"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. "
-Martin Luther King Jr

Sampurnaa's pov :

I was back at home now.
I had been forced to take a leave today and I was really restless and bored. It was Friday. The first hearing was on the very next day.
Sigh!
Two days of excitement, a few hours of physical pain and now I had 4 people literally waiting on me.

No matter how much I asked them to allow me to go out for work or at least for a drive, they refused.

Dada offered to drive me out wherever I wanted to go. I excitedly asked him to drive me to Mr. Chakraborty's office on Bandra Linking Road but he did not budge. I begged him and finally we struck a deal...  I would not overexert myself and that I would allow Dada to be with me at all times.
I immediately agreed.
Anything to get out of home!
Boudi wanted to accompany us but she was going to visit the doctor with her mother to the doctor as she had been unwell. I wanted Dada to be with Boudi but she wouldn't hear any of it.

Dada and I set off with him driving and me fiddling with the radio channels.

It was raining.
I pulled down the windows of the car thus allowing the rain to seep in and wet my clothes. I felt like an excited child all over again each time my a raindrop fell on my face.

Dada started scolding me. He was angry that I had opened the windows and allowed the seats to get wet but I steadfastly ignored him.

He groaned, "You are behaving like a stubborn kid! Look at yourself! Ignoring me like you ignored Maa when she asked you to shut the windows during the monsoon. You were a kid then but you are a grown up now!"

I grinned mischievously and then replied wittily, "I remember a boy, 5 years older to me who would return home drenched in the rain and then have his ears twisted by Baba! I remember him joining me in the balcony or the terrace whenever it rained. And now that man is sitting next to me and behaving like a cranky grandfather."
He glared at me in return and I smiled an infuriatingly sweet smile.

Squabbling and quarrelling, cherishing and reliving our childhood memories, we drove for 1.5 hours before we reached Linking Road.

I jumped out of the car like an overexcited child at the fair and almost ran to the elevators of the building. Dada followed behind after parking the car, shaking his head at my conduct.

We reached Indrayan's office. I went up to the same secretary who had irritated me to no extent the last time I had come and demanded to meet Indrayan.
She was smart enough to simply allow me through this time.
I went up to his door and knocked.

I heard a 'Come In' and opened the door. Dada followed me in. He had no idea why I had demanded to come anyways so he was a mere spectator to everything happening.

...............................

Indrayan's pov :

After Sampurnaa's discharge earlier in the morning, I had visited her office where the other reporters and her teammates had handed me copies of the pictures and shots taken on her camera and also bits and pieces of the recording that would be relevant to the case.
I went to my office directly after collecting the evidence. The police had also given me a copy of Zeenat's post mortem report.

I had immersed myself into studying the case files right after lunch and had barely noticed that it was evening.
A knock disturbed me. I gave my consent for the person to come in.

It was Sampurnaa and Abhi!

God! What did this woman want now? Had she not been asked to rest?

A bandage was still bound around her head and a few band aids on the other cuts and bruises on her hands and body. Despite all this, she looked like she had been fit and fine for years and not a recently discharged patient from the hospital.
I stood up politely and greeted them. They greeted back and then for a change, before Sampurnaa could begin speaking, I spoke up addressing Abhi, "Abhi, she was asked to rest right? What is she doing here? Don't tell me she wants to stay here in the office the entire night to look after the case files and protect the evidence!"

Abhi was going to reply but Sampurnaa simply couldn't hold back, "Why are you calling him Abhi? "

Of course we forgot to tell her about the recent discovery that her brother was married to my sister, today in the morning.

I replied to her question,  "He is my brother in law."
Her mouth fell open and then she burst, "When did you get married to me? Don't tell me I got married to you in my unconscious state!"

I was stunned at her deductions.
Abhi snorted and started laughing. Sampurnaa's face still reflected sheer horror while I was standing like a deer caught in headlights.

Abhi finally replied after controlling his laughter , "He is Adrija's brother you fool! Not your husband! Although Maa and Baba wouldn't be totally unhappy if that was the case. You would have to be conscious during your wedding though!"

Sampurnaa was relieved yet annoyed at the last statement made by Abhi.
We both simultaneously glared at him and he held up his hands surrendering.

"Sampurnaa, what might be the purpose of your visit? ",I asked

She replied normally invoking the professional journalist in her,  "I wanted to discuss the case and the gathered evidence with you. I want to see the evidence that could be salvaged."

I nodded and motioned her to sit at the desk as I arranged the files and pictures for her to check. Abhimanyu sat beside her.

I handed her the first file that had a detailed overview of the case, the victims involved, the suspects and also the name of the witnesses.

In another file, there were details about the man who had raped Sridha and had been killed.
His father had filed a murder case only yesterday. It was revealed to the media and to the public that he had an illegitimate son who he had not presented or introduced to the world before.
Instead of condemning or criticising him, people had sympathised with him and were hailing him as an able and dedicated leader because he had concentrated on the election campaign and the people instead of mourning his personal loss.

Politicians sure knew how to turn things to their favour!

Sampurnaa read everything carefully and in detail. She had been carrying a small notepad in which she was busy jotting down pointers.

She looked up at me and spoke after reading the second file, "The HRD minister has been re-elected, so he certainly has his power in his favor. We have Sridha's testimony and nothing else against it. The man is going to accuse Sridha of murder and possibly assault her character. We need stronger evidence in this case. "

"I agree with what you have to say but the only evidence you can find is Sridha's testimony. The brothel has no CCTV cameras in the rooms which is obviously good. It couldn't be presented in court anyways! About any other proof, I don't think there is anything more to be done. " I replied to her.

She sat in deep thought for sometime, her sole concentration on the problem which could lose us the case...  Lack of evidence.
...........................

Sampurnaa's pov :

Indrayan had a valid point. We indeed had less evidence in hand when it came to Sridha's self defence killing a man.
The minister whose son had been killed was indeed very powerful and would have the Prime Minister's support and the people's sympathy since they did not exactly know what had happened.

Then a question arose in my head, "The man who was killed, Mr. Vijay Desai, son of Minister Rajguru Desai must have gone to the brothel in a car. After all he had enough money!
His body was not presented to the public and his supposed murder was neither disclosed nor reported to the police.
First question : Where was his body?
Second question: The world till yesterday did not know who Mr. Vijay Desai was... Yet his body was handed over by the brothel owners to the minister directly! The owner of the brothel is someone influential and wealthy. Could there be a chance that the both of them are involved in this fiasco together?
Third question : You said that a threat had been sent to the Commissioner of police because someone had recognized the police outside the brothel. What if an insider was involved? Zeenat told me before she died, that her husband had become suspicious and cautious due to some unknown reason and then used her to get answers.
Moreover, Frieda and Victor escaped yesterday in spite of the police being there.
There is a loophole which we are steadfastly neglecting! "

I finished the long list of queries and concerns and then drank some water from the bottle Indrayan forwarded to me.
My throat was dry due to continuous talking.

Dada and Indrayan both sat quietly absorbing the words I had spoken and after what seemed like an eternity, Indrayan decided to speak up,
"I shall ask the DCP to run an immediate check on their internal software and also request him to track the others' call records. As per Frieda and Victor Sequira's mysterious disappearance from the scene is concerned, the police are going to go back to the brothel and check for hidden doors or exits that they might have used."

I nodded and then continued to read the rest of the file.
Once I was done, Indrayan handed me the visual evidences that my camera had managed to capture. The pictures of the files I had found in Frieda's room and the drugs I had found in Mr. Sequira's room. The bloodstain on the floor and the broken earring. The other people in the brothel and the rooms and corridors there.

Then Indrayan played the recordings on the record player.
One could recognise voices belonging to Mr. Sequira and his sister, Zeenat and a few other women who I had spoken to. The voices of the men who had tried to force me also played and I could see Dada and Indrayan both clenching their fists and gritting their teeth in anger at the cheap way the men were speaking to me.

The recording stopped with the shot that killed Zeenat.

Dada was in deep thought. Indrayan was angry and trying hard to control the anger he felt. He had heard the men speaking to me, Mr. Sequira making comments about my body, Zeenat speaking about her life, the young girl begging for mercy and Frieda's bitchy comments and actions.

I handed him the same water bottle for him to drink water. Maybe water would calm him down the same way it calmed me.
He wordlessly accepted the bottle and gulped all the water in mere seconds.

Since no one was speaking, I decided to break the silence, "Indrayan! We have to get the names of a few of the rescued girls from the brothel on the witness list. They can give an insight about all that which happened there on a regular basis. The girls and the women could perhaps even tell the court about the people who kidnap them and sell them i.e., the human traffickers. The girls who come from abroad have been tricked and cheated! They were told that they've won lucky draws or other contests as Sourire customers and that they were to feature in the photoshoot of Sourire's latest collection. This is more than just a Dharavi -Grant Road-Kurla type of problem. This is totally an International racket!"

Indrayan finally spoke after a long pause, "I agree with what you have to say. I shall alter and edit the list immediately."

Dada then spoke suddenly, "It is 8.30 Sampurnaa, if we do not get going now,  we are not going to be home even by 10. You know Adrija went to visit the doctor and that Maa and Baba would be worried. Let's go home now. "

I nodded. He was right. It was too late!

We stood up as did Indrayan.
"I shall meet you at the court Ms. Reporter!" Indrayan said.

I smiled before replying, "On the same side Mr. Lawyer not against one another. You are my partner against crime! Don't forget that!"

Indrayan smiled a rare smile and then we left wishing each other good night.

Dada was smiling all the way while driving home but I ignored him. I knew what this smile meant... He was in a teasing mood.

We reached home at 10.15 and then had dinner together. Boudi retired to bed early and Dada went to the room with her. Maa and Baba asked me about the impending case.
After a brief discussion with them, Maa changed my band aids, made me take my medicine and then tucked me to bed like I was a kid.

I tried to sleep but remained awake for long. My mind refused to rest.
I knew the dawn would bring with it a complicated case whose first hearing was just a beginning. I fell asleep gradually as the painkiller started kicking its effect on me. The last vision I remember seeing before drifting off totally was Sridha's face and Indrayan's eyes...  The former reflecting pain and suffering; the latter flooding hope into a helpless situation.
......................................................................

To be continued...

---------------------------------------------------------