Farmland

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Farmland

 

Prelude

This story has references in the tales Sea Queen, and Lame Panther published earlier on this blog.

A gist of the events in Sea Queen and Lame Panther is given below: -

Major Anand Rathore from Indian Army, Signal Corp had to apply for voluntary retirement, since his father, Retired Subedar Major Subhash Rathore, was greatly devasted and lonely, after his wife left for her heavenly abode. He was running the Bharat Security Services Agency in Mumbai, which was a good source of income for him. However, he had lost interest in work and desired that Anand take voluntary retirement and look after the security services agency, and manage the extensive farmland on the Mumbai-Pune highway.

Anand was employed under the Short Service Commission of the Indian Army and would retire after 3 to 4 years per the terms and conditions of the service; as such, he agreed to his father; and applied for voluntary retirement from service.

Major General Jasmit Garg in the army headquarters was well known to Anand and his father; and he understood the urgency and compulsion of his petition seeking pre-matured retirement from service. So, he called Anand to Delhi and invited him to his house for dinner.

He informed Anand that the army headquarters had already approved his application for voluntary retirement from service.

Anand noticed that Major General Garg and his wife, Sunita Garg, were very distraught, because their only daughter Sonia was seen at a rave party in Mumbai, where drugs were also served. A video of the rave party, where Sonia Garg was present, was sent to Mr. Garg by one of his friends working in the Drugs and Narcotics Department from Mumbai.

After the dinner, Major General Garg showed the video to Anand and requested him for investigating the matter through his Bharat Security Services Agency in Mumbai to find out the facts and circumstances.

He advised Anand to hand over his charge urgently and proceed to Mumbai to handle the investigation.

He revealed that, the leader of a gang of dreaded drug smugglers, the Black Panther group, was killed in an encounter on the Indo-Pakistan border in Punjab. Since then, this group of international drug smugglers had been against the army officials; who carried out the operation.

Major General Jasmit Garg handed over a cheque of Rs.15 lacs to his agency, Bharat Security Services, explicitly for keeping an eye on these notorious drug traffickers and reporting to the army and concerned departments for action.

In the story Sea Queen, Sonia was kidnapped by some members of the Black Panthers group on a ship Sea Queen sailing from Mumbai to Goa. She was rescued and recovered by Anand and his team of brilliant detectives and taken to Mumbai. Her parents came to Mumbai from New Delhi and went to Anand’s house in Andheri to meet her.

An informal engagement was done in Mumbai, where Sonia's parents, Anand's father, and his friends were present.

The story published under the title; Lame Panther is Part 2 of the story. Two persons allegedly from the Black Panther group kidnapped Miss Jasmine, daughter of Mrs. Julie Nara, and tried to plant a girl named Jasline in place of Jasmine in her house in Kolkata.

Mrs. Julie Nara resisted this and threatened to report them to the Kolkata Police. She had tried calling Anand as advised by her son Madan, but the two goons stabbed her and left after locking the house from outside.

She was prevented from talking with Anand, but before dying, she scribbled ‘Black Panther’ on the floor with her blood. 

Julie's murder and the indications, were signaling that her murderers were  linked to the Black Panther group, and hence Anand reported the matter to Major General Garg and  rushed to Kolkata with three of his detectives as advised by him.

They were in touch with a Kolkata Police Inspector, Mr. Sinha, a close friend of his senior detective Chander.

The two Black Panther members and one of their associates, Miss. Jasline escaped to Dhaka in a Bangladesh cargo vessel as per the information gathered from the Navy Coast Guards, Kolkata.

Anand and his detectives met Mrs. Braganza in Kolkata, who was quite helpful and arranged vital information about the activities of the Black Panther guys in Kolkata.

Chander traced the live GPS location of Jasmine’s cell phone, and she was found lying in a hospital in a serious condition at Chandan Nagar, 70 km from Kolkata. Anand and his detectives went to Chandan Nagar with Madan, the younger brother of Jasmine, and brought her to Kolkata in an ambulance for better treatment.

Jasmine, after gaining senses, informed that two men from the Black Panther group tried to kill her by pushing her into the Hooghly River at Kolkata. She tried to swim, but swimming in such a massive river was exhausting, and she lost her senses eventually.

She survived fortunately, as some fishermen in a boat rescued her near Chandan Nagar, and she was admitted to a government hospital.

Jasmine recovered speedily and stayed with her brother Madan in Chennai.  

Anand and his three detectives, Chander, Ronnie, and Sammi, returned to Mumbai.

And now, read the third and concluding part of the story.

 

Chapter-1

Two weeks after returning to Mumbai, I, Retired Major Anand, visited our Farmland on Mumbai-Pune Road, about 45 km from Mumbai.

After fulfilling all the terms and conditions, the final agreement was signed between us and M. R. Fertilizers and Pesticides Private Limited.

Construction of the factory shed, office building, and Tourist Resort was already taken up and was in good progress . 

In addition, the river bank on the rear side of the farmland was also being developed and beautified along with the construction of a double-storied building with two large banquet halls, a restaurant, a few rooms, a food court, and beauty parlor.

It was amazing to see the fast pace of the construction works. The company had brought pre-fabricated steel columns, beams, purlins, and rafters erected the structures on cement concreting, and fixed the forms on concrete foundations.

The prefabricated structure of the factory shed was already erected, and corrugated reinforced plastic sheet roofing was in progress. The floor area was 8000 square feet, which was for storage of raw materials as well as finished products, and on the front side was their office. The walls were made with colored steel sheets, and the floor with fly ash brick soling and cement concrete. The way the works were planned and progressing, it could be ready within another week.

The structures for the Resort building were also in good progress. There was provision for two banquet halls of 6000 square feet each, a reception area, food court, fruit juice stalls, stationeries shops, restrooms on the ground floor; bedrooms ten numbers, a restaurant cum bar, a massage parlor, unisex beauty parlor and an open sky restaurant on the first floor.

A swimming pool of shallow depth was also progressing on the rear side, near the waterfront. The plantation of trees and flowers was also going on side by side. A parking area for 100 vehicles in the front was taken up. Separate gates for the factory shed and the Resort were provided. The laborers were skilled, ed, and work was taken up in two shifts.

The Manager, Mr. Silvester, was present and took me around. He briefed me about the project. There were enough stalls in the Food Court to accommodate all Indian, Chinese, and continental foods, coffee shops, fruit and juice counters, packaged foods, sweets, etc.

Providing a toy train would be exciting and attractive for children and all ages. Moreover, the rail track being laid all around the resort will be helpful for people with inability.

I was happy that our land was appropriately being developed and would definitely attract visitors.

In the evening, when I returned home, there was a call from our senior detective Chander. He had invited us for a dinner party tomorrow evening.

“What is the occasion, Chander?” I asked.

“Nothing so special, sir,” he replied.

“Just a dinner party, my colleagues, were demanding,” he said.

“What time, Chander?” I inquired.

“Tomorrow at 7 pm in Belle View hotel, sir,” he said.

“I would come, Chander, however, my dad has many restrictions per doctor’s advice; hence please leave him out,” I told him.

I had a shower and then sat with dad and apprised him of the progress of works by M. R. Fertilizer & Pesticides. I told him about the dinner party invitation from Chander.

My dad was happy that I was free today; I had been mostly busy with security services works recently. We had dinner together. Sanju our cook cum caretaker had cooked delicious vegetarian foods. We watched TV news together and then retired to our beds.

The next day was Saturday, and I had no critical work to attend; except the dinner party by Chander in the evening.

I woke up early morning; it was 5 am, so I went to dad’s room; he was already awake.

“Good morning, dad; let’s go for a walk,” I told him.

He was ready in no time, and we went to the nearby park. Sanju and our pet Roxy also accompanied  us. Roxy, the boxer dog,  moved its tail as soon as he saw me and started jumping.

“Roxy, sit,” I commanded. It sat down obediently.

The boxer was a new member of our family, which we had adopted recently from a kennel.

We had a German Shepherd dog with us, but it became old and died a few months after my mother passed away. My father and I favored adopting a dog and went together to the kennel. There were many dogs available, but this boxer had something unique.

The boxers are generally brown in color, but this one was white. The kennel owner told us that its owner had gone abroad and left it with him to look after.

The dog was friendly and looked at us as if pleading for adoption. And we brought it home. Sanju, was pleased, because he used to look after the German Shepherd in our house and was a dog lover.

Roxy was very playful, and we had enough open space in our compound, where it liked playing. It was a good guard dog too. There was space under the staircase landing, and we had placed its bed there, from where he could watch all people who entered and went out from the premises.

I walked with dad in the park, and Roxy played and ran with Sanju. We returned home after one hour.

My dad used to give it regular training, and we were happy with its performance. 

 

Chapter-2

In the evening, I called Chander before going to Hotel Belle View.

“Come, sir, we are waiting for you,” he said.

“I will be there in 15 minutes,” I told him.

Ratan Singh, the driver, opened the car door for me, and we left for the hotel. Belle View was a trendy hotel once upon a time; however, many new three- and five-star hotels emerged during the last decade in the city, becoming more popular due to their location, modern facilities, and amenities.

Belle View hotel was a three-star hotel with large rooms, a restaurant cum bar, a unisex beauty parlor, and an extensive large area around the building. It was still known for its excellent Indian cuisine, and the old regular customers still liked the large rooms and excellent restaurant cum bar.

The driver stopped the car in front of the hotel lobby; the doorman approached the vehicle, saluted me, and opened the door. Chander, Ruby, Ronnie, and Sammi were waiting for me in the lobby. 

Chander led us to the dining hall, where a table was reserved. The Manager in-charge Foods and Beverage, Mr. Anjan Gour, was a friend of Chander. He came to our table and welcomed us.

He informed that he had already chalked out best snacks and dinner menu for us. The liquors will be served on our table by two stewards.

I still needed clarification as to why Chander arranged this dinner party for us. So I asked Ronnie and Sammi, and they just smiled.

"Let Chander explain," Ronnie said.

“Chander, I am puzzled about the specialty of this occasion. We want to hear from you?” I asked him.

“Ruby, please tell,” he shifted to Ruby.

Ruby’s face became red; she was feeling shy to tell.

“Sir, we have decided to get married. My family has already conveyed their consent. However, clearance from Ruby’s parents was yesterday only, and we wanted to share our happiness with you all,” Chander replied.

“That’s a piece of wonderful news. Congratulations, Ruby and Chander. May God bless you,” I said and shook hands with them.

Ronnie and Sammi also congratulated them.

It was a happy occasion for all of us.

“So, what are your plans?” I asked.

“We have not yet made any detailed plan, will intimate as soon as we finalize the same in consultation with our families,” Chander said.

The stewards served drinks to us as per our choice.

Chander and Ruby selected red wine, Ronnie and I went for the Chivas Regal scotch whisky on rocks, and Sammi settled for the Tuborg Green beer.

I was glad to see the happiness on the faces of Ruby and Chander. There was a continuous supply of snacks, primarily non-vegetarian items. The grilled chicken, Chinese prawn fried, Chinese fish balls, Panir Tikka kebab, and fish fingers went well with the liquors. We all enjoyed the dinner and the light music.

At 9.30 pm, our table was cleaned, and the dinner was served, which consisted of chicken biryani, vegetable kofta curry, Chicken Butter Masala, Dal fried, mixed raita, green salads, pineapple pudding and ice cream.

We were about to finish dinner when Ronnie’s cell phone started ringing.

“Mrs. Braganza is calling,” he told me.

I signaled him to take the call.

“Hi, Aunty, how are you?” he spoke.

“Ronnie, there is an important update about BP,” she responded.

“Yes, aunty, please go ahead; I am listening,” Ronnie replied.

“The drug smugglers, Raj Malik, Monu Malik, and Jasline Malik from the Black Panther group, are expected to reach Kolkata tomorrow,” she informed.

“Where from are they coming?” Ronnie inquired.

“I do not have information about that, but I would try to find out,” she replied and disconnected.

Ronnie told us about his conversation with Mrs. Braganza.

I was thinking about these two Black Panther guys and wanted to discuss our future course of action with them. I looked at Chander; he was looking toward a table ahead of us. 

There she was, Jasline with Monu Malik, her face and figure tallied very much with Jasmine.

Chander went out to get information about them from his friend, Anjan. As per him, Jasline and Monu Malik stayed in room 212. In the hotel record, they were registered as a married couple, and their permanent address was in Malda, West Bengal.

We decided that Ronnie and Sammi would stay in the hotel and keep an eye on them. Luckily, they got the adjacent room number 213, which was vacant.

A housekeeping guy was tipped to plant a tiny spy camera in Jasmine’s room near the wall TV, which won’t be noticed easily.

They would check the activity in her room and report to Chander. In addition, the IP address of the wifi spy camera was shared with Chander and me, so we could also view their live video.

I, Chander, and Ruby left the hotel.

Ronnie messaged me that the spy cam was working correctly. Jasline and Monu Malik were in the room and had two visitors, whom they supplied a packet containing Marijuana, approximately 5 kg. They opened the box and showed the contents to the visitors.

Their activities confirmed that they were deeply involved in the drug business.

Jasline and Monu had arrived in Mumbai yesterday and would leave for Kolkata tomorrow at 2 pm by Spicejet flight.

I called Chander and asked him to take the same flight with Jasline and Monu Malik and follow them to Kolkata.

Chander found out details of the flight on which they were traveling. Seats were available, and he called me. I told him to take Ronnie with him. After a few minutes, he informed that he had already booked two tickets by Spicejet and the departure was at 2 pm the following day.

Chander had asked Ronnie to go home in the morning, collect his luggage and reach the airport at noon.

Sammi would continue in the hotel until Jasline and Monu checked out, and he would follow them up to the airport.

I instructed Chander that they should shadow them and try to collect information on their operational networks in Kolkata. I advised them to use light makeup and should wear GPS-enabled smartwatches, so that we could monitor their activities.

The Malik couple left the Belle View Hotel the next morning at 11 am. As soon as they vacated their room, the housekeeping boy dismantled the spy cam and handed it over to Sammi.

They were traveling in an Ola taxi to the airport, and Sammi followed them in another cab. He called Chander and reported their arrival at the airport.

Sammi had pictures and video of the two guys who had bought 5 kg of marijuana from Monu Malik in the hotel.

 

Chapter-3

Chander recognized the Malik couple in seats 16 E and 16 F. He and Ronnie sat two rows behind them in 18 A and 18 B. Chander and Ronnie had used fake mustaches to change their look.

They got off the flight before the Maliks and waited near the luggage belt. Finally, Jasline and Monu Malik came to collect their luggage and walked toward the exit. The two detectives followed them in a prepaid taxi to Khidirpur. Jasmine’s taxi entered the premises of a hotel Golden Gate.

Chander did stop his taxi on the main road and walked towards the hotel. While entering the hotel register, they observed that the Malik couple was allotted room no.315. So, he asked the receptionist to allocate a room on the 3rd floor.

Ronnie made friends with a steward Raju, from the room service; and inquired whether he could arrange or help in buying marijuana.

Raju replied negatively; however, in the evening, he asked Ronnie whether he was serious about marijuana. Ronnie confirmed that they used to smoke weed sometimes. Raju assured them that he would find out and inform them in the evening. Chander tipped him well.

In the evening, Raju met them in the room and said weeds would be available nearby. The cost would be high, but it was safe. Food and drinks would also be available there. In addition, it was a nightclub, and they could watch performances by girls.

Raju took Chander and Ronnie to a nearby building. However, looking at the building from the outside, it did not reveal a nightclub inside the campus.

“Follow me, sir,” Raju said, and both of them followed.

They were taken to an apartment, where two persons guarded a door. Raju talked to them, and they were, allowed to enter after frisking. Their mobiles were kept in one of the lockers, and the key was given to them.

Inside, the look was different. It was a beautiful spacious restaurant cum bar; with 20 tables. There was a small dais in the center where a girl was dancing to the tune of a live orchestra.

A steward took them to a table and asked them to sit. Raju told them that the restaurant would remain open until 4 am and that it was safe. Therefore, they should stay there as long as they want and then return to their hotel room. However, rooms were available if they wanted to spend the night there. They gave him a good tip, and he left.

There were 20 four-seater tables in the hall, and only eight were occupied then.

A floor captain approached them and placed menu cards for snacks and drinks. They looked at the menu card, but nothing was meant to be mentioned about weeds. They looked at the captain.

“We need marijuana,” Ronnie said.

The captain took out a printed slip and gave it to him. Marijuana 5 grams Rs.5000, it was written.

They ordered marijuana, two large pegs of Black Label Scotch whisky, soda, ice, snacks, and dinner.

The captain made a bill and gave it to them for advance payment; the total amount was Rs.13,000. He said Rs.5000 for weeds to be paid in cash, and the balance amount for food and beverages could be produced by cards or cash. Chander paid the amount, and the captain left.

 It was clear now that the Hotel Golden Gate used to send customers to this dancing bar for drugs and charged them high.

Two beautiful young hostesses brought the drinks and snacks, and the captain delivered the weeds personally in an envelope with a packet of India Kings cigarettes and a matchbox.

The hostesses greeted them and offered to roll the marijuana for them, to which Chander agreed.

They sat with them, emptied the tobacco from two cigarettes on a paper napkin, and filled it with marijuana and tobacco. 

“What are your names?” Ronnie asked.

“Our names are Maggie and Namita,” Namita replied sweetly.

“Nice names,” Ronnie said.

“We are your hostesses tonight,” Maggie said.

“That’s so nice. Do you smoke?” Chander inquired.

“No sir, we do not smoke. But you can offer us beverages,” Maggie said.

“What would you like to take?” Ronnie asked.

“We can take a Bloody Mary cocktail,” Maggie replied.

“Yes, that is a nice and popular cocktail, easy to make. This is made with vodka, tomato juice, and Worcestershire sauce and garnished with a celery stick. Please order for yourselves,” Ronnie said.

Maggie smiled, went to fetch their drinks, and returned within 15 minutes, carrying their cocktails in a tray.

She had brought the bill and a POS machine.

Ronnie paid the bill amounting to Rs.3000 using a debit card.

Their marijuana roll was ready, and they started smoking like a habitual drug addict.

Namita had prepared their scotch whisky on rocks.

They started sipping their drinks.

“What are your names?” Namita asked.

“I am Ranjit, and he is Chandan,” Ronnie told them.

The girls had served us the Chinese Chicken Manchurian and Shrimp Fritters. There were complimentary roasted cashew nuts too. The hostesses were very jolly and made jokes. They were behaving as if they were girlfriends.

“They are probably trying to test us,” Ronnie commented.

“Will Ruby be happy if she comes to know about them?” he said to Chander.

“Ronnie, please never mention them to Ruby. She will pull off all my hair and make me bald,” Chander reacted.

“Girls are too sensitive,” he said.

They were careful not to take a deep puff of marijuana smoke.

The girls asked them where they resided and what they did do. Ronnie informed me that they were in hotel Golden Gate and they were businessmen.

Maggie and Namita asked whether the drinks should be repeated. Chander and Ronnie agreed. They must spend more time there to obtain information about the Black Panther’s operatives.

The hostesses brought them another round of drinks and two Bloody Mary cocktails.

Two girls danced on the dais, and the orchestra played a hot Bollywood number.

At about 10.30 pm, they saw Monu Malik and Jasline entering the hall and sitting at a table.

The detectives did not see them entering from the main door, which indicated that they were already inside, probably in a guest room or office. A tall middle age man was accompanying them.

Chander realized that Monu Malik was looking suspiciously at Chander and Ronnie. Chander was an experienced detective and an ex-police officer; his sixth sense smelled danger.

He gave tips to the two girls, went to the exit gate, collected their mobiles from the locker, and swiftly left. Little ahead in the lane, they were surrounded by four goons; who attacked them. However, they had sharp weapons in their hands.

Chander and Ronnie had no firearms, but the handkerchief hammer (coins tied in one corner of the handkerchief) in their pockets was very deadly. Nevertheless, they protected themselves, injured the four punks badly, and ran away toward the main road.

Luckily, they found one local taxi approaching them, which they boarded and asked the taxi driver to go to Park Street. They got off and walked towards the Park Hotel, where they had stayed during their last visit.

Chander called his Police Inspector friend Mr. Sinha to book a room for them. He told him in brief what had happened.

“Please proceed to the hotel; the room has been reserved for you. They would take you to the room. I will be there within a few minutes,” Inspector Sinha said.

Chander and Ronnie reached the hotel, Park. The Lobby Manager was waiting for them, and he took them to a room booked by Inspector Sinha.

Sinha came, and Chander told him all the incidents in detail. He had come with a team of police officials to raid the illegal dance bar and drugs center.

Chander and Ronnie were fine and had not suffered any injury. Sinha asked for their room number in the hotel Golden Gate hotel and said he would recover their baggage.

 

 Chapter-4

I was in Mumbai and monitored the activities of Chander and Ronnie and kept Major General Garg informed regarding the development in Kolkata.

He had contacted the senior officers in Kolkata Police and the Drugs and Narcotics Department, Kolkata, to take prompt action, raid the drug joint in Khidirpur, and arrest Monu Malik, Jasline Malik, and Raj Malik.

The Naval Office, Kolkata, was also kept on alert.

The Drugs and Narcotics department, with the support of local police, raided hotel Golden Gate and arrested Monu Malik and Jasmine Malik. A considerable quantity of Marijuana and brown sugar was recovered from their possession.

The illegal dance bar was also raided, and forty persons were arrested for possessing and consumption of Marijuana. Surprisingly they could not locate Raj Malik.

Jasline Malik and Monu Malik had admitted that they were smuggling drugs from neighboring countries and were working in the name of the Black Panther group. They said that Raj Malik was also in their group, but he had probably disappeared due to the raids and was not in touch with them.

The Kolkata Police had named them for the murder of Mrs. Julie Nara at Kolkata and also the attempted murder of Jasmine.

I called Chander and asked him to meet Mrs. Braganza, pay her for the services rendered, and engage her to collect information about missing Raj Malik.

I asked them to return to Mumbai as soon as possible since there were many pressing works in our office.

Chander and Ronnie had cooperated well with the Drugs and Narcotics and the police departments. They made them aware of the Black Panther group and why the army was against this Group and entrusted wiping out their anti-India activities to an ex-army officer.

These agencies were doing their investigation and interrogating the culprits.

Chander and Ronnie met Mrs. Braganza and thanked her for her cooperation. Chander paid her Rupees twenty thousand for her services. She was requested to inform if there was any update about Raj Malik, who had gone underground.

Kolkata is famous for sweets, so they bought Bengali sweets for Anand, Sammi, Ruby, and their office staff.

Their flight reached late in the evening at Mumbai, and they went directly to Anand’s house.

Anand was waiting eagerly for them.

“Welcome, Chander and Ronnie; you have done excellent work. We are proud of you,” I said, shaking hands with them.

“Sir, we follow your advice and instructions, which motivates us to execute our work successfully,” Chander responded.

Ronnie intervened and said, “sir, it was the intuition of Chander which saved in exiting safely from the dance bar.”

“And sir, your trick of handkerchief hammer was handy,” Ronnie said with laughter.

“Our simple handkerchief destroyed four rowdy guys armed with deadly sharp weapons and firearms with coins trick,” he said with admiration.

“Do you suggest that we should make this trick our patent?” I said, smiling.

“Let’s go to the first floor and prepare a report. But, first, we must send a preliminary report to Major General Garg,” I told them. Then, Ronnie gave me a box of sweets for my dad.

“Sanju, please serve us the sweets with salted nuts and coffee on the first floor,” I told Sanju and climbed the staircase.

Our dog Roxy came up and smelled them and then came to me. I patted its head affectionately and commanded it to go. It was reluctant to leave and growled.

“Roxy, go now,” I commanded again, and then it left.

“Sir, please give us 10 minutes to freshen up,” Chander said.

“Sure, I can understand; you have come directly from the airport,” I responded.

Chander and Ronnie went to the toilets and returned within a few minutes.

“Shall we prepare the report, sir?” Chander said.

“I have already prepared a report based on our telephone conversations. So please go through it and comment,” I said to Chander.

Chander went through the report I prepared and said it was pretty elaborate and, according to him, it was perfect.

However, he suggested adding a few pictures and videos available to him.

“Yes, that’s good. Pictures will add more value to the report,” I said and sent the Report with the pictures to Major General Garg and called him.

“Good evening, sir. I have sent a report to you by email,” I said.

“Good evening, Major Anand. Thanks, I will go through it. I am glad that you and your team have executed the case professionally, and two members of the Black Panther group have been arrested,” he responded.

“How are you, Anand? Sunita is here; please speak to her,” he said and handed over the cell phone to his wife.

“Son, you have been very busy with your work. You should come here for a few days and spend time with us. We want to see you,” she said.

“Sure, aunty, I will make a plan to come to Delhi,” I assured her.

“God bless you, son,” she disconnected.

Chander and Ronnie left. I went to my dad’s room. He was watching the TV news.

“Dad, did you taste the sweets from Kolkata?” I inquired.

“Yes, Anand, it was very nice,” he replied.

Roxy was sitting there; he came to me and started licking my hands. I touched its back and rubbed it slowly.

After we had finished our dinner, I called Sonia and spoke with her. I told her that aunty wanted me to come to Delhi.

“Come soon; we all are eager to see you,” she said.

“Yes, Sonia, I also want to meet you, darling,” I told her.

“I will come very soon. Will confirm you,” I assured.

“Anand, please take care. Don’t overstress yourself,” she replied.

It was time to sleep, and I drifted to sleep.

Early in the morning, I woke up and went to the park for a walk. Sanju also followed us with Roxy. Roxy was happy to go with us.

Next few days, we reviewed the existing investigation cases and measures to expedite the same. We also planned to visit all the establishments where our security guards were on duty. We also wanted to determine whether the cc cameras were functioning correctly. We would also assess the requirement for cc cameras in the buildings.

The whole week I remained busy with these works. My flight ticket to Delhi was booked for the coming Monday.

 

Chapter-5

I thought of visiting our farmland before leaving for Delhi. Ronnie suggested that we could picnic on our farmland on Saturday. We had 15 staff in our office, who were interested in the same. I consulted the Head Assistant of our office; he said the staff needed a change from the routine work and it was a good idea. There was farmland, a river, and a farmhouse. We had a staff bus, and that could be used. I left the arrangement to him and asked Ronnie to plan and organize the details correctly.

I called Sonu, our caretaker, and told him to keep the farmhouse and the compound clean. My dad also consented to attend the picnic.

On Friday, we were sitting in our office at Khar, Mumbai, busy with work, when Chander received a call from Mr. Sinha, Inspector, Kolkata Police. He informed him that they had gone to raid an area in Kolkata where Raj Malik from the Black Panther group was suspected of hiding, but he dodged them and fled. The intelligence people had information that he had sneaked into Mumbai and was hiding in the suburban area in disguise.

Ronnie also received information from Mrs. Braganza about Raj Malik. She said that the Kolkata police and Drugs and Narcotics department were combing all the possible hideouts for him, and under pressure, he fled away to Mumbai in disguise as a truck handyman. She cautioned Ronnie to be careful of him as he was hazardous.

I called the detectives Chander, Ruby, Ronnie, and Sammi to my chamber for a meeting.

“This emergent meeting is called to discuss Raj Mallik. He is a drug smuggler and works for the Black Panther group,” I said.

“We have known about Monu Malik, Raj Malik, and Jasline Malik. Out of the three, two persons, Monu Malik, and Jasline Malik have recently been arrested in Kolkata. The third person, Raj Malik, has fled from Kolkata and is hiding somewhere in Mumbai,” I continued.

“We are here to discuss and locate the probable places where he may be hiding,” I stopped to watch their reaction and continued.

“I am sure we can trace him out with our united effort. Please come up with your suggestions.” I concluded.

Chander informed that he had tried to track the cell phone of Raj Malik, and it was seen moving on the Mumbai Pune Expressway for a brief period, and then it disappeared. The location was about 50 km away from Mumbai. This was the mobile number of Raj Malik as per the record in the navy coast guards office, Kolkata.

Chander said that he has some resources that have already been activated to locate him.

Ruby suggested that the drug peddler, who bought drugs from Jasline in hotel Belle View, may have a regular link with the Maliks, and his movement should be monitored.

We took the following decisions:

1.  Chander will keep tracking the GPS location of Raj Malik and also use his resources in the underworld.

2.  Ronnie would keep an eye on the movement of the drug peddler, who bought drugs from Jasline.

3.  Sammi would visit the hotels and spots infamous for rave parties and the use of drugs.

4.  Ruby will be in the control room, receiving messages from the detectives and passing on important messages to me.

The planned picnic will take place on Saturday, and adequate security men will be posted in the area to deal with any eventuality.

The security around our office will also be tightened.

The meeting ended with instructions to all to be on alert.

It was Tuesday, and we wanted to track Raj Malik by Friday.

Ronnie had the drug peddler’s car number and could find his name and address. The drug peddler was a middle-aged man named Kamal, 45 years old, who operated a restaurant in the Kalyan area. His residence was also in the same place. Chander checked his record and found that he did not have any criminal record.

Ronnie went to his restaurant. It was an average type of restaurant serving tea, coffee, non-alcoholic beverages, sweets, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The cost was moderate and crowded, particularly for young students and office workers. Ronnie was sure Kamal was selling weeds but needed help finding a clue.

He was unable to find their modus operandi, but very soon, he found out that the customers ordered the weeds from the stewards, and they supplied it to them outside the restaurant.

He asked a steward Jagan for weeds and successfully bought a small quantity. The cost of 25 grams of good quality marijuana was Rs.2000. Ronnie made friends with him and said his name was Sandy. He was studying in a college but had to discontinue since his family was impoverished and unable to support him.

Jagan said he could arrange a drug peddler job for him. He said that the restaurant owner was a drug dealer, who supplied the marijuana to the drug peddlers at Rs.1000 per 25 grams, and they sold it to customers at @Rs.2000. Thus, there was a profit of Rs.1000 per 25 grams, out of which the peddlers were paid Rs.500. So, if a person sold 100 grams in a day, they earned an income of Rs.2000 daily. If Ronnie were interested, he would supply marijuana to him for marketing and could make well.

“What happens if the police catch me?” Ronnie asked.

“Risk is there, but profit is high, so do not be afraid,” Jagan encouraged him.

“Will you need advance payment?” Ronnie asked him.

“You deposit Rs.10,000 as security money with me,” he told Ronnie.

Jagan explained everything in detail. He warned that he should not try to cheat, or the consequence would be very drastic.

Their friendship was quite strong within three days, and Jagan revealed many secrets about the drug business. He said that some drug smugglers supplied weeds, and presently the situation was not very good since the arrest of some smugglers in Kolkata recently.

One of the drug smugglers had somehow managed to flee from Kolkata and was hiding in Maharashtra.

“Oh, that’s too bad. Where is he now? Is Mumbai safe for them?” Ronnie asked.

“He is somewhere in Mumbai suburban area,” Jagan replied.

“Can we not contact him to supply the weed at the best rates? Then, if we get the stuff at good rates, we both could become suppliers and work in partnership?” Ronnie spoke.

“And how do we manage the big capital for investment?” he questioned.

“I think we both can manage to mobilize a total sum of Rs.3 lacs. Suppose we buy marijuana @ Rs.30,000 per kg; the cost per 25 grams will be Rs.750. We will sell to the peddlers @ Rs.1500 per 25 grams, who will sell it @ Rs.2000. Thus, the peddler will get a profit of Rs.500 per 25 grams, and our net profit will be Rs.750 per 25 grams.

Considering a monthly sale of 1500 packets, we can earn 1500 packets x Rs.750 = Rs.11, 25,000, and we will share the profit equally,” Ronnie explained.

Ronnie’s proposition highly influenced Jagan. It was a great idea to earn more than Rs.5 lacs every month, and they would be wealthy soon.

“Wow, it’s a great idea, Sandy,” he exclaimed.

Jagan promised that; he would try to locate Raj Malik, a drug smuggler, and talk to him in this regard.

Ronnie immediately passed on this information to Chander, who put the mobile phone of Jagan on surveillance.

 

Chapter-6

Chander and Sammi waited the whole day outside the restaurant, wondering whether Jagan would go to meet Raj Malik. Finally, at about 5 pm, he returned from the restaurant, went to the parking area, put on a helmet, and started his TVS motorbike.

Chander informed me; that Jagan was riding his black color TVS motorcycle no.MH03A 2201 and was going towards Pune on the Mumbai Pune Expressway. He and Sammi were following him on a Hero Honda Pulsar bike.

Ronnie and I started in our Mahindra SUV as soon as I got the information. Ratan Singh was driving. We both were carrying our revolvers with us. Chander was talking with me through his GPS-enabled smartwatch, and Sammi was driving.

They were 5 km ahead of us. Ratan Singh was driving fast, and now we were just one km behind them. It was becoming dark now, and all the vehicles had switched on their headlights.

Around 6.30 pm, Chander informed me that our Farmland was just 1 km away and the hotel Highway Inn was 2 km away from them, but surprisingly GPS location of Raj Malik was showing in our farmland.

We were puzzled by Raj’s GPS location. So, I instructed Chander to watch; where Jagan was going and continue following him. Within 2 minutes, he informed me that Jagan had stopped his bike outside our farmland, under development, and had entered the compound.

Chander and Sammi had stopped their bikes 10 meters before the farmland, and Ratan Singh had contained our SUV 10 meters behind them. Sammi remained on his two-wheeler, and Chander came to us fast.

He entered our car and showed me the GPS location of Raj Malik. It was leading within the farmland.

“Are you carrying a firearm?” I asked Chander.

“Yes sir, we both have revolvers,” he replied.

“As per the GPS location, he should be in the office room of the factory shed,” I told him.

“Follow my command. We will enter there, and Ronnie will take control of the entry gate. Sammi would be on the rear side of the factory shed. Then, Chander and I will charge the target in the office room,” I explained.

“Go,” I said, and we immediately entered through the main gate.

Ronnie ordered the security guard there to close the gate from inside.

Sammi ran to the rear side of the factory shed. Chander and I charged into the office room, where Raj Malik was sitting, and Jagan talked with him.

“Hands up,” Chander shouted, placing the revolver on his back.

Raj Malik was startled. Seeing guns in our hands, he raised his hands. Chander searched his pockets and seized a 9 mm revolver.

“Lie down on the floor,” I ordered Jagan, showing my gun. He was trembling.

Sammi came in immediately and tied their hands with ropes.

“Where is your vehicle?” I asked Raj.

“I don’t have a vehicle,” he replied.

“What business do you have here? I inquired.

“I have no business, but it was a suitable place to meet Jagan,” he replied.

We blindfolded both of them and made them sit in Mahindra SUV.

I called Major General Garg and informed him we had caught Raj Malik, the Black Panther, absconding. He congratulated us and said that we should take them to the office of the Drugs and Narcotics agency in Mumbai.

It was a great relief for us to have arrested the last member of the Black Panther group. We made them sit in the middle row of the car. Sammi and Chander sat on their sides, and I was in the front seat with driver Ratan Singh.

Ronnie was following us on Sammi’s bike. I received a call from a senior officer from the Drugs and Narcotics agency in Mumbai, who congratulated us on the successful operation. He said that a police escort car and some officers were on their way to provide us with security and escort us to their office.

We reached the Drugs and Narcotics Agency office, where many senior officers were waiting for us. We handed over Raj Malik and Jagan to them.

Chander and I recorded our statement to them, and we were released. They thanked us for our successful action to arrest a dreaded member of the Black Panther group.

A raid was conducted on the restaurant where Jagan was working, and the owner Kamal was arrested for possessing a huge quantity of marijuana. Jagan was made a government witness.

Raj Malik and Monu Malik were charged with the murder of Mrs. Julie Nara at Kolkata, attempted murder of Miss Jasmine, possession and selling of marijuana, attack on Chander and Ronnie at Kolkata, and keeping of illegal firearms.

Major General Garg was pleased with the excellent achievement of Anand’s security services agency and recommended more work to him.

Madan, son of Mrs. Julie Nara, was also satisfied that the murderers of his mother were convicted and punished for their crimes.

The office picnic planned for Saturday was shifted to Sunday, and there was a big celebration.

The Drugs and Narcotics agency also started engaging them to drive against drug smugglers and dealers.

The workload had increased, and hence there was an expansion of his office.

Anand was missing Sonia and went to New Delhi to meet her.

Sonia and her parents were delighted to meet him. They kept him in their house, and aunty Sunita and Sonia cooked many delicious food items. She loved him like a mother, and Anand was thrilled in their company.

He gave the gifts to Sonia and her parents, which was greatly admired.

It was decided to fix the date of their marriage ceremony within three months in Delhi.

Sonia and Anand were pleased that they would soon be tied in wedding lock.

It was time to return for Anand, and Sonia was sorrowful. She hugged him and cried and cried.

Anand was so sad to see her in this state. He tried to console her, but she would not listen to him. Aunty Sonia had to promise that they would visit Mumbai the next month, and then she calmed down.

This made her parents and Anand laugh. Sonia shied and covered her face.

As decided, a grand marriage was solemnized in New Delhi; within three months, Sonia and Anand lived happily married in Mumbai. Anand’s dad was thrilled to get such a good daughter-in-law. Sonia did not like to sit idle at home and opened a grand hotel on the farmland, which was a great success.

Disclaimer: This story, or any other story posted on this Blog/Web site, is entirely a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents portrayed in these are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to the actual person/persons, living or dead, events localities is entirely coincidental.

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