Page 160 of The Circle of Exile
“My suggestion would be to make your defence at this point, son,” Lieutenant General Sharma cued him again. “You may not get another chance.”
Atharva glanced at Zorji. No expression. No nod. No shake of his eyes.
Give it to them straight.
“As a soldier of the Special Frontier Forces, I am trained to take quick, informed decisions that have the least liability for my country. Sometimes in the middle of battlefield. Sometimes at the moment marking the end of a mission. I was caught in a place on the 27th of October 2016 where I had to call upon that training to not only save myself and my aides but also save what could potentially turn into a war.”
“It can still turn into a war once the final report of this SIT is released.” Lieutenant General Sharma pointed. “An attack on a sitting CM is still an act of war, even if revealed a year later."
“Then that is a responsibility you shoulder with me, sir,” Atharva nodded at them all. He felt the proud intake of breath from beside him.
“If that is all, I will bring this hearing to an end,” Justice Thakur got to her feet. Atharva pushed his chair back and stood. “Thank you for answering our questions, Chief Minister Kaul.”
Atharva nodded. He picked up his phone, looked at Zorji, and began to stride to the door. It opened and heavy sunlight hit his eyes. How long had he been inside here? He checked his phone screen and it was 3 pm. That had lasted 9 hours?
His phone had blown up with messages and emails and calls as usual when it went unattended for this long. His thumb pressed down on the only one that mattered.
IRAM
New word unlocked
……..
Atharva hit play on the voice note.
“Thava… Babaababa thava… Who is Atharva? Babaaaa… Who is Baba, Arth?… Thava!”
Atharva blinked, turned to the gate. His security, Altaf, Zafarji, all fell around him. He had mapped all exits, but the main one was open for him, the tricolour flying high over it.
“Traitor! Traitor! What are you hiding?!”
“CM Kaul — RESIGN! CM Kaul — RESIGN!”
He took one step, then another, then another, and strode out with his head held high.
30. Confidential: Preliminary Investigating Report…
Confidential: Preliminary Investigating Report
Submitted to:Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
By:Special Investigation Team (SIT) – Kashmir Dossier
Subject:Inquiry into Unreported Incident Involving CM Atharva Singh Kaul during PoK Visit (27th October, 2016)
Date:27th May, 2017
Overview:
This preliminary report presents early findings of the SIT constituted to investigate allegations of an unreported security incident involving Chief Minister Atharva Singh Kaul during his official visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on 27th October 2016.
The SIT has conducted closed-door interrogations, reviewed travel logs, security briefs, and intelligence intercepts from both Indian and foreign sources. Certain ambiguities persist and require deeper validation.
*** END OF REPORT ***
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“The Kashmir Dossier SIT preliminary report has been partly published. And it does not specify if the CM went to Nagar Jami Masjid or not. How can an in-depth investigation and the CM’s hearing not conclude one way or another? What are they hiding?”
