Chapter 15: Price & Prize of Professionalism - It Started With a Friend Request

Nervousness filled Deep’s heart when he left for office early next morning. He didn’t have the courage to face Tamanna and kept wondering if she has created any more havoc after he had left her at the farmhouse. Disturbed, he reached the office premises. While taking the lift, he kept thinking about all the negative probabilities that could have happened in the last few hours which could adversely affect his career. But never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined being greeted by police once he reached office. Unknown to Deep, they had come to investigate Tamanna’s death. As he reached the work floor, he was made to sit in front of some police officers who bombarded him with a number of questions related to Tamanna.

‘What’s wrong?’ Deep asked in a state of shock.

‘Mr Deep, where were you last night?’ the cop asked him.

‘With Tamanna ma’am. We had gone for a client meeting. But why are you asking?’ he asked anxiously.

‘You need to come along with us to the police station for enquiry,’ the officer said.

‘But what’s the matter?’

‘Tamanna is dead. We found her body near the Nerul highway. We went through her stuff and came to know from her office id that she worked here. Though it was an accident, we have also come to know that the car she was driving belonged to a Mr Verma. He stated that she was with you since yesterday evening. So where were you when the accident took place? Mr Verma said that Tamanna had told him that she was going to Andheri for the meeting. Then how did she reach Navi Mumbai? Your other co-employee Kajal also said that there were some conflicts between you both, even in Goa during your official trip. So I’m going to straightway ask you since I think you can answer all these questions better. We want to investigate whether it was just an accident or was she forced to take such a step because of sexual harassment or rape. We have already sent the body for post-mortem, and the medical reports will soon clear the picture. Before that we need some clarification on all the accusations your colleagues are making on you.’ Deep was standing there dumbstruck. He could hardly make eye contact with anyone in office because only he knew the truth. The rest of them simply chose to believe what Tamanna had told them. The cops took him along with them to the police headquarters. He was going to pay the price for his professionalism.

He felt embarrassed at the close scrutiny, like a caged animal in the zoo, stared at by everyone. Deep couldn’t believe his fate and was stunned by the news of Tamanna’s death. He could remember the way Tamanna had cursed him the previous night. He quietly went and sat in the police jeep as instructed. He wished he could reach the police station as soon as possible so that he would save himself from the constant stares. Never in his worst nightmare had he imagined that one day he would sit in a police jeep and be taken away as a prime suspect behind someone’s death. He wished he could have handled the situation last night in a better fashion. Sitting in the jeep, he kept thinking how his one harsh decision had taken away someone’s life. Every minute seemed like an hour in the jeep, making him feel like a criminal. He wondered what really killed Tamanna. The accident? The betrayal? Or him? Or was it Tamanna herself? All he wanted was to make Tamanna realize that he was committed to someone else. He wanted to do everything for his love, but never wanted Tamanna to meet with such an awful end.

The jeep halted outside the police station and the cops dragged him inside. As Deep sat on the chair, the officer shot his first question.

‘Mr Deep, did you have an affair with her? How did she reach Nerul? Was it a planned murder after sexual molestation which was made to look like an accident?’

‘Please officer, I didn’t do anything. I am innocent. I didn’t even know that Tamanna met with an accident. I came to know about it only once I reached office today. Please trust me officer. I’ll tell you everything that happened,’ Deep stammered.

‘You better speak the truth and don’t try to hide anything from us. And anyway, we will find the truth behind this accident sooner or later. So better speak the truth, save our time, and save yourself from getting behind the bars if you are innocent. Also, let me tell you before you start your story that we might get your narcoanalysis done, and if your statement differs, you’ll be in big trouble,’ the officer warned Deep and told one of his juniors to record his statement.

Deep was shivering badly. He picked up the glass of water kept on the table. He wiped his sweat before speaking. He narrated the entire incident which had taken place the day before.

‘Trust me sir, I never loved her and never knew she had such strong feelings for me. I just felt that she was attracted to me and nothing else. Then that night she told me that she was madly in love with me. I didn’t even touch her but she tried forcing herself on me, forcing me to leave the place even before the accident had taken place. I walked for a few miles and spotted a cab coming in my direction. I hailed for it to stop and asked the driver take me back home. Tamanna still kept calling me repeatedly which irritated me further and in this state of anger, I threw my mobile in the creek when the cab was crossing Mulund Bridge. Next morning, I realized that I didn’t have my cell phone with me and with that I had lost all my contacts too. Thus, I was one of the last people to know about Tamanna’s death. I am not hiding anything. I swear, sir. I am nowhere involved in it. Moreover, she was drunk really badly and I think that had something to do with her death. She had even taken drugs. Before you ask me, I want to tell you that even I drank in moderation, but I did not go overboard like her. You can take my tests if you want. Please sir, believe me.’

‘Since when have you been working in Tamanna’s team?’ the officer asked.

‘Since the day I joined the company, sir. She never interacted much with anyone but always hinted that she liked me. Every time something weird happened between us, I would tell my best friend about it. The only mistake I did was the I hid the fact that I was in a relationship and committed to someone else. But I never had any bad intentions towards her.’

All through his question-answer session, Deep failed to notice the girl sitting on a chair behind him. She was listening to their conversation carefully.

‘So for how long have you been working in Galaxy House and why do you sign on your documents with an ‘A’ in the beginning? ’ questioned the officer turning the pages of the file containing Deep’s official documents. ‘Are you Aleesha?’ the policeman asked the woman sitting behind Deep. He asked the girl to come in front and sit next to Deep. Deep however didn’t turn his head since he wanted to get out of the mess as quickly as possible.

‘It’s been around eight months now. And yes, the ‘A’ in my signature is my first name. My friends and close ones, including my family members, call me by that name. My dad, who is no more in this world, kept my name. However, for official purposes, I prefer to use my middle name, Deep.’

Aleesha was texting someone on her phone while she made her way to the table when she heard the officer say, ‘So what’s your first name? And did Tamanna know about it?’

‘No sir. Tamanna did not know about it. I didn’t feel the need to tell her as we were friends and nothing more,’ he replied turning his head towards the girl who was about to take a seat. His heart stopped beating as he came face to face with Aleesha. The blood in his veins froze. How desperately he wanted to get out from there.

Aleesha saw him and seemed lost in thoughts.

How can this be possible? Why did he do this to me? Was Tamanna speaking the truth last night? Was that the reason why she called me up to tell me everything? How can he sexually assault Tammy di and why? Was I not good in bed? Did he ever love me?

‘Mr Deep, I asked you something,’ the officer reminded him.

‘Yes sir, ‘A’ stands for Akash,’ he stammered.

‘So I’m guessing your full name is Akashdeep—AKASH and DEEP?’

‘Yes sir,’ he somehow managed to say, stealing a glance at Aleesha, but her face was expressionless.

The feeling of being in love is so intense that it feels like it will last forever. Aleesha couldn’t believe that he didn’t feel the same way as she did. She couldn’t believe that this sacred relationship has been destroyed. She was sure that they understood and loved each other a lot. Now the feelings of betrayal and hurt had left her soul empty and deceieved.

‘Aleesha, do you know this guy?’ the officer asked.

She thought to herself, I think I should tell the truth to the cops. Should I tell them that Tammy di had called me up last night and had confessed that he had forced himself upon her? But I love him. How can I? No, I can’t. Or should I? Oh God, why me? Though he has made a fool out of me, I can’t do that to him. I can’t disrespect my love. I wish I did not love him so that I could punish him for all the pain he caused to Tammy Di. If I do the same thing as him, what’s the difference between my love and his betrayal? That’s it. I can’t.

‘No! I don’t know him,’ she said staring at him with tears rolling down her cheeks.

‘Ms Aleesha, tell me something—did this guy ever visit Tammy when you stayed with her or did she ever discuss him with you?’ the officer continued.

‘No. She never discussed her personal things with me, though I wish she had. She was an introvert and hence never shared anything with me. And nor did I. But she did treat me like a younger sister.’ Aleesha was trying to play safe while simultaneously answering all their questions to the best of her ability. Otherwise she knew she could land herself up in trouble.

‘How was her usual behaviour after consuming alcohol? I mean, did she ever get aggressive?’

‘Yes. Almost every time. Otherwise she would simply go off to sleep,’ Aleesha replied.

The officer told both of them that they were not permitted to move out from the city until the investigation went on and they had to be present whenever he called them. They both got up to leave. As they walked outside the police station separately, the feeling of betrayal overcame them.

Aleesha felt betrayed by Akash while he felt betrayed by his colleagues and Tamanna. He didn’t want Aleesha to know about everything like this. He wanted to explain to her that he was not wrong and seriously loved her. He had just told the truth to avoid Aleesha from being apprehensive about him going to office. He never wanted Tamanna to know about his relationship initially since he knew she had a huge crush on him, and he feared losing job. He was sure that if Aleesha came to know that Tamanna and he worked together, she wouldn’t be able to hide it from her. He had done everything for Aleesha. He was innocent and was afraid of losing her from the very first day they met. After all, he had loved someone so deeply after a very long time and wanted this relationship to last and culminate into marriage. He wanted it to last forever. But fate had some other plan from him.

Aleesha was hurt, not just because Akash had lied to her, but because she believed that he had shattered her trust by being sexually attracted towards Tammy and forcing her to make out with him. After they had covered a fairly long distance from the police station, Akash turned to her with pleading eyes, only to be told, ‘How could you play with me like this? Why would you not tell me the truth? If it was over, you should have set me free. How could you force yourself on Tammy di, play with her feelings, and drag me along when you knew you were completely wrong! I believed you and never thought you would lie or leave me like this but now I know you were playing cheap games with Tammy di as well as me. I thought I could never hate you but I was wrong. You know what I really can’t believe—the mere fact that I believed you.’

Akash stood there numbly, with tears rolling down. He just stared at Aleesha who walked away from him, got into a bus, and left. She didn’t even wait for a clarification from him.

He felt it was all over. Once the trust has been broken, it’s broken. It may grow back a bit, but it’ll never be the same as before. This end was not the way he wanted it, but he was helpless.