"The less you reveal, the more people can wonder."

-Anonymous
_______
2nd January

Indrayan's pov:

Sampurnaa is either a genius or just a luck by chance detective who always stumbles upon mysteries and revelations!
Her conclusion that day simply left me stupefied. We both were unable to sleep that night as we were so engrossed in talking about the possibilities and consequences.

Flashback:

"Eureka! I finally got it!"

"What is it that you got?" I asked her while stifling a yawn.

"The key!"

...

"What the hell are you saying? How did you reach this conclusion?" I asked her immediately forgetting my drowsiness

"You are so ignorant! You literally had the truth revealed to you! All you had to do was to read in between the lines!" she exclaimed and then finally upon my insistence, she explained me everything.

"Wow, my Archimedes! It's a good thing that you did not discover this in the shower!" I told her teasingly

She hit me playfully and the two of us stayed up all night discussing the discovery and checking the possibilities of it to be true. 

END OF FLASHBACK

...

The hearing was scheduled at 12 p.m.
I was awake at 7 after Sampurnaa woke me up. Dad and Maa are still not back, so we both had to prepare our own breakfast. Sampurnaa was more pissed of because the maid called to say that she was taking a leave today.
She was sweeping the living room when I went downstairs.
"Please go and do the puja today. I have cleaned the worship room before only." she told me

I nodded and did the needful.
By the time, I was back, she had already left bread in the toaster and coffee to be made in the coffee maker. The dishes had been done.
She was nowhere around. I guess she went to take a shower.
I decided to wait for her.
...

It's 8.10 and she is nowhere around. I have already told her that I will do some vacuum cleaning before leaving the house at 10, and that she should take it easy... But Sampurnaa happens to be Sampurnaa!

I went to our bedroom and found her brushing her hair.

"What is taking so long today?" I asked her.

"I am going to go to the court directly today, with you. Senior had called me and he told me that I could either go for reporting in Thane today or I can go in as the representative, to the court. Since, I have to go to court anyways, I chose the latter option. There's an international conference going on at The Renaissance, that is why most of the reporters at the Mumbai office are going to cover that." she told me

I nodded.
"I am waiting for you. Come down soon."
...

We both had our breakfast together. I was reading the newspaper while Sampurnaa had some magazine in her hand.

"They published my article!" she exclaimed out aloud

I kept the newspaper aside and she handed me her magazine.
It read, 'Shackles of the Society' by Sampurnaa Roy Chakraborty

"Congratulations! What is this article about?" I asked her

"Read and find out please."

I nodded and began reading the article.
It was about women... Their transition from being trapped within the four walls of the household to the 21st century women driving cars and having prominence and power in the society. She had even put in her personal experience of being a woman in the 21st century... Her short journey as a married woman and also about equality. She had expressed her strong opinions and had poured her heart out through her words.

"Wow! This is really well written!" I told her honestly before taking a sip of my coffee.

"Thank you. I am really so happy that they finally published my article!" she told me

"I have one question to ask you. You and I have spoken about several things, Sampurnaa.... But I never asked you what do you think of our marriage. Do you think we are compatible?" I asked her

"Compatible in what sense? Thoughts, mindset or... Physically?" she asked me

"All the ways I believe." I told her seriously

She looked up at me and said, "Honestly, I believe that we are compatible when it comes to thoughts and mindset. Taste and food is adjustable. And... I.. I haven't given much thought to the last aspect."

I nodded. "There's time enough! Don't worry. For now, we have a case to look into."

"Actually, you have vacuum cleaning to do! Get to work, I'll mop the floor after that." she told me sternly and got up with her plate

"Housework calling!" I muttered to myself and got up from the dining table with my plate. I washed the two plates that we had just used and then got the vacuum cleaner from the closet. Someone had gifted it to the two of us on for our wedding.
...

It is 10 a.m. now. We both are ready and good to go.
She has extra things with her today. A notepad with the 'India Today' logo on it and also her Identity card.

"Aashi tobe? (shall we go then?)"  I asked her
She nodded and got into the passenger seat. I slipped into the driver's seat and we both drove towards the court.
...

"It feels so surreal today! It feels like that first day as a reporter. I had come to the court only, in order to get the verdict for a case. You were the prosecutor! You remember?" she asked me

"Yes. I do. You were pushed by the other reporters, right?" I asked her

She nodded in response.

"How do you plan on questioning her today?" she asked me

"That is for you to see and then discover, Ms. Reporter!" I told her teasingly

"Alright! But whatever happens at the court today... Just keep your equanimity." she told me
...

We reached the court and I parked the car. We both got out of the car and I was about to move away when she called me.
"Wait! Listen!"

I turned and looked at her inquisitively.

"All the best! And get those guys behind the bars! I will be seated behind today... As I am representing the media. You'll do well, Prosecutor." she told me with a smile

"Thank you, Sampurnaa. Anything else you have to say?" I asked her

She beckoned me to come close and I did.
She asked me to bring my ear close to her so she could speak.

"You believe what I told you?" she asked me

"I do. I think you are right... And I for one, hope that you are right." I told her truthfully

She kissed my left cheek softly.
"That was all the best from a reporter. This is from your wife." she told me, while blushing slightly

I smiled and kissed her forehead.
We both parted ways and went towards the courtroom.

...
The hearing began timely.
The justice asked me to call upon the witnesses accordingly.
I rose from my seat and addressed the Justice,
"Your honour, I would like to call upon Mrs. Arpita Karune to the witness box."

It was totally unanticipated and unexpected by everyone else at court. There was slight murmurs that were silenced by the Justice's gavel.

The frail old woman walked to the witness box and was sworn in.

An interpreter was called in for translating her statements.
The first question I asked her was, "Mrs. Karune, please tell the court how you were acquainted with the late HRD Minister, Mr. Rajguru Desai?"

"Objection! Your honour, the prosecutor is asking the witness the same question that he did during one of the previous hearings." the defendant stood up and said

"Objection overruled! The prosecutor may continue." the judge gave his verdict

"Mrs. Karune, please answer the question." I told the witness in Marathi

She nodded and began speaking.
The interpreter translated her lines for the entire courtroom to understand.

"As told earlier, I knew the HRD minister as he was from my village. I was simply acquainted with him since he often came to my house for working on the fields and small errands. He was came from a poor family, was a single child of his parents; since his father died a year after his birth. His mother worked as a cook in our house."

I nodded and then asked the next question,
"Mrs. Karune, would you please tell the court if you knew his wife personally?"

She stiffened at my question.
"No. I mean... She was...from... The next village... I did not know her." she answered stuttering

The interpreter translated it for everyone else.

"Mrs. Karune, please tell the court something about your family."

The defendant immediately stood up.
"Objection! Your honour, the prosecutor is breaching someone's personal space and asking irrelevant questions at the court."

"Objection sustained! The prosecutor is requested to refrain from wasting the court's time. Please ask questions that are only relevant to the case!" the justice told me

"Forgive me, your honour. But these questions aren't irrelevant. I need to ask these questions." I clarified

...

Sampurnaa's pov:

This morning, the maid called to inform that she wasn't going to come. I did half the housework and got Indrayan to help me with the rest.
For the first time, today, I am going to the court representing the media and not as a witness or a mere spectator. I wished Indrayan all the best, because he needs to fish out the truth after some twisting and turning facts. I kissed him on the cheek... Something that I wouldn't have dreamed of doing a month ago... But I have really gotten used to him.
The fear that had engulfed me even during my wedding, has now almost ceased from existing. Indrayan has always been so patient and considerate with me.
We do have quarrels every other day, but we have both accepted it as a part of our marriage. Today, he asked me if I thought the two of us were compatible. I ceased from saying a firm yes... Because I don't know his answer. I don't know what the future has in store... But things are surely working out gradually.
...

Everyone at the court was caught by surprise when Indrayan called Mrs. Arpita Karune to the witness box. Most of them had expected that it would be Mr. Ramlal Tripathi who would be called.

When Indrayan asked Mrs. Karune to tell the court about her family, that brought an immediate protest from the defendant.
She stood up and said,
"Objection! Your honour, the prosecutor is breaching someone's personal space and asking irrelevant questions at the court."

The justice sustained the objection and asked Indrayan to ask relevant questions.
His reply was,
"Forgive me, your honour. But these questions aren't irrelevant. I need to ask these questions."

The justice allowed him to go ahead after some thought.

"Please answer the question, Mrs. Karune." he asked her in a stern voice

I had specifically requested him to keep his volume and level of intimidation low as he was supposed to question a senior citizen. He did keep his word, but I guess his deep voice and intimidating aura is anyways quite scary.

The woman finally answered shakily,
"I come from a landowner's family. I was married off when I was young and then lived with my husband in a Chawl in Kurla. That is where I met Anya and Ibrahim..."

"Please tell us about your family, not your life after marriage and about your late husband." Indrayan told her immediately

He really needs to be patient with the entire world, like he is with me!

"I had 5 siblings. Two sisters and 3 brothers. I was the oldest. My father was polygamous, he had three wives. Our youngest sibling i.e., my sister and I were the children of his first wife. He had our two brothers from my first stepmother and one brother and sister from his youngest wife. But they are all dead now." she told the court

Indrayan nodded.
"Sorry for your loss, Mrs. Karune, but I have another question, what was your sister's name?"

She stiffened visibly and the colour drained from her face. She did not answer.

Indrayan repeated the question thrice.
"I need some water." she choked out

One of the female stenographers sought the Justice's permission and offered her water.
She gulped the water in a haste, some of it falling on her saree.

"Your honour, may I ask what is going on at the court? Why is the prosecutor so keen on getting us familiar with a secondary witness' family tree? Why would we need that piece of information anyways?" the defendant asked with a bored and confused expression

The justice answered, "Prosecutor, even I am unable to understand why these questions are being asked in court. Are you in your right senses? What would we do by knowing this woman's family, namely her polygamous father, her deceased husband and her sister?"

Indrayan turned to the justice and said, "Your honour, if this woman here gives the right answer, then the entire court would know why these questions were asked by me."

He turned back to the witness who was looking really pale.
"Mrs. Karune, please answer the question. Tell the court who your sister is! What was her name?"

All of a sudden, the woman's voice came out, startling everyone, "Her name was Sanchi! Sanchi Desai. Mrs. Sanchi Rajguru Desai! Isn't that what you were trying to ask me all along, Prosecutor?" she asked with her eyes flooding with a thousand emotions

She broke down.

The justice was quick to assess the situation.
"The court will resume after a break of 30 minutes i.e., at 1.30 p.m. The female officers are requested to be with the witness throughout the break."

He rose and walked out.
...

I met Indrayan outside the courtroom.

"You were talking to a senior citizen! Why did you lose your patience so soon?" I asked him. I have genuinely been shocked at his intimidating ways of questioning, at the court today!

He shrugged in response.
"You have seen me question before... How would I know that she was intimidated by me? I am telling you, she broke down simply because she revealed the truth and realised that her game was up."

I glared at him and that made him shut up.
"This is what happened at the court, Mr. Indrayan Chakraborty! Just like you fell quiet after a simple glare from me, she broke down and revealed that because she was solicitious!" I explained him

"Fine! I will be more careful from next time." he promised

"Listen, you are extremely patient when it comes to dealing with me and Adrija Boudi... Think of her as your super senior sister and you will be able to talk in a less frightening manner."

He nodded and we both walked in after the break.
...

The court resumed. The witness was now in a comparatively stable state.
She stood in the witness box and Indrayan continued to question her.

"Mrs. Karune, now that you revealed that Mrs. Sanchi Desai was your sister, answer these questions for me accordingly;
1. Why were you hiding the fact that Minister Desai happened to be your brother in-law?
2. Why did you tell the court that you did not know Mrs. Desai personally and that she was from the next village?
3. Were you the same sister who had been called to meet Sanchi, the day she died?"

The witness took a deep breath and then began speaking.

Once she finished, the interpreter translated her statement for the benefit of the justice and the rest of the court.
"1. I hid the fact that the Minister was my brother in-law because I would have been suspected
2. I did not reveal that his late wife was my sister as I did not consider it relevant
3. Yes. It was me who was there that day."

Indrayan nodded and then asked her the next question, "Do you know anything about the Minister's death?"

The woman's eyes widened. She looked frightened for some reason.
She looked around here and there looking for someone or something; eventually her eyes stopped when it landed on Mr. Aadesh Tripathi

My eyes followed her gaze and I keenly observed what she was trying to tell or ask him.
Mr. Aadesh Tripathi gestured her gingerly, he nodded his head slightly, in negative.

The woman blinked in reply and answered,
"No. I did not have anything to do with his death."

Indrayan smirked in a way that told me there was something that he had discovered through this answer.

"Let me repeat the question for you, Ma'am. My question was 'Do you know anything about the Minister's death?' I never asked you if you had anything to do with his death!"

I gasped in my mind. He is trying to turn the situation into our favour.

"Mrs. Karune, please tell the court if you knew anything about the Minister's death?" he asked again

"N...no... I mean... Yes... No I didn't know." she stammered

Indrayan raised an eyebrow. "Well. Answer this question for me, did you know that Vijay was Anya's son with Minister Desai?"

"Yes." she sighed out

"Your honour, please note that the witness here was aware who Vijay was. During a previous hearing, she had given a statement that she had no clue who the father of Anya's child was." Indrayan turned to the justice

The justice nodded and the poor woman shuddered.

I wonder what she is hiding.

...

Indrayan's pov:

Her own statements contradict one another.... But then can a woman of ,60, who lived in a village, one who had language barriers; kill someone? A Union Minister at that... One who had tight security 24x7?
I really have to get the truth out of her... 5 months have already passed with us roaming in circles... It is high time for the reality to reveal itself!

I turned to the frail woman who looked frightened. Now's the time to get answers!

"Mrs. Karune, did you hold a personal grudge against the Minister?" I asked her in a straightforward manner

"Objection! Your honour, the prosecutor is indirectly accusing the witness!" the defendant piped in

"Objection sustained! Prosecutor, you know the rules at court!"

I nodded and apologised.
Turning back, I said, "Let me rephrase that question for you, did you ever feel anger and hatred towards the Minister?"

She nodded.
"He was the reason why...my sister... K..ill..ed herself. He was not even a man enough to say to the world that his wife committed suicide! He bribed the officers and got them to write on the death certificate, cause of death: heart attack.
She burnt herself down! Because she thought that her life had no future! She was married to the Minister even though he came from a much lower background! My father entrusted her with that man... And he! He left nothing for her! That day, Sanchi was crying when I went to speak to her... She cried that she was born with misfortune! I tried to stop her, but she had sprinkled kerosene all over herself... She set herself on fire! When I... I tried... To save her... My saree caught fire too! The fire... Ate away her life and... And left me with burns and ashes! I hated that man! He... He deserved to die in that fire, not my sister!"

There was a fire in her eyes when she spoke all that! The hatred and anger dripping from her voice.

I addressed her the next question once the interpreter translated what she said.

"Mrs. Karune, did you ever try to report what had happened to the police? What happened afterwards?" I asked her gently

Criminal or not, she was senior to me and she also had emotions clouding her mind!

"I did go to the police, but my brother in-law happened to be a politically affluent man in our area. He covered everything up and also placed me under house arrest. He let me out 6 months later, after Anya's child had been born. I met Anya even after that, but she had no clue who I was. She did ask me about my burns and scars and I took advantage of those and made up a story. I told her that I had been involved in a gas cylinder burst accident that took place at my neighbour's house. She believed me. By that time, the Minister had been elected as the Member of the Legislative Assemby from our constituency. He went away to live in Mumbai and he even had to stop seeing Anya because he had security and media around him all the time."

I nodded.

"Mrs. Karune, please answer this question honestly. Did you ever try to plan something for revenging the Minister?"

_______

To be continued...