PART - 1
__________________
27nth November 2009,
Was A Grim Friday Morning.Clouds Covered The Sky, Blocking The Sun's Rays.The Temperature Had Fallen Below 25 Degree's,Quite Unusual For A Day In July.
Perhaps It Was A Sign Of The Coming Torpedo, The Silence Before The Storm..... Ananya Thought!
Sitting Inside The Court Room With A Bunch Of Relatives,An Air Of Expectancy Around Her, She Was Perspiring.
The Judge Came In Through The Arched Door By The Side And Took His Position Behind His Bench.Ravindra Balabhaskar Was 55 years old, wore spectacles and carried with him an air of ignorance.
13 years He Had Spent As A Clerk And Now 2 Years As The Judge Of The Bombay High Court.
He Had Bore Witness To A Number Of Trials,Studied Thousands Of Cases,But This One Was Unique.
He Ruffled Through His Notes Set On The Table And Took Out The Paper He Had Prepared Yesterday..Still Unsure About His Decision.
9 Years Had Passed,Ananya Had Grown From An Engineering Student To The Managing Director Of A Top IT Company. But Those 9 Years Had Been Nothing Without Her Sister, Anuradha..
Anuradha Had Been A Fourth Year Student At The Same,Two Of Them Had Been Best Friends Apart From Being Sisters As Well.Their Bond Had Always Been Special!
But Anuradha Had Always Had The Attitude Of A Tomboy,She Would Pick Fights Even With Boys. It Had Been One Such Fight That Brought Upon All Of This.
Ananya Turned Around To Her Right To Spare A Glance At Himesh Mathoor,He Was Now 31,His Features Still Ravish.The Son Of A Multi Billionaire,Life Had Always Been Too Easy For Him.He Even Had Got The Most Expensive Lawyer Of Maharashtra For This Case.
Beside Him She Could See His Wife Looking Tensed And Staring At The Judge. That Meant Nothing To Ananya,It Was Nothing Compared To What She Had Gone Through.
She Would Not Fail, Ananya Promised Herself.
11 September 2000,
Anuradha Had Gotten Into A Fight With Himesh, Apparently He Had Tried To Abuse Anuradha.
SMACK!...The Sound Echoed Along The Building As Anuradha Slapped Himesh With All Her Might. Ananya Had Finally Gotten In The Way And Taken Anuradha Away,Never Expecting What Was About To Come.
On Their Way Back Home, The Sisters Chose To Walk Instead Of The Bus, A Bit Of Fresh Air Was Necessary For Anuradha.
That's When Ananya Noticed A White Van Drawing Close To Them, It Sped Ahead And Screeched To A Stop Right In Front. The Door Slided Open,Revealing Himesh.
A Smirk On His Face, He Raised The Revolver And Aimed
BANG!.. The Sparrows Rose Up In Heave At The Sound Of The Gunshot, People Turned To Have A Look But All The Could See Was The Back Of The Van.
Beside Ananya,Anuradha Collapsed To The Floor,A Bullet Lodged In Her Forehead. Lying In Her Little Sisters Arms,She Quivered Once,And Died!
"Ahem Ahem" Balabhaskar Began With A Cough "Case No: 99681203 ,IPC Section 300,Section 373. Lodged On 17-9-2000, By Ananya Patnaik Brings Before Us A Major Concern Of Women Safety, Therefore The Court Wishes To Ask The Indian Government And The State Government Of Maharashtra To Tighten Its A Policies.
Moving On, The Case Was That The Accused, Mr.Himesh Mathoor Publicly Murdered Miss.Anuradha Patnaik At Nariman Square On The 11nth Of Sept.,2000.
The Sole Witness To The Whole Incident Is Miss.Ananya, Sister Of The Deceased."
Ananya Shuffled In Her Seat. She Glanced At Himesh And Wasn't Surprised To See That He Was Composed, As If He Knew What Was To Come.
"Never Be Over Confident" She Thought.
"However" The Judge Continued "The Prosecution Has Not Been Successful In Showcasing Any Solid Evidence Against Mr.Himesh.
The Van And Revolver Supposedly Used By The Accused Was Never Found. Also, The Doctors Testimony And Reports Submitted By The Defendant Showing That Ananya Is Under Treatment For Mental Instability Renders Her Testimony Useless.
Thus The Court Has Decided That All Charges Levied In Mr.Himesh Are False And He Has Been Proved Innocent"
A Thunderous Applause Came From The Right Side, As Himesh's Friends And Relatives Cheered And His Wife Hugged Him With Relief.They Moved Out Of The Court,Happy As Ever.
Silence Was All Ananya Heard On Her Side, Her Mother Broke Into Tears And Her Father Simply Sat On His Seat Staring At His Feet.
Ananya Stood Up And Moved Out,She Couldn't Sit There,It Was Hell.
As She Stepped Outside, Himesh Stood Right In Front Of Her, Some 10 Feet Apart. He Turned To Look At Her,The Same Smirk On His Face That He Had Worn While Shooting Anuradha.. It Was Unbearable For Ananya And She Gripped Her Purse More Tightly.
BANG..BANG..BANG... Three Shots, One On His Forehead,Chest And The Other In His Rib. Ananya Had Been Accurate,Years Of Practice Helping Her.
Himesh Slumped To Ground, The Smirk On His Face Replaced By A Look Of Outmost Horror.
Ananya Ran Through The Court House, She Knew Where She Had To Go.
Her Favorite Pastime Had Been Shooting At Pictures Of Himesh With Rubber Bullets, Doing It With Real Bullets Had Felt Better,Loads Better.She Had Even Used The Same Revolver Himesh Had Used 9 Years Back, A .30 Carbine.
She Turned Around The Corner And Found Herself At A Low Lying Fence, She Jumped Over It, Tidied Herself And Walked Onto The Road.
Ananya Waved Her Hand At An Approaching Auto, Got Into It.
"Where Memsaab" The Driver Asked.
"The Farthest Place From Her, Whatever That Is.. And Fast Too" She Told Him.
With An Expression Of Awe, The Driver Turned Back To Talk To The Memsaab, But What He Found Was A Revolver Staring Back At Him.
Without Another Word, He Sped On....
*****
PART - 1
__________________
11nth September,2010
10 Months Was All It Had Taken The Mathoor's To Drag Ananya To Court,Get The Case Underway And Arrive At This
Day,The Final Verdict.
A Smile On Her Face,Hair Askew In All Directions,Cuffed Hands,A Scar Below The Left Eye.. Everything Looked Perfect
As Ananya Sat In The Court,Four Armed Police Men Guarding The Solicit Criminal.
The Mathoor's Sat In The Row Next To Her's.Father,Mother,Uncle,A Widowed Wife..All Huddled Together,Vengeance Gleaming In Their Eyes..
Shiney Talpade(54),27 Years Of Experience At Murder Cases,90% Success At All Trials He Had Attended,A Brisk Man With Short Knuckles,Grizzly Hair And A Pale White Face. He Had Always Been The Loyal Lawyer For The Mathoor's.
He Had Even Won The Case Against Anuradha For Mr.Mathoor's Son And He Was About To Repeat It Today!Shiney Rose From His Seat,An Impedo File In His Hands.He Walked To The Judge And Handed Over The File To The Deewan. Steeping Back He Spoke With A Voice As Tough As An Aristocrats
"Among Those Files My Lord,Thy Shall Find The Forensic Reports Declaring That
The Finger Prints On The .30 Carbine Matching Miss.Ananya's Fingerprints,
The 3 Bullet Recovered From Mr.Mathoor's Body Matching The One's Present Inside The .30 Carbine.
Moving On, I Would Like To Present Mr.Raj Mohan,The Primary Witness Among The Other 10 To Have Seen The Murder Live.
A Tall Man,Slim Build,Childlike Face.,Apparently In His 40's Walked In To The Witness Stand.
Shiney Moved Up Infront Of The Witness Stand And Asked "Mr.Raj,As The Court Is Limited By Time Today,Could You Relate The Happenings Of 27nth November 2009 Briefly Before The Court!"
After A Brief Moment Of Silence,Raj Started "After Witnessing The Trial, I Walked Out The Main Chamber And Was On My Way To Congratulate Himesh When Suddenly This Woman Ananya Steps In Front Of My Path And Pulls Out A Gun Out Of Her Purse And In One Swift Go,She Lodged 3 Bullets Into Him. It Was All So Mad,She Looked So Crazy Out
There,Smiling After She Had Shot Him. And Then She Ran,Swiftly Out Of The Corridor.I Was In Too Much Of A Shock To Do Anything,I Just Stood There"
"Thank You Mr.Raj Now You May Go" Shiney Announced,Rather Pleased "That's All My Honor"
"And Now The Defendant Please" Judge Ravindra Balabhaskar Announced.He Was Sitting At His Chair,Shuffling
Uncomfortably From Time To Time.He Knew He Had To Deliver The Verdict Today.
He Had To Prove That His Decision Was Right,He Had To Show It To The People In Court And The Media Upfront.
That Was Why He Had Organized A Summary Of The Case.
Suraj Verma(33),Slim Built,Chubby Cheeks,An Attitude Of Arrogance Around Him,Stood From His Chair
"First Of All My Lord, I Am Sorry To Inform That Mr.Abhiraj Kumar Could Not Make The Court Today,However A
Written Acceptance From The Same Stating All That He Testified In Court Has Been True Can Be Found In The Red
File"
"Yes Of Course, That's Fine" Balabhaskar Replied.
"The Reports In Support Of My Case Are Also Present Within The Red File"
"Aah Yes,I See It" Balabhaskar Acknowledged.
"To Testify That Those Reports Are True" Suraj Continued "Let Me Present Dr.Dixit Ahluwalya,"
Dr.Dixit,Middle Aged,Tiresome Face,Walked Into The Witness Stand "Yes My Lord,Those Reports Have Been Legally
Authorized Under My Name. What Those Documents Reveal Are The Results Of An Analysis Right From The Date The Victim Showed Symptoms"
"I See.. Could You Present A Brief Picture Of Your Analysis Before The Court"
"Yes Of Course" Dixit Replied "The Case Of Miss Ananya Here Is Very Unique......................
Ananya Wasn't Listening, Her Mind Had Drifted To The Time When She Was Sitting In That Auto,A Gun In Her Hand,And All But Intuition Helping Her.
The Only Way Out Of The Mumbai High Court Arena Was The Gilani Road,A 7 Km Stretch,Devoid Of Any Inhabitation Or Much Traffic.The Govt. Had Planned To Extend The Court And Had Evacuated 7 Km Radius,There Was No Way Ananya Was Escaping.
With The Gun In Her Hand,She Waited!
After What Seemed A Lifetime,A White Scorpio Screeched In Front Of The Auto. The Auto Driver Had No Other Way But To Stop.
5 Able Bodied Men Approached The Auto,Dragged Ananya Out,But All They Could Do Was Stare.
Ananya Suddenly Sprang From Their Hold,A Wild Cat On The Loose.But She Didn't Run,Instead She Started Shrieking,With All The Strength She Could Muster!
As The Men Tried To Get Hold Of Her Again,She Ducked,And This Time She Hit Her Head On The Road,Or So It Seemed.
She Raised Her Head Momentarily And Began To Bang Her Head Again And Again Upon The Road. Blood Oozed Out Of Her Head,Down Her Scalp And Was All Over Her Face In Minutes.
"I Have Sinned.. I Have Sinned".. That Was All She Was Shouting! All The Men Around Her Stood Dumbstruck,It Wasn't Something They Had Expected.
And Behind All Of It ,The Auto Driver Sat Rooted To His Seat,Watching It All Happen.
That Was When The Police Arrived,Jeeps Screeched To A Halt Inches Near Ananya,All The Men Fleeing At The Top Of Their Heels.
The Police Finally Gained Control Over Her,Cuffed Her And Took Her Into Custody.10 Months Of Pain,Torture And Hunger,Facing That Was Inevitable.But Ananya Was Prepared,She Survived With Occasional Outbursts From Her Cell.
The Cell's Wall Filled With The Words SIN,REMORSE,EVIL,PAIN.... After Those 10 Months In Hell,She Felt Fresh Air For The First Time As The Trials Began,
Her Sister's Case Wasn't Strong Enough Because The Only Witness Was Her. But This Time She Had One More Witness,A Primary Key Who Would Describe Her After Acts In Court,Abhiram Kumar,The Auto Driver!
Ananya Had Used All The Contacts And Money She Had Amassed The 9 Years Waiting For This To Keep Abhiram Underground,So That The Mathoor's Couldn't Get Hold Of Him. Abhiram Had Cooperated,And Testified In Court Regarding The Haphazard Acts Of Ananya After The Men Had Stopped Her.
"So, When Ananya Was Abruptly Brought To A Halt By Those Men,She Went Once Again Into Her Delusional Mood.
She Was Over Come By Grief At An Act She Had Not Wished To Do.Her Conscious Mind Had Never Calculated The After Effects Of Shooting Mr.Mathoor.Miss Ananya Banged Her Head Shrieking "I Have Sinned" As Testified By The Auto Driver. In Medical Science We Call It Bipolar disorder or manic-depressive disorder.
The Sub-Conscious Mind Had Eventually Prepared Her For The Task Of Shooting Mr.Mathoor,Buying The Gun,The Bullets,Practicing Shooting Etc. However,Ananya's Conscious Mind Has No Memory Or Record Of Doing So.
But After She Had Done It,Her Conscious Mind Came Back,And Running Away Was Her Only Instinct.Then As She Was Dragged Out Of The Auto,The Sub-Conscious Mind Took Control Again.This Has Been Happening Even In Miss Anaya's Cell At The Thane Jail,Walls Filled With Cryptic Meaningless Letters And Some Other Words Including SIN,REMORSE Etc."
"That Would Be Enough Dr.Dixit,Thank You" Balabhaskar Interrupted "Due To The Limitations Of Time,You May Take Your Seat As I Deliver The Verdict Before Lunch.
Considering All The Evidence That Has Been Submitted, The Court Clearly Identifies Miss.Ananya As The Murderer.It Is Out Of Question Who Killed Mr.Mathoor.But It Has Been Unanimously Proved That The Reason For The Murder Is Nonetheless Mental Instability.So,In Terms of Section 84 of the Indian Penal Code which governs the issue on this aspect,The Court Orders Miss.Ananya To Be Subjected To Atleast 5 Months Of Mental Intensive Care Under Dr.Dixit.
The Case Has Somew..........................................................."
23rd February,2011
The Air India Flight For Albarossa,Italy Was Halfway Through The Runway.Ananya,Her Father And Mother,Sat At The Cornermost Seat,Luxury Class.Ananya Had Spent All Her Money In Buying A Villa There. Her Company Had Started A New Venture There,She Would Be The Head Of Operations,A Slump Amount Of Salary.
It Had All Gone The Way She Had Planned Those 9 Years. Of Course,The Whole Project Needed Money And Backing Of Strong Arms.Ananya Had Seen Both When She Had Joined Cognizant Enterprises And Met The Boss,Mr.Harper Collins,An Anglo Indian,53 Years Old An Married!
She Remembered Seducing Her,Selling Her Soul To Him,Getting It All On Tape And Eventually Black Mailing Him. Harper Had Been A Faithful Victim Of Her Blackmailing All This Long,Arranging All He Could. 23 Years In Mumbai Had Given Him Acquaintance With Almost All Resources Required For Any Job.
The Flight Lifted Off,Into The Skies,The View Beside Her Was Simply Amazing...
The Greatest Pride Of An Indian Woman Was Her Purity,But Ananya Had Lost It,Her Life Had Made Her Loose It.
It Was The Only Tiny Prick In Her Heart,The Rest Was Filled With Joy At Having Beheaded The Raavan Who Had Taken
Away Her Sister.Ananya Was Finally Feeling Complete.
