The next day...
6:00 a.m.
"Dad...Please save Kalpana...I tried
searching Priya everywhere but couldn't find her. She's neither in her house
nor has she visited the NGO again. If she doesn't come to the court today,
Kalpana will not get bail and she will have to stay in jail for another month.
I don't want that to happen dad...Please do something." Raghav pleads over
the phone.
"I'm coming to Mumbai Raghav. I've spoken to
the lawyer and I'll set things right. Don't panic now and believe in God.
Nothing will happen to Kalpana." Vikram assures Raghav and cuts the call
before boarding the flight.
11:00 a.m.
Kalpana gets down from the police van and watches
Raghav running towards her. The constables prevent him from hugging her and she
looks at him with tears filled in her eyes. He asks them for a minute and talks
to her about the case. "I am scared Raghav. I feel that I'm getting
punished for all the wrong things I've done in my life." She starts
weeping and Raghav wipes her tears saying "Nothing's going to happen to
you. Just few hours more and then everything will be fine. You'll be at home.
Trust me." He says with confidence and she smiles. Kasturi and Rajeev try
to console Kalpana as she walks upstairs towards the courtroom while they keep
waiting outside for Vikram.
12:00 p.m.
The hearing starts and the public prosecutor
presents the finger print report and the killer weapon before the judge while
the defense lawyer tries to negate the evidences saying that they are
circumstantial evidences and nothing can be proved by just presenting the
killer weapon as Priya who is a prime witness in this case is still missing.
The public prosecutor argues saying that may be Priya was also attacked by
Kalpana and hence she fear her life is in danger.
Kalpana looks at Raghav who has still not entered
the court room and Kasturi keeps signalling Kalpana to be calm. Kalpana is made
to answer many questions asked by the public prosecutor which are twisted and
confusing and Kalpana being nervous from the start answers them truthfully
making her case go weaker.
Raghav keeps waiting for Vikram and gets nervous
as his lawyer has no evidence to prove Kalpana as innocent. Vikram calls Raghav
and tells him to wait for him as he is reaching the court in 45 minutes.
After half an hour, the court takes a break for
lunch and Raghav assures Kalpana that his dad told him to wait till he arrives.
He makes her feel positive.
The court hearing starts and Kalpana keeps
staring at Raghav who smiles and makes her feel that things would be fine soon.
After 10 minutes, Raghav notices his dad's car
and he rushes down to meet his dad. Vikram gets down and hugs Raghav saying
"Everything will be fine now. I've found Priya and she's with me
here." Priya gets down from the other side and looks apologetically at
Raghav.
"When I arrived at the Mumbai Airport, I got
a call from the detective whom I had paid to track Priya. He told me she is
near a temple in Andheri and I went there and found her sitting silently on the
steps. When I went next to her, she got scared and started weeping and refused
to come with me but when I told her that Kalpana has been arrested for her
crime, she agreed to come with me."
******************
The defense lawyer keeps defending Kalpana and
keeps saying that there was no valid reason for Kalpana to kill Ramesh and
hence the evidences don't prove anything against his client. As he continues
saying this, Priya walks in and raises her hand asking permission to come in
the witness box and give her statement.
Priya stands in the box and says loudly "I
killed my father." On hearing this, the people in the court remain stunned
to hear Priya's confession and the judges tries to silence them by saying
"Order order." He turns towards Priya and asks her to continue.
Priya looks at Kalpana and says "Mam hasn't
committed any crime. I killed Ramesh. I stabbed him."
The public prosecutor approaches her and asks
politely "Are you saying this because Kalpana or her family have
threatened you?" Priya nods her head in a refusal and the lawyer asks
"Why? Why did you kill your father?"
Priya looks up and turns to face Raghav who was
standing quietly in a corner watching her. She then looks at Kasturi and Rajeev
and feels guilty as she has hurt all of them who had looked after her and fed
her when she was small. Raghav who had given her a shelter when she was in
need, Kasturi and Rajeev who gave her toys and clothes and treated her as they
treated Kalpana.
Priya takes a deep breath and says
"Because...Because that man wanted to kill me that day."
"He wanted to kill you?" The public
prosecutor asks and the judge says "Please be clear Miss. Priya."
"He wanted to kill me as...as I am carrying
his child." She breaks down and Kalpana and Raghav get a shock on hearing
her confession.
Priya continues saying "He was my step
father. I was only 5 years when my mom remarried after my dad's death. When I
was 7-8 years old, he started working with the Kapoors and I used to go to
school while my mom used to work in other houses and stitch clothes. One day while cooking food, my mom and
Ramesh started fighting for money and in anger, Ramesh took the hot oil from
the gas and poured it on her. She died." Priya falls down while
remembering that moment and the police constable gives her a chair and a glass
of water.
After few moments, she composes herself and says
"From that day, I hated that man as he killed my mom. He stopped working
with the Kapoors and we were starving at home. It was one day when Rajeev sir
came to our house and offered us to start working again and that time even I
accompanied Ramesh to earn money. As time passed by and I grew up as a girl,
Ramesh started beating and molesting me. I used to keep crying but I couldn't
understand what he was doing. Kasturi mam tried to help me but I couldn't tell
her anything. With the result, he kept on misbehaving with me and I kept
tolerating him thinking he is my father and he needs me to take care of him but
as a child, I also wanted love from someone and when I used to watch Kalpana
mam getting love from her parents and having a friend like Raghav sir, I used
to feel jealous. I don't know when I started feeling for Raghav sir but I knew
that I am just a maid and not as beautiful and rich as Kalpana mam. When
Kalpana mam and Raghav sir got married, I came back to reality and accepted my
fate. It was 2 months later when I got to know about my pregnancy and Ramesh
started panicking thinking he'll fall in trouble if anyone got to know about
it. He started beating me everyday and one day I just eloped from there thinking
he might kill my child. I did not want my child to die as my child was my only
hope for me to live. I reached the NGO and there Raghav sir brought me to his
house."
She continues with a heavy heart "Last
night, Ramesh entered my room from the
window and he had a knife in his hand. On hearing some noise, I woke up and
wanted to scream but he caught my mouth tight and he whispered in my ears that
he wants to kill me. When he was about to stab me, I caught the knife and
pushed him. I did not realize when I stabbed him and he fell down. That moment
someone entered the room and I screamed and threw the knife on the floor. Thinking
abut what had happened, I just left the house and hid in the temple so that
nobody harms me and my child. I did not know that Kalpana mam would be arrested
for my crime and I could never let this happen and hence I am come here to
surrender myself."
***********************
The judge makes a note of the confession and the
court remains silent for few moments. Kalpana keeps crying feeling guilty of
all those taunts and curses she had given Priya as she was unaware of her
misery. Raghav too feels saddened to hear a father raping his own daughter.
The court passes the judgement of releasing Priya
and Kalpana from the crime. Kalpana being proved innocent and Priya being a
victim herself and the crime being an act of self defense, the case gets
closed.
6 months pass by...
Priya gives birth to a baby girl. Kalpana and
Raghav gift the child a gold chain and Kasturi carries the baby in her hands
saying "My grand daughter. I'll keep her name Prachi which means "A
morning" and she's the new morning to her mom and I wish you and you
little kid all the happiness and love."
Priya smiles and says "Thanks mam. After
what I've done, you have given me so much love. I am so touched."
Kasturi scolds her and says "It's mom, not
mam. And what I have done for you is because I love you. You're just like my
Kalpana and this child is my grand child, my Prachi."
Kalpana hugs her and says "Mom is right. Now
you're like my little sister and it's me who should thank you. After hearing
about your truth, I realized my mistakes and my love for Raghav. I was so
obsessive about him that I started hating you for no reason. It was not you who
came in between us but it was my insecurity that made me doubt him."
Raghav hugs her and says "You're wrong Kalpi. It was both of us who kept
hurting each other knowingly and unknowingly. But now bygones and bygones and I
want us to always remain happy and keep loving each other this way." He
kisses her on the forehead and Rajeev teases them saying
"Ahem...Ahem...This is not the right place kids."
Kalpana feels embarrassed and moves him behind.
She looks at Priya and smiles saying "I pray that we always remain happy
like this."
Raghav blushes and says "I'm very happy as now I got a SIL now." Kalpana hits him on the shoulder and they all start laughing. Vikram takes a family pic and all pose to capture the moment.
Disclaimer: The character names in the story are fictional characters and owned by the creators of the show "Ek Mutthi Asmaan" on ZEE TV.
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