After The Assassination
Screenplay-
Time 3.30 PM, 3rd March, Year-2012, Place- Sidhneshwar, State- Forkat
Traffic is stuck on the road because of the train barrier. Two friends on bike are sharing a joke.
Friend1- Bro, Do you know the name of the smallest city in the world?
Friend2- Vatican City?
Friend1- Yes, and do you know how much is its population....says laughingly.
Friend2- No.
Friend1 laughs and says its around 800.
Friend2- So?
Friend1- I was wandering how the election are elected there.
Friend2- How?
Friend1- Two candidature will stand on a stage and whole its public will be present their and the Election Commission will ask them to raise the hands for party 1 or party 2 and they count the majority and that party wins.
Friend2- I don't think it's the way they elect.
Friend1- Dumbo, I was trying to make a joke.
Friend2- Ohh (figuring out the joke).
Friend1 notices a news headline "PRESIDENT LIVE STREAM ASSASSINATION, NO SIGN OF ASSASSINATOR ARREST" in a newspaper store near the road. He goes and purchases the newspaper and gets back to his friend.
Friend1 tells Friend2 hear this news and friend1 starts to read, It has been two months since the president's assassination and the assassinator has not been arrested yet. Many citizens died because of this unique style of assassina.....
A guy on bike who was also waiting for the train to cross interrupts Friend1 and asks what's latest on news today.
Friend1 says it's about the President assassination and failure of department to catch the assassinator.
Man on bike- oh! I see. Is there any News of the assassinator's name?
Friend1- No. I don't think they will ever be able to catch him. What do you think about this?
Before man on bike answers the questions, man on bike gets a phone call so he says excuse me to Friend1 and answers his call. After listening few seconds to his phone call, he hangs up his call and gets off from his bike. Friend1 notices he hangs up the call and asks him again bro what do you think on this matter? Man on bike looks at friend1 and at the same time he hears the horn of the train approaching, so he doesn't answer the question and walks for the track and the train hits him to death.
Friend1 and everybody else was shocked. After the train crossed (loco pilot not realising that someone was hit by the train, so the loco pilot didn't stop the train), crowd gathered around the body and everyone starts talking "who was he?" why he did this?". The body was cut into two parts but his face was recognisable. Someone from the crowd calls the Police.
Police arrives after 10 minutes. Police contains the crime scene. Hawaldars starts searching the body. Inspector starts questioning the public that were still there- Does anybody know him? Crowd says no, we don't know him.
Friend1 and friend2 gossiping with each other that we should go and talk to the police that we and that dead man had a conversation before the incident took place. The Inspector notices the gossip and calls both of them and asks what is it that you guys are gossiping.
Friend2- Hesitatingly, no...nothing Sir.
Friend1 says to friend2 don't hesitate, there's nothing to be scared.
Inspector Adit- What is it that you are scared for?
Friend1- Nothing sir, actually the thing is sir we had a few conversation with the dead man and nothing sir.
Inspector Adit - What conversation?
Friend1 Shows the newspaper to the Inspector and tells him we had a conversation on the President's assassination.
Inspector Adit - What did he say about that?
Friend1- First he asked us what was on the news and we told him about the news but when we asked what's his say on this, he received a phone call and after the phone call I tried to ask him again but he didn't answered and headed for the railway track.
Inspector Adit - Why didn't you try to stop him?
Friend1- I didn't knew he would do this.
Inspector Adit - Did you hear what he said on the phone call?
Friend1- All I heard was hello, yeah say. He listened for few seconds and hanged up the call.
Inspector Adit - What are your names?
Friend1- My name is Ankur and my friend's name is Abhishek.
One hawaldar comes to the Inspector and tells him Sir, we only found two things, One is his mobile and other is this letter.
Inspector Adit to hawaldar- Nothing else? Identity card or anything else?
Hawaldar with a tensed face- No sir. But you should read this letter now.
Inspector- What is it? Let me read it and by the time take Ankur and Abhishek's statement and also note their contact details.
After reading the letter, Inspector also gets tensed and tells we found him but he is dead.
Sub-Inspector(SI) Ajay to Inspector Adit - Sir, I have checked the CCTV footage, these boys are telling truth, it was a suicide.
Inspector Adit to hawaldar- I have to make a phone call. You do one thing, send the body for autopsy and tell them that I need every minor details from his body. Everything must be on report. A lot of trouble is on the way in this investigation.
Inspector makes the phone call to the President's Office and tell the secretary to connect to the President.
Secretary Vikas asks what is the phone call about.
Inspector Adit - It's about the assassination sir.
Secretary Vikas- What about it?
Inspector Adit - Sir we found the assassinator.
Secretary Vikas- Shockingly, hold let me go to the President.
Inspector Adit - Ok sir.
Secretary Vikas knocks the President's office door and with permission he enters the room and tells the President that the assassinator has been arrested.
President Bala- What? Really, where was he arrested?
Secretary Vikas- In Forkat sir, here talk to the inspector he is on the line.
President Bala takes the phone and says hello.
Inspector Adit- Good after noon sir, my name is Inspector Adit from Forkat Police Station.
President Bala - Yeah good after noon, tell me what else information we got from him?
Inspector Adit - Sir there is a problem.
President Bala - What problem? Don't tell me he was lying.
Inspector Adit - No Sir, the problem is he didn't even talk.
President Bala - What do you mean Inspector?
Inspector Adit - Sir we found him dead.
President Bala - Then how do you know that it's him.
Inspector Adit - We found a letter from his body which revealed that he planned the assassination.
President Bala - What's his name?
Inspector Adit - We don't know his identity. All we found is his phone and this letter.
President Bala - How did he die? Did you guys killed him?
Inspector- No Sir, we found him on a railway track half an hour ago, 20 minutes ago we received a phone call about an accident from the train and upon investigation, the crowd said that it was a suicide. We cross checked the CCTV footage which also revealed that it was a suicide. The body is sent for autopsy and we are heading to the police station now.
President Bala - Ok. I will share you a whatsapp number soon, there you will update me everything related to this case.
Inspector Adit - Ok sir.
The Police team reached the police station after sometime and they start to look into the dead man's history.
Inspector Adit to SI Ajay- Where is his mobile?
SI Ajay- Here Sir.
Inspector Adit - Give this mobile to cyber cell and tell them to unlock it fast and also find out his last call details.
SI Ajay- Ok sir and Sub-Inspector leaves.
Assistant Sub-Inspector(ASI) Rawat- Sir, Should we circulate the dead man's photo in Newspaper?
Inspector Adit - Yes, do it and one more thing don't mention that he was the assassinator or else nobody will come forward to recognise him.
ASI Rawat- Right sir.
Inspector Adit - Circulate the photograph in each and every police station of Jubistan and intelligence departments and feed them with the every details we have on this man. And keep one thing in mind, this news must not leak or no one will come forward to recognise him.
ASI Rawat- Yes sir.
Police starts to check their history record if there is any criminal record of the dead man but they didn't found any match neither the intelligence department was able to track any of his record.
Days passed and nobody showed/called up to recognise him.
Pressure was rising from the Government side and both Police and Intelligence department had no answer to give to the Government.
After a day of continuous search, ASI of Kolark Police department finds a resemblance of the dead man's photograph in the missing case file. He takes the file to his Inspector and informs him that he was the assassinator.
Inspector - Are you sure of it?
ASI - Yes sir, Forkat Police station gave the details and told to look into the matter on priority as the dead body had no identity.
Inspector - Alright.
ASI - Sir, should we help them? I mean after everything we (the kolarks) have suffered since independence and during the assassination period we were declared terrorist too.
Inspector - Yes, you are right but the matter must be closed ASAP and we are getting what we were asking since the very start "Our Independence' that got signed yesterday and the date of Independence day is with the Kolark Government now. Soon all the Kolarks will hear the news of their Independence.
ASI- I think you are right sir, so I will give them a call and fax them this file.
Inspector - Right away.
ASI thanks his Inspector and leaves the office. ASI makes a call to the Forkat police station and informs that we have found him in the missing case file. I am sending you his file, his uncle's contact details are present in the file, you would be able to get more info on him through them.
ASI of Forkat police station makes the print of the file received from Kolark police station and takes the file to his Inspector.
ASI Rawat to Inspetor Adit- Sir we have his identity now sir. He was reported missing in Kolark police station on 23rd July 2010.
Inspector Adit- Show me his file.
ASI Rawat gives the file to his Inspector. Inspector goes through the file and tells so his name is Harshat.
Inspector Adit to ASI Rawat- His uncle lives in Dubai?
ASI Rawat- Yes sir.
Inspector Adit - Ok, call his uncle and inform him that we found his nephew. And also share Harshat's file details with the rest of the department.
ASI Rawat says ok sir and leaves.
ASI Rawat goes to his desk and call Harshat's uncle in Dubai.
Phone rings in Dubai and his uncle picks up the call and says hello.
ASI Rawat- Hello sir, is this Harshat's uncle Mr. Baresh?
Harshat's uncle- Yes I am his uncle Baresh. Who are you?
ASI Rawat- Sir my name is Rawat from Forkat police station, Jubistan.
Mr. Baresh- So you guys found him?
ASI Rawat- Yes, but there is a bad news.
Mr. Baresh- Bad news?
ASI Rawat - Yesterday afternoon we found him dead on the railway track and we think it was a suicide.
Mr. Baresh- shockingly No, he cannot commit suicide, he wasn't like that.
ASI Rawat - Sir, you will have to come to Jubistan.
Mr. Baresh- Ok I will be there tomorrow.
ASI Rawat- And one more thing sir.
Mr. Baresh- Yes.
ASI Rawat- Please bring any hand written notes of Harshat's.
Mr. Baresh- Why?
ASI Rawat- You will know everything once you reach here.
Mr. Baresh- Ok.
ASI Rawat hangs the call and informs Mr. Baresh arrival to his inspector.
Inspector says ok and progress of Harshat's autopsy.
ASI Rawat - Ok sir and leaves.
Inspector calls the President's office and updates President Bala with the new findings in Harshat's case.
SI Ajay comes to the Inspector's office and tells him that we unlocked the phone.
Inspector Adit - Good, Did you find the details of the last call on Harshat's phone?
SI Ajay- His name is Harshat sir?
Inspector Adit - Yes, and his uncle will arrive tomorrow from Dubai.
SI Ajay- Ok sir, the last call on Harshat's phone came from Telfark. The number was registered in the name of Ganesh. Telfark police station verified the number details and said the SIM card was purchased by providing wrong details. I tried to call the number but it's not reachable. Cyber cell is keeping track of the number.
Inspector Adit -OK.
ASI Rawat enters the room with the autopsy report.
Sir, the autopsy report just came.
Inspector Adit - Show me.
ASI Rawat gives the report to his Inspector. Inspector goes through the report and finds nothing new. Inspector feeling unsatisfied with the report drops the autopsy report on his desk.
SI Ajay- What is it sir?
Inspector Adit - Nothing, it was a suicide, that's what the report said and everything else is clean.
Inspector's phone beeps, he looks his phone there was a message from President saying whatsapp me the letter on this number and keep me updated here on Harshat's case.
Inspector Adit asks ASI Rawat to bring the Harshat's file. ASI goes to bring the file.
SI Ajay asks what is it sir.
Inspector- The President is asking for the letter.
SI Ajay- OK sir.
ASI Rawat enters the office with the file.
Inspector Adit clicks the photo of the letter and whatsapp it to the President.
Inspector Adit gets a reply from President- Tomorrow a team from Intelligence Department will also join you during the questioning of Harshat's uncle.
Inspector Adit replies ok sir.
President Bala - How old was he?
Inspector Adit - 27 sir.
President Bala - Ok and the chat ends.
President Bala to his secretary Vikas- I have sent you a letter on whatsapp, get it printed now.
Secretary Vikas- Ok Sir.
Secretary Vikas reads the print out of the letter.
The letter-
Whatever I did, had to be done. I didn't see any other way. My other fellow Kolarks were trying to do it the right way by proposing a country's proposal but the Government never heard us. I don't know why the Government never heard us, they including many citizens wanted us out, so we gave the country's proposal but Government was not even ready to listen. The curfew of 2010 was meant to infiltrate the terrorist organisations, but it tried to infiltrate the Kolarks. I never understood and I will never understand why people hate us. Atleast the government should have been rational towards us considering we also are the citizens of Jubistan but when I somehow was able to come home and saw what the government did to us in the curfew, it completely broke me. All I saw that day in Kolark was death, houses burning, cries which most part of the nation ignored. I have seen the hate speeches of the so called public leader"Gurbaksh" before he became the President and after he became the President, all he wanted was wiping us out. We were never been able to understand this hate, most of the nation considered us as rats and of course rats should be removed from the house, right? so the curfew tried to do it by burning us and the government gave excuse that terrorist did that. Yeah terrorist only wanted to kill the kolarks. Everybody knows that Kolarks don't deserve to live in this nation and that's what we learnt when we were forced to stay in kolarks only and was not getting any jobs in the rest of the country. What we didn't understood was that the government wanted us in a single place so that they can get away with the hideous crime they committed that night under the shadow of the curfew. What I did was wrong, but has to be done so that the rest of the Kolarks can live in peace and that day would come when I can die with satisfaction. Why die? Because I can't live with the crime I have done to conquer the peace for the Kolarks. All my team members are dead, I was the only one alive, now dead when you are reading this letter. I am proud of myself to kill the President because he deserved to die but I am also ashamed of myself for killing those people who had little or no share in the curfew crime. Today I got the news that our Independence was signed, So today was the day of my death.
President Bala while listening to the letter feels sorry for what was being done with the Kolarks since the independence of Jubistan.
Secretary Vikas also feels sorry.
The day of Mr. Baresh arrival.
The 4 member team of Intelligence Department arrives at the Forkat Police Station sharp 10.00 AM in the morning, Hawaldar salutes them and takes the team to the Inspector's office. Inspector greets them welcome sir and offers them to seat. Head of the team says my name is Vikrant and these are my team members. Inspector says my name is Adit.
Vikrant says Mr. Adit, I want to see Harshat's file.
Mr. Adit says, Sir my ASI had already forwarded the copy of Harshat's file to your department, you must have seen it while saying this to Mr. Vikrant, Mr. Adit looks towards his ASI Rawat asking with head indication that you had sent the copy or not, ASI Rawat also head indicates that he had already sent it.
Mr. Vikrant to Inspector Adit- Yes I have seen that copy but I want to go through your copy of file once if you don't mind.
Inspector Adit- Smilingly No sir, why would I mind and gives his copy of file to Mr. Vikrant.
Inspector Adit asks Mr. Vikrant would you like some snacks?
Mr. Vikrant- While looking at all of his 4 members, he says coffee would do, all his members nodes yes.
Inspector Adit calls hawaldar and tells him to bring 4 coffee for the team.
The team have their coffee and goes through Harshat's file.
Around 2.00 PM, Mr. Baresh and his wife reaches the Fotark Police Station.
Mr. Baresh asks hawaldar, Sir where can I find ASI Rawat?
Hawaldar asks who are you?
My name is Mr. Baresh, I am Harshats's uncle, Mr. Rawat called me yesterday.
Hawaldar- OK, come with me and hawaldar takes them to the ASI Rawat and tells him that they are Harshat's Uncle and aunty.
ASI Rawat tells them to seat and informs his Inspector of their arrival.
Inspector Adit says to bring them in. ASI Rawat brings them in.
Inspector Adit offers them to seat but they denies and tells we want to see our nephew first. Inspector Adit takes them to the morgue, they identify their nephew's body and starts crying.
After few minutes, all of them return to the Inspector's office. Inspector makes them seat and offers them water. Team of intelligence enters the Inspector's office. Mr. Baresh looks at the intelligence confusingly and before he asks who are they, Inspector Adit tells Mr. Baresh they are from Intelligence department and are here to ask few questions related to your nephew.
Mr. Baresh- What is it that you want to know about my nephew.
Mr. Vikrant says Mr. Baresh please come with us, Mr. Baresh and his wife follows him to the interrogation room. Mr. Vikrant makes them seat opposite to himself. From the police department side only Inspector Adit was allowed inside the room as per the orders. There was a recording camera set in the interrogation room facing Mr. Baresh and his wife.
Mr. Baresh- Why is here a camera in the room.
Mr. Vikrant- It's nothing, just a simple procedure we follow while questioning, You and your wife doesn't have to worry about it.
Mr. Barjesh looks at Inspector Adit, he convinces him with indication that it's just a procedure.
Mr. Vikrant says we have few questions regarding your son. We will ask them on camera. Shall we start?
Mr. Baresh looks towards the camera and the cameraman and remains silent for few seconds and then looks his wife who was still crying.
Mr. Vikrant asks again, Mr. Baresh...Mr. Baresh, Mr. Baresh looks at him. Mr. Vikrant says are you ok? Here have some water.
Mr. Baresh and his wife drinks some water.
Mr. Vikrant- Shall we start now?
Mr. Baresh nodes yes.
Mr. Vikrant says cameraman to turn on the camera. Cameraman says it's on sir.
Mr. Vikrant- When did you moved to Dubai?
Mr. Baresh- Thinks for few seconds and says may be 1987.
Mr. Vikrant- Do you have any children?
Mr. Baresh- Yes, one girl named Taru.
Mr. Vikrant- Where is she now?
Mr. Baresh- Studying in Dubai, you were supposed to ask about Harshat, Why are you asking me about my daughter?
Mr. Vikrant- We have orders to ask all these, we are just doing our job, see it will be easy if we cooperate.
Mr. Baresh- Alright. When can we take our nephew's body?
Mr. Vikrant- You can have the body after the questioning is over. Did you bring the handwritten notes of Harshat?
Mr. Baresh- Yes.
Mr. Vikrant- Show it to me.
Mr. Baresh gives the notes to Mr. Vikrant and Mr. Vikrant gives those notes to his hand writing expert who was standing near the cameraman. He takes the notes and leaves the interrogation room.
Mr. Vikrant- Now, I need to know about Harshat from his birth.
Mr. Baresh- He was the son of my elder brother Mr. Ashik and his wife Sunain.
Mr. Vikrant- Where are they?
Mr. Baresh- They are dead.
Mr. Vikrant- When and how did that happen?
Mr. Baresh- It happened in 2010 during the curfew, we were not able to see their body also. Harshat received a call from his mother in 2010 when the curfew was announced. They said that we might not be able to talk to him until the curfew is over because nationwide mobile and internet services will be turned off. They also spoke to me and my wife regarding Harshat that is he doing fine there? How is his job going?,etc.,.,
Mr. Vikrant- What job was he into?
Mr. Baresh- He was a software Engineer.
Mr. Vikrant- When did he moved to Dubai? tell me about his schooling and college.
Mr. Baresh- Looking at the situation of Kolarks in Jubistan, his Parents sent him to Dubai to study and live with us. He was 6 years old when he came to Dubai. He was home tutored by his mom till 6 years of his age.
Mr. Vikrant- How often did he visit his parents in Kolark?
Mr. Baresh- We used to visit them during the vacations only.
Mr. Vikrant- You filed him missing in Kolark Police Station in the year 2010?
Mr. Baresh- Yes, after the curfew was announced over, for days Harshat tried to reach his parents through call, but wasn't able to connect to them, so he decided to go to Kolark because the news was showing that the houses were burnt down during the curfew in Kolark only, he wasn't able to sleep. I wanted to accompany him but he said let me go first and see the situation then I will call you, but since the day he left, I was not able to reach him either. My wife told me you should go to Kolark and try to find him, so I went there and reported him missing. I stayed there for 2 weeks, but the police was not showing much effort in finding him because they were busy in collecting and identifying dead bodies. At some point we became so hope less that we thought he is dead. The government never released the number of people died in the curfew, all they gave was only excuses that we both have seen. So I went back to Dubai and kept calling the Kolark Police Station since then.
Mr. Vikrant- See I have to tell you something that we found out from his body.
Mr. Baresh- What is it?
Mr. Vikrant shows the first line of the letter to Mr. Baresh, and says do you recognise the handwriting?
Mr. Baresh says yes, it's Harshat's handwriting.
At the same time, the hand writing expert enters the room and he whispersin Vikrant's ear - Sir it's a match, it's Harshat's hand writing.
Mr. Vikrant- I want you to read this letter.
Mr. Baresh reads the letter and while reading he was getting shocked and surprised too, after reading the letter his wife takes the letter and starts to read it while Mr. Baresh shockingly tells Mr. Vikrant that it can't be his, he cannot do that.
Mr. Vikrant- It's him, you just recognised his handwriting which confirms that it's his letter and my hand writing expert also confirmed that it's Harshat's hand writing after comparing both the hand writing.
Mr. Baresh- Yes but...
Mr. Vikrant interrupts him and says him to see the CCTV footage that he intentionally committed suicide.
Mr. Baresh was not ready to accept the fact that he would choose this path. You all must be framing him since you guys failed to catch the assassinator.
Mr. Vikrant- See it's not up to you to decide whether he did it or not, the court will decide it, we have the evidence of his crime which you confirmed also that the handwriting is his.
Mr. Vikrant tells the cameraman to turn off the camera as the questioning was over, the team was leaving the room and Mr. Baresh kept crying and saying it cannot be Harshat. Harshat cannot do it, he was a good son. But they didn't listen and leaves.
Mr. Baresh and his wife takes Harshat's body from the Police after signing the handing over papers and performs his funeral the same evening when they were questioned.
12th March, 2012.
On 3rd March, 2012, the paper of Kolarks Independence Day was signed by the President of Jubistan and the day of independence was decided to be on 12th March, 2012.
Kolarks celebrated their Independence Day.
Harshat's court hearing was also on 12th March, 2012. After the trial, the Judge said, since he is dead we cannot punish him for the hideous crime he committed that also left the economy at the worst of all time. The court finds him guilty of mass murder and his photo must be kept in prison forever.
Thanks for reading. Hope the reader liked this chapter.
Chapter Two (The Curfew) will be available soon.