THE OTHER SON OF GANGES: PART 10

10. OF POWER, TRUTH AND WHO…

Tomorrow, Bhanupratap, would become- Bhai… (PART 9)

“… A Pandit turning us all into this… this…”, shouted Vishwa in rage.

“.. I know. I trained him…” , said Sinha.

“Why don’t you do something about him…? Like arrest him…”, said Vishwa.

“Arrest him? What did he do? I mean- who is he”? said Sinha. He was troubled and confused.

“What do you mean- who is he? Don’t you know him? You brought him to us… remember…”? said Vishwa. He was looking at Sinha in disbelief. He could not imagine the events that had been happening for the past four months. A Pandit, was running the whole show. Bhai had chosen a Pandit to lead them all. Vishwa had lost Bhai’s trust. And he did not know how that happened. He was frustrated.

“I don’t know him. And now- even if I ask him, he says his name is Bhanupratap. What am I to do…”? said Sinha.

“Kill him”, said Vishwa.

The Pandit was not an easy man. He was not Bhai. But sometimes, everyone thought he was better than Bhai. Bhai now rode the car that the Pandit drove. The Pandit had out-grown the Teacher, himself.

“Kill him? That’s not easy…”, said Sinha.

“Who said it is? I’ve heard of a tale long back. There are two boys and a man. The boys fought and the man tried to make peace among them. But the boys did not want to make peace. So they solved it in a different way…”, said Vishwa.

“Where are you getting at”? asked Sinha.

When Bhai spoke to them that day- he said it was all with the Pandit now. Whatever he said- they would do. If the Pandit says- ‘Quit’- they all quit. If he says- ‘Kill’- they do that. And suddenly, there was blood. The Pandit’s hands and face was drenched in blood. There was confusion and commotion. It was Sinha who saw it first. Bhai lay there in a pool of blood. Near him was the Pandit, unsure of what happened. Someone in the crowd shouted- “Pandit killed Bhai”!
“How can I kill myself”? asked the Pandit.

“What do you mean? We all were there…”, said Sinha.

“Yes. I did not kill anyone. And you cannot arrest me for killing Bhai- for I am Bhai. Remember”? said Pandit.

“Bhai..? You? No one would believe that”! said Sinha- he was laughing. “I created you. This is where we first met. See this place- the prison? You were a nobody…”, said Sinha.

“Yes. I still am. And your prison records have my details listed under Bhai’s name…”, said the Pandit, smiling.

Sinha stood there looking at the Pandit. He did not know what to do. But the Pandit had it all planned. He wanted it all to end. Sinha was his solution. This was where- power would be made to meet the truth.

The police force was now in search of the whereabouts of Bhai. No one seemed to know where he was. But his gang was captured and sent to prison. A tip-off from a reliable ‘source’, earned Sinha glories, he had never imagined to receive in his entire career! But no one seemed to know of Bhai. And no one seemed to know the identity of a mysterious blood covered body, either…

He was wet.

(..To be continued., Part 11: “The Other Son of Ganges”…)