Banana Republic (Part 1)

A loud noise was heard. A head banged into the divider between the two roads. The rider didn’t wear a helmet. He died on the spot.

It was not even a mile from where he was warned by the cops to wear his helmet. The helmet could be seen safely fastened to his bike while his head lay smashed. The rest of his body had some minor bruises.

If he had listened to the cops, he would have lived to see another day. The cops, however, dared not fine him or talk rashly to him. He was the son of Ramnaresh Gupta, and he played the “Do you know who my father is” card to his advantage all the time.

Mr. Gupta was one of the shrewdest politicians India had seen. It is not often that a banana vendor rises to become a state’s chief minister. He was known for his authoritarian and ruthless ways and wouldn’t allow anything to come in between his ambition and him. The ambition which topped the list was to see his only son become the prime minister of India.

Mr. Gupta’s ambition and preferred prime ministerial candidate was taken to a nearby hospital where the body was to be kept till parents or relatives could come and claim it. Two junior inspectors on night patrol took him to the hospital. They were tense themselves for obvious reasons.

Mr. Gupta was about an hour away from the accident spot when he got a call from the hospital authorities. “Sir, please rush to the City hospital immediately”, was all he could hear a trembling voice speak. He was sure that something was amiss. He asked his driver to turn back.

The driver followed the master’s orders and drove fast to the city hospital. It was about 4a.m and Mr. Gupta was travelling back into the city through roads which were completely deserted. His secretary, Mr. Iyer, was seated with him. As Mr. Gupta rushed into the hospital, he was ushered to the third floor by some staff.

“What’s the matter?” asked Mr. Gupta. No one dared to tell him the bad news. Finally, a doctor came to him and said,” Sir, we offer our apologies and heartfelt condolences to you and your family in these trying times. Your son was dead before he was brought here. We couldn’t do anything.”

Mr. Gupta was shocked beyond words and could not believe what had happened. As he regained composure, his emotion changed from shock to anger. Suddenly, he summoned the doctor and all key people in the room. “I want all the details of how this happened. I will leave no stone unturned to find that bastard and make his life miserable.” said Mr. Gupta in a fit of rage.

His loss was irreparable but Mr. Gupta wanted to get to the crux of how this happened. His first doubt was on his political rivals. He called the heads of the police department in the state and served them the ultimatum- 24 hours.

Yes, he wanted to know how this happened within 24 hours. As he got busy with activities pertaining to the last rites of his son, the police set up a special team to investigate this.

12 hours had passed and the police couldn’t find any evidence to conclude that it was a murder. It was an accident in their eyes. The road was deserted and Mr. Gupta’s son had just lost balance. The head of the police department told Mr. Gupta that he had put his best officers on duty and there was not even a slightest trace of this being a planned murder. “It was an accident”, he repeated, several times to Mr. Gupta.

However, Mr. Gupta dismissed him and refused to believe that it was an accident. It was his power of conviction that had got him this far. He refused to believe in the theory given by the state police.

As he began to think of an alternative solution to get to the bottom of the murder (according to him) within his self-imposed deadline, one image that flashed in his mind was that of Mohammed Khan.

Mr. Khan was a decorated officer but had retired from the job a year ago. He was the head of the anti-terrorist unit. A terrorist group had killed his wife and daughter to seek revenge as he had killed an important member of the group.

Mr. Khan was not his usual self after the incident. The intelligent and sharp Mr. Khan was now a loner, living a life of solitude. He was asked by the state to join back and handle some special projects but he declined each time.

Mr. Gupta knew for sure that this was a murder and he also knew that he had to meet Khan himself to get him to investigate the case.

It was a daunting task but then Mr. Gupta has his charm. He was as wily as they come. He had always encouraged Khan and given him responsibilities and accolades.

He came out of Mr. Khan’s house with his word. Mr. Gupta knew that if Mr. Khan gave his word, it was rest assured that he would do the job.

The last words that Gupta spoke before coming out of the house were “I want that bastard alive. I want you to not report it to the cops. I want you to hand over that ______ (a list of expletives) to me. I think all such criminal will make our country a banana republic. The only punishment for such people is death.”

To be continued…