the door. Horlicks tried his best to break free from his bonds. His best bet was his wife, but she was locked in. Ranjan and Shiv Narayan pushed Horlicks downstairs.

  Krishna and Raju were delighted, their eyes expressing a joy beyond explanation.

  ‘Let’s move fast. A crowd might assemble. People are slowly coming out of their homes,’ Ranjan gestured to Raju and Krishna to keep quiet. Any sound from them would have given away their identities to Horlicks.

  Krishna could not control his urge. He slapped Horlicks hard. Tears welled up in Horlicks’s eyes under the blindfold.

  25

  ‘My Husband Is the “Famous” Criminal of Bihar’

  ‘Sir, pakad liya. We’ve caught him. Further orders?’ Ranjan said in a calm, composed manner totally belying the drama that had unfolded a few moments ago.

  I heaved a sigh of relief and ran in.

  ‘What?’ asked a half-asleep Tanu.

  My smile said it all. She jumped out of bed and collided with the same stool. Both the kids were woken up and they started crying. And this time, Tanu did not bother.

  ‘Good news?’ she asked.

  I just kissed her on the forehead. She hugged me tightly.

  Ranjan was patiently waiting for my instructions. He understood the importance of that moment.

  ‘Excellent, Ranjan. Very proud of you. Get him to Shekhpura quickly.’

  ‘Thank you, sir. All because of your guidance,’ responded Ranjan, using the stock reply of any policeman when congratulated.

  Ranjan called Manoj.

  ‘Thank you, Manoj Bhai. I am grateful to you for giving us your constables. The guy was a bada criminal, a notorious person called Horlicks Samrat. He was wanted in a number of murder cases in Bihar. I am taking him back to Shekhpura.’

  SI Manoj was a little taken aback, but he had his hands full at the time. He did not react very strongly to the news.

  The constant banging on the door and shouting by Shanti Devi alerted her landlady, who rushed upstairs and opened the bathroom door. Shanti Devi was shocked to find that her husband had been forcibly taken away by some intruders. She immediately called me.

  ‘Sahib, hum Deoghar se Shanti Devi bol rahe hain (Sahib, this is Shanti Devi calling from Deoghar).’

  I was absolutely shocked.

  ‘Who? Why have you called me?’ I gathered my senses and replied.

  ‘Sir, I am the wife of the “famous” criminal Horlicks Samrat. You have been looking for him,’ she said earnestly.

  I was quite amused. To Horlicks’s wife, her husband was a ‘famous’ personality.

  ‘Sahib, some people took him away just a few minutes ago. Tell me, were they your men? I am a little worried about his safety.’

  ‘I am not concerned about your husband. I am the SP of Shekhpura, not the SP of Deoghar. How will I know what is happening in Deoghar?’ I said authoritatively and disconnected the phone.

  Phew. That was interesting. Even Shanti had my number. And she had the gall to call me and inquire about the safety of her husband.

  Unfortunately, she was not going to give up so easily. She called the SP of Deoghar. ‘Madam, hamaara husband ka kidnap ho gaya hai (Madam, my husband has just been kidnapped). Please help me,’ requested Shanti. She narrated the incident to the SP.

  The SP, Amrit Kaur, was quite tired. Shanti’s phone had probably woken her up too early. Like most SPs and SHOs, the nature of her job frequently kept her awake till late at night, often till 2 a.m.

  However, Amrit Kaur immediately swung into action and called Manoj, the SHO of Satsang Nagar. A kidnapping was the last thing she wanted in her already troubled district.

  ‘Bada Babu, there has been a kidnapping of one Horlicks Samrat in your jurisdiction. Immediately block all the roads. There have been too many crimes of late in our district. I won’t tolerate any slackness on your part. If you don’t recover the kidnapped person, I will suspend you.’

  ‘Madam, the person is a dreaded criminal. He is wanted in dozens of cases in Shekhpura and Nawada. A team of Shekhpura police was camping here for the last few days to nab him,’ said Manoj, hoping that it would assuage the SP if she knew that it was an operation of the Shekhpura police.

  Amrit Kaur was absolutely infuriated.

  ‘Why did you let the Shekhpura police take him away? Horlicks Samrat’s arrest would have been a big achievement for us. Get him back at any cost or you lose your job,’ an angry Amrit ordered Manoj.

  A worried Manoj immediately called Ranjan.

  ‘Ranjan Bhai, return immediately. My SP Madam is very upset with me. And why didn’t you tell me earlier that you were looking for Horlicks Samrat?’

  ‘Manoj, revealing Horlicks’s identity would have jeopardized our secret mission. We are on our way to Shekhpura now.’

  Now Manoj got a little angry. He felt cheated by Ranjan.

  ‘Come back immediately. We have already blocked the road to Shekhpura. I will be forced to lodge a kidnapping case against you if you don’t return.’

  Ranjan was in a fix. He immediately called me and explained the new, totally unwelcome development. I was also flummoxed by this sudden twist in the story.

  I quickly dialled Amrit Kaur’s number.

  ‘Good morning, ma’am. I am Amit Lodha, the SP of Shekhpura. My team has just arrested a dreaded criminal, Horlicks Samrat, from Satsang Nagar Colony in your district. Ma’am, I would be grateful if you could send him to Shekhpura as soon as possible.’

  ‘Yeah, sure, Amit. I will just interrogate him for some time and find out if he was planning to commit any crime in Deoghar.’ Amrit Kaur did not sound very happy with my call. I was also not comp
letely convinced by her explanation. Why would Horlicks commit any crime in Deoghar?

  ‘One more thing, ma’am. Please keep Horlicks’s arrest a secret. We don’t want anyone to know that he’s in our custody. The media should not know about it.’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘Ma’am, I repeat, strict secrecy has to be maintained. We have to interrogate Horlicks to find out the location of his other gang members. If they come to know of Horlicks’s arrest, they will be alerted. They will definitely change their hideouts.’

  I could not have made myself clearer. Amrit Kaur was two batches senior to me. She was experienced enough to understand the gravity of the situation.

  I called Kumar Sir to break the news.

  ‘Sir, we have arrested Horlicks. Ranjan and his team got him in Deoghar.’

  Kumar Sir was happy. This was a much-awaited good news and I was glad I could give it to him at a trying time. He was in Patna to attend to his son, who was ill.

  ‘Well done! Interrogate him and let me know the details.’

  ‘Sir, nobody apart from you and the SP of Deoghar knows about the arrest, for obvious reasons.’ I told him that Amrit Kaur had called Horlicks for questioning.

  ‘Okay, I understand. I will come tomorrow.’

  26

  ‘Sahib Gusal Mein Hai’

  Horlicks’s arrest called for some celebration. I asked my cook to make some aloo paranthas and munched on some bhujia while playing with Aish. She looked at me eagerly, waiting for me to give her some bhujia. I obliged. She squealed with delight.

  Ajit came rushing in.

  ‘Sir, the ADG wants to talk to you. The wireless operator just conveyed the message.’

  The ADG was not too fond of me because of the grudge he harboured against me from my Nalanda days about not appointing his nephew. And I disliked him for not liking me. It was a case of ever-increasing hostility towards each other.

  I matured later when I realized that all the ill feelings were only causing me pain and nothing else. Sometimes, instead of reacting, it is better to let go.

  I dialled the number of the ADG’s residence. A.K. Prasad was known for his effeminate voice. ‘Hello,’ said a feminine voice on the other end.

  ‘Good morning, sir. This is Amit from Shekhpura.’

  ‘Sahib gusal mein hain (Sahib is in the bathroom).’

  ‘May I know who is on the line?’

  ‘I am the ADG’s wife. Please call after ten minutes.’

  ‘Okay, madam. Sorry for bothering you.’

  Madam’s voice had a striking similarity to that of the ADG. I smiled and dialled the number again after some time.

  ‘Hello, ADG’s residence.’

  ‘Good morning, sir. This is Amit. You had asked me to call you.’

  ‘Oh, uncle. Papa is doing puja. Can you please call in a few minutes?’

  This time, it was the ADG’s daughter. She also sounded like him.

  After a few minutes, I dialled the number one more time. This time, I did not want to embarrass myself by addressing Madam as ‘sir’.

  ‘Hello,’ cooed an effeminate voice again. Instinctively, I assumed it must be a lady on the other side.

  ‘Madam, could I speak to ADG Sir?’

  ‘Lodha, hum ADG bol rahein hain (Lodha, this is the ADG speaking).’

  My cheeks turned pink with embarrassment.

  ‘Sorry, sir. I thought it was Madam,’ I said meekly.

  The ADG ignored my apology. Either he was used to this identity mix-up or he assumed I was deliberately making fun of him.

  ‘You did not tell me that Horlicks Samrat has been arrested,’ he said. I was surprised.

  ‘Sir, I was about to tell you,’ I lied. ‘But how did you come to know?’

  ‘Don’t you watch TV? Horlicks’s arrest is being broadcast on all the news channels. The SP of Deoghar, that lady, she has just now held a press conference. She is claiming that Horlicks’s arrest is a big achievement for the Deoghar police.’

  I remained silent.

  ‘Were you not working on this case? Isn’t that why you were posted to Shekhpura?’

  ‘Sir, it was my team that arrested Horlicks. I had deliberately tried to keep his arrest a secret, so that we could gain some information about Vijay.’

  The disappointment in my voice was obvious.

  ‘Okay, now you get him and interrogate him properly.’

  I turned on the TV. Horlicks’s face was on all the channels. A beaming Amrit Kaur was telling the media how the Deoghar police had meticulously planned the arrest of the dreaded criminal of Bihar, Horlicks Samrat. I felt absolutely devastated. Amrit Kaur had not kept her promise. Now Vijay would come to know about Horlicks’s arrest. He would be doubly cautious.

  I called Ranjan, angry at his incompetence.

  ‘Why did you let this press conference happen? Why did you not tell me? Now all our hard work has gone down the drain.’

  My euphoria had vanished. How could things have changed so quickly?

  Ranjan was equally sullen.

  ‘Sir, we were asked to wait outside the SP’s office for some time. The staff told us that the formalities would be completed soon. We didn’t know that the SP would hold a press conference. In fact, the Deoghar police have asked us to get a transit remand to take Horlicks to Shekhpura.’

  I was unable to control my anger. I called Amrit Kaur. She did not pick up even after I called three or four times. I knew she wouldn’t answer my calls now. I dialled her office.

  ‘SP’s office, Deoghar,’ said a voice at the other end.

  ‘PA Sahib, I am a journalist calling from Aaj Tak. Could I speak to SP Madam? I need to get a live bite for my channel.’

  An excited Amrit Kaur came on the phone.

  My voice quivered with rage. I spoke to her in a stern voice, ‘Madam, what have you done? You have undone months of our hard work. How could you be so unprofessional?’

  I did not bother that she was senior to me.

  ‘No, no, Amit. It’s not like that. I can explain.’ The joy in Amrit Kaur’s voice had vanished. ‘You know, there has been a spate of crimes in Deoghar. The people’s confidence in the police is quite low. We were looking for some kind of big achievement to show to the people that the Deoghar police are working hard. I hope you can understand. We will send Horlicks as soon as you send your team. We’ve finished the formalities.’

  I banged the phone down. This happens often––there are times when the crime graph of a district suddenly rises, despite the best efforts of the police. The public’s confidence in the police dwindles, and the police department faces a lot of backlash. Just to divert the media’s attention or to create better public opinion, the police desperately look for some big achievement. They work hard, but they also have to appear to be working hard. Horlicks’s arrest was that one silver lining the Deoghar police was desperately looking for.

  I immediately dispatched SI Abdul Aziz, an officer well-versed in legal formalities, to get Horlicks Samrat from Deoghar. He had one more important quality. He did not ask many questions.

  27

  The Interrogation

  Ranjan followed the Shekhpura police party escorting Horlicks Samrat from Deoghar to Shekhpura at a distance. Raju and Krishna sat quietly in the car, gazing out of the window. Nobody wanted to take any chance with Horlicks.

  SI Abdul Aziz kept looking back every now and then to check if Horlicks was secure. If he was mystified by the arrest, he did not show it. However, he did ask Ranjan what he was doing in Deoghar.

  ‘Sir, I was asked by Bada Sahib to come to Deoghar to verify if the arrested man was actually Horlicks,’ Ranjan had replied cheekily.

  Bada Sahib or the SP is the ultimate boss of the district police. Abdul Aziz did not ask any more questions. It was none of his business. His job was to get Horlicks safely to Shekhpura. The twelve commandos in the two jeeps were sufficient to tackle any escape attempt.

  ‘Sir, we are about to enter Shekhpura district,’ Ra
njan called to inform me.

  ‘Okay. I have sent Ajit and my personal guards also to further escort Horlicks to the Chewara police station. I will get there after some time. All of you lie low for now.’

  Chewara was far from Vijay’s stronghold and we were at a lower risk there of any potential attempt by gang members to free Horlicks. After all, he had escaped from jail earlier as well. ‘And Ranjan, well done! But remember, our job is not finished yet.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ he replied.

  Ajit and a few commandos were waiting for Aziz at the Shekhpura border. SI Abdul Aziz smiled when he saw Ajit. It was a glorious day, not only for the Shekhpura police, but also for the Bihar Police. Ajit looked at the man whose very name instilled terror in the hearts of people in not one, but four districts. The man who had killed so many people––men, women and children––did not look anything like a killer. He could have easily passed off as a simple, nameless, faceless person, like millions of other people who live in our villages, our cities. Horlicks did not even raise his head. He was looking down, sullen and meek. Ajit checked his handcuffs. He could not take any chances. He knew how dangerous Horlicks was.

  The SHO of Chewara, Anuj Kumar, was a veteran policeman. He had dealt with many hardened criminals in his career. A bullet injury in his left thigh was the result of an encounter with the notorious Sultan gang, a testimony to his bravery and commitment. He took great pride in his job. So what if he had a slight limp?

  But he was not prepared for the surprise in store for him. In walked a haggard Horlicks Samrat, the terror of Shekhpura. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Was it actually Horlicks, the killer who had been a bane for the police for the last five years? The same Horlicks who could have been an excellent sniper in the Army, but for circumstances?

  Ajit pushed Horlicks inside the lock-up. The entire police station became alert and attentive. When I arrived, I entered Anuj’s chamber and asked him to get Horlicks out of the cell. I was not surprised by his absolutely normal appearance. Real-life criminals look quite ordinary, unlike their screen cousins. Even policemen do not have a larger-than-life swagger. We are just ordinary folks with an extraordinary passion.