Page 156 of The Circle of Exile
“Last-minute addition.”
They had deliberately kept this piece of information off the communication. Things you prepped to ask a loner and things you asked him in his lawyer’s presence were two different plans. Of course, it would not deter the hard questions, nor follow-up investigation summons. But Atharva wanted to lead through the first session, create a record that would be diverted away from things he wanted to keep hidden. That control would come to him only if he wrested it from the get-go.
The doors opened for him. He walked through.
It was a standard official room. He had been inside one while discharging from the SFF 15 years ago. That procedure had been long and gruesome, sped up only marginally due to internal factors, including his superior’s mess-up. Plus, Zorji’s counsel.
This hearing room was a little more spacious. There were more windows here, stained glass ones patent to Srinagar. Bottled water. A single long table.
Dust motes floated in the sunlight. At the head of the room sat five of his interrogators. Retired Justice Nalini Thakur, one intelligence officer and an NIA representative to her left, a RAW representative named Ashfaq Khan to her right, along with Lieutenant General Sharma of the Gorkha Regiment. He sat in his civilian clothes, as did the entire panel.
“Chief Minister Kaul,” Justice Thakur nodded, her glasses perched atop her nose with a silver chain running around her neck. It matched the silver in her hair.
“Justice Thakur,” Atharva nodded. “Thank you for doing this in Srinagar.”
“You wouldn’t come to Delhi.”
“I didn’t refuse to come to Delhi, I only asked for an extension since we have the summer session commencing here this week.”
“Take a seat. Who is this?” She asked, her eyes widening at the sight of Zorji. Atharva saw the spark of recognition, as well as awe. But she kept her features schooled.
“This is my lawyer, Advocate Zoravar Rasool.”
“Please take a seat, sir,” she droned, nodding, her eyelids remaining lowered a second longer in respect. Zorji might not have seen the inside of a courtroom in more than a decade, but his name and influence had outlived his practise.
Justice Thakur opened the hearing with a nod.“Chief Minister Kaul, we will speak on record. You may respond as you wish. This is a sealed chamber for now.”
Atharva nodded.
“If you have anything to say off the record, this is the time.”
“I have nothing to say off the record.”
He pulled the chair out from in front of his long table after Zorji was brought one.
Atharva lowered himself on the seat, pulling his mobile out and laying it on the table. He began to toggle the silent button when the screen lit up.
IRAM
Chin up, soldier osdhwepwiepwheifbefj
He held his smile back amidst this tense moment. Yathaarth had developed a new habit of banging on any phone screen that was unlocked in his vicinity. Atharva didn’t glance at the cameras mounted conspicuously in the corners. He clicked the phone to silent.
“You are on record now. Chief Minister Kaul,” Justice Thakur started. “October 27th, 2016. Were you invited to Nagar Jami Masjid by Chief Minister Dilshad Khan of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir?”
“Yes.”
The room was silent. But now, it turned eerie. He had taken their follow-up questionnaire and made it redundant. No cross-questioning about the leaked memo, no questions on the timing of his landing, check-in, meeting with Dilshad Khan. Moreover, no questions about his sightseeing tour before they reached the mosque.
“Did you agree to visit the mosque?”
“At first, no.”
“That means later you did.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you agree? It wasn’t on the list of cleared places for you on the pre-approved itinerary.”
