Aksh was smiling mysteriously. She watched as the defense presented their witnesses. She didn't need to crossexamine any of them. She had all she wanted.
Judge: Prosecution would you like to redirect?
PP: No your honor, No questions. With your permission, I would like to call upon my next witness, Billu.
The defense attorney turned around to see Billu sitting next to Arohi and Arohi looked as shocked at this request. Arjun seemed confused and looked at Billu who surprisingly had a determined look on his face.
Billu walked up to the witness box and stared right into Arjun's face. He seemed to be garnering courage from him. Arjun was suddenly fearful. He did not like that look on Billu's face. What was going on?
Billu took his oath and Aksh walked forward.
PP: Billu, tum Arjun ko kab se jaante ho?
Billu: Bachpan se. Bhai aur mein ek hi ashram me the. Jab se mujhe yaad hai, mein bhai ke saath raha hun. *He looked at Arjun and they shared a look of reminiscence*
PP: Toh aap ye bhi jaante honge ke Arjun ke liye unki zindagi me RPS ki kya importance hai?
Billu: RPS Sir humare bhagwan hai. Unhone bhai ko adopt kiya aur unke saath saath mujhe aur Makarand ko bhi. Hum teenon ki zindagi, Sir ki karazdaar hai.
PP: Aur aap teenon ne, khaas kar Arjun ne iss 'karz' ke naam pe kabhi Arohi ko kidnap kiya tha?
Billu: *unable to look at Arohi or Arjun, he looks down * Ji. Kiya tha.
PP: Aur Arjun ne apni behen ke MC ka badla lene ke liye Arohi se shaadi bhi ki? Kya ye sach nahi ke unhone iss baat ki puri jaanch kiye bina hi apna badla pura karne nikle the?
Billu: *still talking to the floor and his voice an octave lower* Ji.
*Arjun watched as Billu went through hell answering all these questions. What was the PP planning? Why had she put him on the stand?*
PP: Thank you Billu. Ab aap mujhe ye batayiye, kya aap iss address ko pehchante hain? *Aksh shows him a sheet of paper with the address of the purani haveli - Arjun's mother's home*
Billu: *He finally looks up again, takes a look at the paper* Ji.
PP: Iss jagah ka Arjun se kya taluk hai?
Billu: Bhai ye jagah kharidna chah rahe the. Par jab humne iss ke baare me aur jaankari haasil ki, tab hume pata chala ke ye jagah Bhai ke maa ki hai. Asal me yeh ghar Bhai ka hai.
PP: Arjun ki maa ka? Matlab unki sagi maa ka?
Billu: Ji.
PP: Aur jis din KSA ke saath ye hadsa hua, Arjun aur aap yahin the?
Billu: Ji.
PP: Aap hume batayenge ke uss din exactly kya hua, aur Arjun kyun KSA ke ghar gun lekar pahuncha tha?
Billu: *all the while watching Arjun* Uss din Bhai ko pata chal tha, ke unki Maa ke saath 25 saal pehle jo hadsa hua, woh KSA ki vajah se hua. Unki vajah se bhai ke maa ki maut hui thi aur unki vajah se bhai anaath hue the.
PP: Phir kya hua? Arjun gusse me aa gaye honge?
Billu: *He looked utmost uncomfortable and stammered" Ji, Bhai bilkul hi toot gaye the iss khabar se. Woh KSA ki bohot izzat karte hain aur unhe yakeen hi nahi ho raha tha ke KSA ki vajah se woh anaath ho gaye. *He started speaking furiously, as though finishing what he started was the goal of his life.* Par phir unse milne RPS Sir aur Mikhail bhai aaye. Sir ke jaane ke baad bhai ki haalat jaisi thi.. meine unhe itne gusse me kabhi nahi dekha. Unke sabr ka baand jaise tut gaya tha. Unke dukh aur gusse ki koi seema nahi thi. Mujhe samajh nahi aa raha tha ke mein kya karun, toh meine Arohi bhabhi ko phone pe sab kuch bata diya. Phir bhabhi ne aake koshish ki, par phir bhi Bhai ne thaan li thi ki woh apni maa ke saath jo na-insafi hui thi, uska badla woh zarur lenge. Unhone apni bandook aur goliyan li aur uss shaam jo KSA ke ghar party thi, usme chale gaye.
*By the time he finished, he seemed almost in tears. His eyes pleaded his case of guilt and betrayal to Arjun who was watching in horror - not at what Billu had done, but the pain he went through to do it. Arjun had no complains that he did it for all he had told was true. But what was the PP getting at?*
PP: Thank you Billu. Your Honor, points to be noted are 1)Arjun is adopted and hence his highest priority was his adopted father, RPS. And this is proved by the numerous crimes he has committed and the fact that he kidnapped Arohi and also married her in deceit purely out of spite. In both cases, Arohi was not at fault and yet Arjun acted impulsively. He didn't for a moment think how his actions will affect this girl's future. 2)When he found out that his mother had suffered an injustice due to which he was orphaned, his heart and brain saw no reason. His thirst for revenge was peaked. 3)He had just found out that KSA was the reason for his tragic childhood. 4)His rage was so out of bounds that he couldnt be countered even by his wife Arohi, whom he claims to be his highest priority.
I will continue this story from where Billu left it. He went to KSA's house armed that night. He is a professional and he doesn't need reasons such as dropping champaign on KSA. He just waited his turn and opportunity knocked his door. KSA left to change his clothes and Arjun followed. Arohi who knew what was going on watched him leave. She till the end held on to her blind hope that Arjun will change his mind at the last minute for her. She was wrong. She heard the gunshot. She hurried upstairs ahead of her family.
*Arjun, Arohi, Billu were shocked beyond words at the way the story was growing. Daddi, Shefali, Romit and Simi looked extremely troubled at the way the case was twisting. The Ahluwalias were watching on with spite on their face and sadness in their eyes.*
Our witness Amrit Ahluwalia herself accepted that Arohi was with her when Arjun left and then she was preoccupied and did not notice when Arohi left the party. Everybody in the party were preoccupied and they obviously did not suspect their own family of any wrongdoing.
Arjun, who realized that the job wasnt done and wanted to have another shot heard footsteps on the stairs and left without finishing his job. Arohi saw KSA lying on the floor and Arjun slipping unnoticed into KSA's room which was the closest. She followed him while all her family was attending to KSA. She took the gun from him with her kerchief, not realizing that he himself had not used gloves. He had slipped up in his rage. They both hurried outside to join the crowd before they realized they were missing and made sure they were noticed. Arjun was in the thick of the action and accompanied KSA to the hospital so his presence would stand out. Arohi struck a conversation with her mother which Amrit revived for the court. Ignorant of the loophole, she left the gun on the floor thinking that she was saving him. Instead she had actually successfully framed him.
*Arohi was out of her seat in horror and Romit and Shefali stood up on either side of her to keep her from running at Aksh. Arohi started to object, but JR ordered her to be silent and warned her not to interrupt the court. Arjun was beyond shock. So this was the plan. Now not only him, Arohi was involved too. Damn!*
Your Honor, I plead to you once more. Arohi has acted most unwisely by trusting this man. If she thought he loved her most or that he would change for her, she was wrong on both counts. When she realized she was wrong, she didn't have the courage to face the truth so she decided to help him in a last effort to bring him back to her. She tried her best to stop him and even now she is trying to save him. She acted out of love and grew selfish, that's all. What happened with KSA was purely Arjun's fault. Although, even for Arjun, he had just found out that the only family he had ever had was taken away from him by the man he admired and respected. So his reactions were justified. In the heat of the moment he chose wrongly and decided to take law into his own hands. But as luck would have it, KSA survived and Arjun was given another chance.
Prosecution also presents the second forensic and ballistics report as requested by the court. *gives papers to clerk Dhondz who passes it onto the andha kanoon, since no judges available* In light of this new testimony, its evident that the bullet extracted from KSA's wound was of the same kind that was in the gun. The gun was missing one bullet.The gun had fingerprints of Arjun Singhania. He has willingly accepted his motive for being there that night. My witness, Billu has underlined Arjun's history of rash decisions. The distance from which the bullet was fired is enough for him to shoot and move away to KSA's room.
Mere kabil doston ne kaafi acche witnesses pesh kiye, par woh bhul gaye ki kanoon saboot maangta hai, emotional atyachar nahi. Aap chahe kitne hi witnesses khade kar lijiye aur Arjun ka character certificate banate jayiye, par saboot se bada koi daleel nahi hota. Mein maanti hun ke log badalte hain, par Arjun nahi badla. Usne soch samajh kar ye hamla kiya tha. Your Honor, I would like to offer a plea bargain to the accused. If he accepts his mistake now and agrees that he erred by taking the law in his own hands, his jail term can be shortened. For attempted murder of a prominent protector of the law, the jail term can be upto 14 years in this court. If he accepts the court's offer, his sentence can be pruned appropriately. I hope the Defense team advises their client wisely. Thank You,
comment:
p_commentcount