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"I am a strong woman.
I don't sit around feeling sorry for myself nor let other people mistreat me.
I don't respond to people who dictate me or try to bring me down. If I fall I will rise up stronger because I am a survivor and not a victim. I am in control of my life and there is nothing that I can't achieve."

-Anonymous

_____________________

30th August
Sampurnaa's pov:

Two weeks had gone by in a blink! I have been really busy! With the reccuring problems in Kashmir, the restrictions imposed, the attacks, Pakistan issues and so much that keeps happening in our country... We journalists don't have it easy!

I had been going to work in the morning before 8, skipping breakfast at home and returning home well after 10, after Primetime. I had recently been promoted to the position of Senior Studio Correspondent i.e., I had to do on field reporting and also host a couple of evening news shows. Things were going on well and everyone at home was happy.

I had been keeping myself updated about Mr. Sequira and his health. Indrayan and I had met twice during these two weeks to overview things with Sridha and her parents. I had also persuaded the doctors who had checked on Sridha and me to be present at the court for brief questioning.

The hearing was scheduled to be at noon.

I had to go for on field reporting at 8 to Powai. At the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay or IIT-B. We were doing a small report on this institution which recently completed 60+ years. We interviewed the professors and even the students. The younger guys were playfully flirting with the other girls on my team. We had fun there along with work.

At around 10.30, I left Powai to proceed towards the High Court, Bombay.

I had to change 2 trains and to my bad luck there was a railway block!
I got down midway at Chunabhatti and took a cab to reach the court. I reached at 11.55 am when everyone was already inside the courtroom!

What a close call!

I greeted Sridha and her parents, spoke to the two doctors and then went over to say hello to Indrayan and Zakir. The defendant looked at me in a disapproving way and I threw her a sickly sweet smile in return.

Fortunately, that is when the bailiff announced the Judge's arrival.

We all rose. The Justice came in and took his seat. We were asked to sit down. .

Mr. Sequira was brought in and made to stand in one of the witness boxes.
The judge asked the prosecutor to begin questioning.

Indrayan rose from his seat and stood in front of Mr. Sequira in an intimidating way. He began with his questioning,
"You were telling the court about the incidents that happened at Jannah that prompted you to go away and live in your old home in a chawl in Ghatkopar. I would like you to continue with what you were saying."

The entire courtroom was silent. There was a look of expectancy and anticipation on everyone's face.
Mr. Sequira sighed and began with the story from his point of view,
"I have been facing heavy loss in business. My brothel was also not doing well as several women who worked there had gained weight and some had aged. They became liabilities. My sister and I were planning on transferring a few women or recruiting them on some other job but that did not help. My financial condition deteriorated and I started looking for shareholders and stakeholders who were willing to invest in Sourire. Unfortunately, clothes brands have become so competitive that no one wanted to invest! I wanted to clear my head and begin fresh."

We all absorbed what he said. I wonder whether he spoke the truth.

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

Indrayan's pov:

Mr. Sequira told us about his financial instability. Sourire's sales had actually gone down over the years and it was only inevitable that he would face financial loss.

I proceeded with the next question, "Who was the deceased Zeenat Yasmin to you?"

A pallor spread across Mr. Sequira's face. I could sense his nervousness. Sweat beads appeared on his forehead.
He was silent for a long time. I repeated my question. This time in a harsher tone.

Finally, after what seemed eternity, he chose to answer, "Zeenat was my wife."

I smirked at his confession.
"Did she work at the brothel ?" my next question shot out at him.

He was tongue-tied! He was looking here and there totally avoiding my gaze. He looked at the defendant for help.

The defendant immediately got up on her feet and shrieked, "Objection! The prosecutor is asking a personal question that raises doubt over a woman's character!"

I clenched my fist at that. I simply asked a question that was relevant to the case! At least I did not deliberately accuse a victim of seducing her rapist!
I chose to remain quiet even though I wanted to lash out but to my relief, the judge said, "Objection overruled" before I did something stupid in the court.

I raised one eyebrow at Mr. Sequira in a challenging and victorious way. He turned red.
I repeated my question.
He finally answered when he found no way out, "Yes..no.... I mean... She did... I...m... She..."
He kept stammering and stuttering and then I asked, "Do we take it as a yes then?"

He looked down helplessly. A dark secret of an influential entrepreneur was out in the open! His own wife worked as a sex worker at a brothel run by him!

Murmurs broke out in the courtroom. A few of the older women who were seated behind looked at me gratefully. I remembered them crying when Zeenat had been killed. They were Mr. Sequira's other wives. Even though the relation between two wives of a man is usually strained, their dark and unfortunate fate had brought them closer to one another... Almost like sisters.

I shook my head clearing out my own thoughts as the judge hit his gavel and demanded order in the court.
I resumed with the cross-examination,
"Mr. Sequira, now that it is clear that your wife worked in a brothel owned by you, would you please care to tell the court why, why did you do this to her? What forced you to do something like this to your own wife?"

He looked down. In that moment, I genuinely felt furious! For starters, he failed as a husband! He made his wives suffer!
I repeated my question twice after getting no reply.
"She... Had been pr...eg...nant! She miscarried because she was too young! The ....doctor... told us that... She could never become a... Mother....! I felt agitated at that time.... She... Was my wife! I lost my child! I was really clueless and upset... My sister instigated me to leave Zeenat and begin life anew with someone else...."

I scoffed at that, "Instigated you? Are you that spineless? Do you lack judgment of your own? How could you do this as a husband? You married her when she was 10! Your sister gave her hormonal injections and she eventually got a developed body as that of a grown woman... You raped her repeatedly and when she miscarried, you simply threw her away! Is that what a man does? Play about with women? She miscarried because she was too young and had also been weak owing to the growth and hormonal injections you pushed into her!You have more wives! Zeenat was not the only victim! You were 10 years older to her and later you married girls and women who were much more younger than you! When they suffered the same misery of losing their children, they suffered the same fate as Zeenat! It isn't only your sister Mr. Sequira or should I say, Md. Ibrahim Siddiqui?"

He looked down.

The judge addressed me, "Prosecutor, you have pressed severe charges against him. Moreover, you have also accused him of serious crimes and offences. Do you have any proof?"

I was quick to reply, "Yes, Your Honour! I do have proof. I have a recording with the deceased's own statement. The other wives of Mr. Sequira are also present in the court. The advanced notice of the evidence and for the witnesses has already been submitted as is the protocol of the court."

The judge then said, "You may play the recording and call the witnesses."

I thanked him and then called Zakir to help me set up the recorder and the loudspeakers. Sometime later, Sampurnaa's voice came on, "Why?"
There was a small period of silence after which muffled sobs were heard. A door was shut and then Sampurnaa could again be heard consoling and comforting Zeenat. Zeenat began speaking, "I was married off when I was 10 years old....."

She continued to tell her life's story. How she had been a victim of marital rape and how she could do nothing about it since she was so young.
The women from the brothel who knew Zeenat were shedding silent tears while her co-wives were sobbing. Sampurnaa comforted Sridha who had known Zeenat for a brief and painful period during her days at Jannah. She had tears in her eyes herself.

I blinked reassuringly and she nodded. She tried smiling feebly and then gestured me to continue.
I got back to reality and then spoke after the recording was finished, "Your honour! I would like to call up Mrs. Ruqaiyya Banu to the witness box."

The woman I called up, entered in a burqa without a niqab.
She was sworn in. I began questioning her in Hindi as she had requested earlier, "Who are you to Mr. Sequira?"

She replied, "I am his third wife, Ruqaiyya. He married 5 women at the same Nikkah hall where I was wedded. I was married to him when I was 14. He is 21 years older to me."

Indeed she did look young! 5 wives? At one go??!!

I proceeded to ask her about her life after marriage. Apparently, she did not have to be injected with hormonal injections because she was a young woman when her marriage was fixed. She conceived after 2 years of rape. She delivered a stillborn when she was 17 and a girl when she was 19. Ms. Frieda Sequira took away her daughter 6 months after her birth. After she no longer needed mother's nourishment. Ruqaiyya heard her husband talking to someone over the phone about selling her daughter. She tried to protest and fight... She was brutally hit and eventually fell down heavily bleeding and seriously injured. Upon receiving treatment later, it was found that her uterus had been damaged badly and that she would also never be able to carry a child. She suffered the same way Zeenat did.

When asked about her other co-wives, she said that all of them worked at the brothel and were violated by innumerable men before they were rescued 3 weeks ago.

I thanked the judge as I finished questioning her and the defendant was given her turn to question.

I took my seat, drank some water and then drew all my attention on the cross-examination that was yet to take place.

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

Sampurnaa's pov:

I so feel like strangling that man! He not only raped women, sold them and abandoned them... But he also had the audacity and heartlessness to sell his own daughter! His own flesh and blood!

I reminisced all the moments that I have had with my parents and brother. They always treated me with respect and love! Baba never allowed Maa to touch his feet even during pujas or any other ritual. He always told her that her place was in his heart and never at his feet. In fact, whenever Maa and Baba fought or argued, it was Baba who initiated a reconciliation. He always told me as a child, "Never let this male chauvinistic society get to you! Look for a man who will worship you like Durga (an Indian goddess who symbolises power, beauty and motherly love), seek you and work hard for you like Lakshmi(goddess of wealth and prosperity) and cherish you like Saraswati(goddess of education and arts and music and cosmic balance) !
Look for a man je toke kono din o opoman korbe na (look for a man who will never disrespect you)!"

Shifting my focus from my thoughts back to the court, I saw the defendant walk her way to the centre. She looked at Ruqaiyya and addressed her first question in English, "Why did you agree to marry him at such a young age?"

Ruqaiyya did not understand the question that she was asked and then spoke in Hindi, "Ma'am, I don't understand English."

Mrs. Vanita Prakash sighed in an annoyed way and repeated her question in Hindi.

This time, Ruqaiyya answered, "At the age of 14, for a modern and educated girl, it may be easy to protest and know what is right for her. For an uneducated girl like me, one who lived in slums, had a polygamous father, received no education and was brought up in a sexist family, there is no such thing called freedom. I neither had the choice to run away nor did I have the brains to know what was good for me. I did what my family asked me to do... I said 'qubool hai' thrice thus making him my husband." (during Christian or Islamic weddings, the bride and the groom are asked for their consents for the wedding; qubool hai refers to the bride and the groom's response for accepting one another).

The defendant looked defeated at her answer.
Maybe because she realised that there wasn't much she could get out of the woman standing in front of her as she was neither street smart nor would she give out answers that could be manipulated.

The defendant soon said, "No more questions your honour!"

The judge announced a 30- minute break and we all dispersed from the court. It was 2.30 pm. I again went to the staircase and sat down on one of the steps. I took out a file from my bag that contained details about the Ganesh Chaturthi pandals in the city this year. We were going to do a small report for the benefit of the citizens and tourists who wanted to know the attractions this year.

Lalbaugcha Raja was definitely one of the oldest and most celebrated pandal. Then we had Siddhivinayak which hosts elaborate celebrations every year.
I was marking out popular routes for pandal hopping.

I was engrossed in my work when someone forwarded a cup of coffee in front of my eyes.
I immediately knew who he was!

It was black! Just the way I preferred. He sat down on the same step as I and we both sipped our coffees.

"By the way, how do you know I prefer black coffee?" I couldn't help but ask.

He smirked and then replied, "I know that your preference and mine are different when it comes to food... Hence I guessed. I prefer chocolate ice cream but you like Vanilla... I prefer chocolate, you like whipped cream, I prefer a pineapple flavoured cake but you are fond of blackforest... So the fact that I like a creamy and sugary sweet latte told my instincts that you prefer black coffee with no sugar."

I shook my head at his deductions.

"What do you plan on asking Mr. Sequira next?" I asked.

"I was planning on calling you to the witness box!"
His reply stunned me.! Why?

I looked at him inquisitively.

He looked at me in a teasing way and then said, "It would be entertaining! Moreover, Mr. Sequira passed perverted comments to you and in front of you. You had to keep the facade of a helpless girl in shackles then, but now it is time for you to tell him that the shackles were never on you! Show him that he was playing with fire!"
The last part of his sentence came out in an angry way.

I nodded and assured him that I would be ready to go next if I had to.

The break got over and the court resumed.

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

Indrayan's pov:

The court resumed.
The judge asked me to go ahead with the questioning.
I turned to Mr. Sequira who looked better than he did before break. I guess he got counselled by his lawyer. Now was the time to shift to the main case,

"Mr. Sequira, 4 weeks ago, a man was supposedly killed at your brothel. He was unintentionally killed during a physical encounter with my client, Ms. Ranjan. Why was a case not registered? Why were the police not informed?"

The entire courtroom was listening attentively. Sridha, her parents and her brother sat up with their spines erect.

Mr Sequira began in a quivering voice, "He did not die at the brothel! His father i.e., the late Minister clearly stated in his complaint that his son was found dead in his penthouse."

I lashed out at him, "And that is a blatant lie! A girl here who was raped by him killed him trying to defend herself! She was one of the victims of the human trafficking and forced prostitution rackets that you are involved in! The CCTV footage from the shops near your brothel clearly shows her escaping from a broken window. We also have witnesses. A few women from your brothel have given statements that a man had been killed and that his dead body was carried out secretly in the middle of the night. They also said that the police had not been informed due to some confidential reasons. Give me one reason why we should believe that the deceased Mr Vijay Desai died at his penthouse?"

Mr Sequira looked shaken at my outburst. The judge asked me to play the CCTV footage and the recording containing the two women's statements.

Once the recording was done, I addressed my next question to Mr Sequira, "You claimed the last time we questioned you about your brothel that all the women working there were willing and not forced in any way. However, on the contrary, we have two women who have claimed that they were forced into your brothel. Your honour! I would like to call Ms Sampurnaa Roy to the witness box before questioning further."

The judge voiced his approval and Sampurnaa came up and stood in the witness box opposite Mr Sequira.

She glared at him with a murderous expression on her face.
I addressed the next question to Mr Sequira, "You told the court that no woman was mistreated there. What about this woman standing right in front of you?"

Mr Sequira was silent.

I decided to question Sampurnaa then, "Ms Roy, you were held at the brothel for two days. What exactly happened there on a daily basis?"

I know this was a sensitive question to ask but I hoped Sampurnaa was strong enough to retaliate to the injustice and pain that she, Sridha and the other women had been subjected to.

She took a deep breath and then began, "The women there include people from the age of 14 to 50. The younger girls work as domestic help. They are injected with hormonal medicines at least once a day. The other women who work as sex workers are made to do the cleaning, they have to cook their own food and no one is allowed more than one meal in a day. Ms Frieda Sequira abused the girls and mistreated them."

She sighed and then continued, "Whilst I was at the brothel, I ran into Mr Sequira twice, once when I was cleaning his room and then when I was trying to escape...from me...n"

She breathed out again, looked at that cheap man in front of her venomously and then spoke, "He body-shamed me. He asked me to maintain a better body for pleasing men. He made 5 people come into my room. They touched me inappropriately and tried to force me.  When I succeeded in running away from the room, I ran into Mr Sequira. He also started chasing me around. I was saved by Zeenat and her co-wives."

I felt my blood boiling at all that she said.

I turned to Mr Sequira and addressed him one final question, "Why did you hide the fact that women were forced in your brothel each and every day? Why are you not admitting that Mr. Vijay Desai was killed at Jannah? Why do you refuse to admit that you are a sexist and narrow-minded male? Why was Jannah burnt down to the ground? How is it that Minister Desai was killed shortly after the case's first hearing? Speak up now! The court demands an answer! We demand an answer!"

Mr Sequira looked at me again, this time right into my eyes and just replied in a soft tone, "I don't know who killed Minister Desai. I don't know why Jannah was burnt. I don't know where my sister is. I admit to the crimes and injustice meted out to my wives and the other women... But I honestly don't know the rest! I don't know the rest...."

His voice trailed off and a sudden silence descended on the courtroom.

The judge prevented me from asking anything else by banging the gavel and announcing, "The rest of the questions can be asked during the next hearing! The next hearing will be on 6th September at 11.00 am. The court is adjourned for the day!"

......

It was 4 pm when we all dispersed out. Sampurnaa caught up with me as I was walking towards my car.

She started ranting, "How does he not know? Is he lying? I really don't get one thing, he doesn't know where his sister is... They escaped together! Maybe they both schemed and plotted together to stage a drama wherein he was attacked. I somehow am unable to discover where the loophole is!"

I listened to all that she had to say.

She was looking at me expectantly. I looked back at her...into her eyes before saying, "He WAS speaking the truth! He looked into my eyes and said what he did! He was speaking the truth!"

She looked astonished and then she shook her head and then said, "You are neither his lover nor anyone, why do you think he is speaking the truth simply because he said what he did look into your eyes?"

I held her hand and made her look into my eyes, "Look into my eyes today, and try speaking a lie!"

She looked shocked at my sudden action, her face blanching. I don't know what prompted me to do something like this. To forget the court, the case and everything else and to simply stare into her dark brown chocolatey orbs.

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

To be continued...

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