Chaitanya: Chapter 1

Note: This story is inspired from multiples of true-life incidents. The events are explained in chronological type of narration, to avoid complications while writing the story. There’s no second chapter for this story planned, meanwhile.

5 OCTOBER 2021:

CHENNAI:

12:15 AM:

When a man is denied the right to live he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw. Don’t compromise yourself- you’re all you have. Once I pulled a job, I was so stupid. Today the Central agencies and the elite Q branch of the Tamilnadu police are on high alert after the National Investigation Agency used the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against three people in a fake passport case which was registered in the state in 2 October 2021 by the Q branch.

The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes. All men make mistakes, but a good man yields. When he knows his course is wrong and repairs the evil, the only crime is pride. There is not a crime, there is not a dodge. There is not a trick, there is not a swindle. There is not a vice which does not live by secrecy. Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.

For the powerful, crimes are those that others commit. Until a man is 25, he still thinks every so often. When I became a police officer and takes over the Anti-nationals of the society, what happens to my life? When my love interest Amulya was brutally killed by the Anti-social elements and I swore myself to revenge, what happens next? Before going into this, let me tell about my life as a police officer to you all.

THREE YEARS BACK:

JULY 2018:

A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good. Each should have it’s own reward. Good- Illegal is always faster. Some people steal to stay alive. And some steal to feel alive. Simple as that. There are crimes of passion and crimes of logic. The boundary between them is not clearly defined. However, my vision as a stern and tough police officer was very clear: “Criminals should be punished, not fed pastries.”

My name is Chaitanya. Chaitanya have lots of meaning- awareness, consciousness, Conscious Self, Intelligence and Pure Consciousness. But for me, it means: Pure Consciousness. When I was just 6 years old, my parents were killed in the 2008 Mumbai Bomb Blasts as we were in the Leopald Café, where the first attack undergone. Along with me comes, Sai Adhithya. He too hails from Tamilnadu, but grown up in Mumbai with his parents, whose father was an Indian Naval officer at Mumbai.

Both of us lost our parents at a very young age. Yet, we were meaner and stronger. Since then, I hated terrorists. Terrorism has no nationality or religion. Any terrorism is an attack on liberation values. Terrorism has become the systematic weapon of a war that knows no borders or seldom has a face. For us inspirations were- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam sir and several other revolutionists like- Subash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi.

We may encounter many defeats. But, we must not be defeated. This was said by my friend Sai Adhithya. Joining in Pune Orphanage trust, we completed our academics and later, moved on to complete Sociology and a post-graduation in Political Science. Insisted to become an IPS officer, we took up UPSC examinations and secured top ranks. We were sent to Dehradun for tough trainings. A police force, wherever they are, is made up of amazing people, and I respect them a great deal.

After tougher trainings, I and Sai Adhithya were given with a badge and a gun. Behind my badge is a heart like yours, I bleed. I think, I love and yes, I can be killed. When joining the police force, we took the pledge: “We are dedicated public servants, sworn to protect public safety at any time.” The first posting was put in Hyderabad during 2018.

Hyderabad was the capital place of Telangana. Here more than gangsters, religious riots is more common. Within a few days of our transfer, things took a drastic turn. A religious flag was allegedly burnt. The result was ghastly. Two communities clashed, stones were pelted, shots were fired, houses were burnt and lives were lost. The riots, triggered by the burning of the Nisha Sahenb (Sikh religious flag), escalated into a major clash between the members of Sikh Chavani and the Muslims. The two groups have always had little waves of trouble every now and then, but this was a first major incident where, three people lost their lives and over 50 injured.

The riots were finally halted as we imposed a curfew with the permission of Telangana Government and DGP. However, problems did not end there. Following the riots, I ordered Rajendranagar police to nip the problem in the bud through Sai Adhithya. As a result, many arrests from both communities were made. But, our reports shockingly stated that security forces, including the Border Security force had not done enough.

As a result of the constant checking and search operations by our police team, normal life in the area has taken a big hit. The case that I and Adhithya dealt with is no different with those from the other community. The riots were a really bad thing that happened. Several people from the Hyderabad and Kishanbagh locality accused us for regular checking. A society that war against the police better learn to make peace with it’s criminals. Law enforcement officers are never off-duty. They are dedicated public servants, who are sworn to protect public safety at any time and place that the peace is threatened.

JANUARY 2019 TO APRIL 2019:

Sai Adhithya used to tell me: “Buddy. A true police officer fights not because he hates what’s in front of him. But because he loves who stands behind him. The duties of an officer are the safety, honor and welfare of your country first. The honor, welfare and comfort of the men in your command second. And the officer’s own ease, comfort and safety last.” It’s almost like a everyday slogan, that we take everyday in our house.

Fed up with our honesty and dedication, police department had transferred us to Chennai under Crime Branch after two years. Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do, violence on their behalf. A police force wherever they are, is made up of amazing people and I respect them a great deal.

CHOZHAVARAM:

The moment when I was transferred to Chennai, the first thing that I did was to meet my love interest Amulya, a girl who grown up with me in the orphanage. She completed her studies in Symbiosis College of Pune and had been preparing for UPSC examinations. Since college days, I and Amulya loved sincerely and our engagement is to be taking place after three months as per her wishes. As there were only petty cases to be dealt and Sai Adhithya was there to take care of the criminal cases pending, I took personal time to spend with Amulya by taking her to Mamallapuram Palace, Marina Beach and several other famous places in Chennai. Everything was going fine until she went missing one day, when I was busy studying about an important case detail, related to recent Drug trading in North Chennai. For three days, without having any water, I and Sai Adhithya searched her all over with the help of our police team. She was found nowhere. After three days, I got a phone from someone near Marina Beach that: “A dead body of some girl has been floating from the sea waves.” I was utterly shocked and rushed there to find my dead Amulya.

Going near to her, I recalled the moment, where I hugged her and told: “Ammu. I love you begins by I, but it ends up by you.”

Ammu smiled at me and said: “I love you with every beat of my heart da, Chaitu.” Now, no more time to smile. Everything had came to an end. My precious soul had left me. What else next? Hearing the advice of my friend Sai Adhithya.

After the cremation of Amulya, I and Sai Adhithya were sitting dejected. While, our police department’s senior officer DCP George Prabhakaran closed the case of Amulya as a suicide, after getting her post-mortem reports, which suggests no sign of murder or forcing, due to the absence of blood traces and injuries, in her body.

Nearby a tree in our house, I poured alcohol in my glass and mixed soda into it. As I tried to sip it, Adhithya stopped me and said: “Smoking and Alcohol is injurious to health da Chaitu. Don’t do it.”

With tears, I refused his words and drunk heavily the night. I lost my stability and was unable to walk too. Adhithya holds me and made me sleep in the bed. When lying flat in the bed, I asked Adhithya: “Buddy. Do you remember Neha?”

“Which Neha da?” asked Adhithya to which, Chaitanya said: “Your love interest Neha da. You loved her during our college days right!”

Adhithya stood up once remembering her off. He said: “Yes da. I loved her one-sided. She lost her mother when she was in 8th grade. Hearing this, I sympathized for her and slowly became friend. Later, falling in love. When she learned my desire for joining IPS, she breaks up and went on. I too moved on.”

“But, you said me one thing during the final year, as you broke your relationship with her. Do you remember?”

Adhithya recalled and replied: “Very well. I said, suffering is painful which you will realize when you lose someone, whom you loved more.” Tapping his shoulders, I got up from my bed and said in a bewildered voice tone: “Yes, yes. Suffering. I lost Ammu and now, I realize how much you are suffering after the breakup.”

Upon hearing this, Adhithya takes the 7 up bottle and drinks the soda completely. We slept in the bed and the next day, woke up after getting a call from George sir. As we went to his office, he had a surprise in store for us.

“Sir!” I and Sai Adhithya saluted him.

“Take a seat guys!” George said, showcasing his hands to us. Obeying his words, we sat in the chair. Turning some papers, George looked here and there. After five minutes, he opened up the exact reason, to which he have called us for: “Adhithya and Chaitanya. This is probably, an important news for us by our DGP sir.” As we looked at him, he continued saying: “The NIA conducted a search at the residence of a man in Tamil Nadu for his alleged association with a terrorist gang which conspired, collected funds and made preparations to carry out terror attacks in India, the agency said on this Saturday. Diwan Mujipeer, a resident of Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district, was associated with the activities of terrorist gang Ansarulla. Three mobile phones, four SIM cards and one memory card, besides a number of incriminating documents, have been seized by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).”

“Sir. What about the seized materials?” As Adhithya asked, George replied: “The seized material would be submitted to the Special Court and subjected to forensic examination.” The Tamil Nadu Ansarulla case was registered on July 9 this year against 16 accused from Tamil Nadu, besides their associates under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The accused, while being in India and the UAE, had conspired and conducted consequent preparations to wage war against the government of India by forming the terrorist gang Ansarulla, the officials said. The accused and their associates had also collected funds as part of preparations to carry out terror attacks in India with the intention of establishing Islamic rule in the country, they said. Sixteen accused were arrested in the case during July this year and searches were conducted at four locations on July 13 and at 14 locations in Tamil Nadu on July 20.

“What we have to do now sir?” asked Sai Adhithya to which George replied: “DGP asked me to investigate about this case more serious, due to some strong suspicions. Hence, I assign you both to investigate deeper about this case.” I and Adhithya agreed and saluted him. While going, George called me and said: “Sorry Chaitanya. I was unable to give condolences for your fiancée Amulya’s death. I deeply regret. But, move on in your life man. Don’t be stuck.”

As I and Adhithya took up this case, everything changed in our life. We had no time for chatter, no time to relax and no time to have our regular food. But, these all are common in our police life. I already had some doubts related to Amulya’s death. Since, she is a girl, with strong will power. Henceforth, never commits suicide for silly reasons.

Without the knowledge of our police department, I and Sai Adhithya went inside the house of Amulya hoping that, we can get some important clues and information regarding her death. As we searched everywhere around the house, Adhithya alerted me by shouting: “Buddy.”

I rushed to the place, from where he called me.

“Yeah da. Did you get any clues?”

Looking at me, he said: “Note this one. This bureau have a safety locker. Also, the image resembles a whale da.” As he said this, I tried to open the safety locker after opening it with the key, which we managed to take. Following this, I somehow managed to open the locker. In the locker, the things that we found were really shocking. The first one I found was: Ammu diaries, The second one was: Her passport and Visa and the Third one was her ID card: In a fake name- Maria Fernanda. Opening up the Ammu diaries, I was in tears after completing it. In the diaries she have posted her regrets saying: “Sorry Chaitu. As per our rules, I shouldn’t open up the profession details. That’s why I didn’t tell anything to you. I was an undercover agent, working for our National Investigation Agency. I never know when or where will I die. Like you, I am dedicated and sincere in my work. Sorry for not informing you.” Further, Adhithya finds out that, it was Amulya, who had informed the NIA agency about the Ansarulla gang to NIA department, due to which they raided them.

The diary was partial yet, the two guys confirm her death to be a murder. They takes a photo of it in their phones and replace everything as such in the house. After coming out, Adhithya asked: “Hmm. What next da?”

Looking at him, I said: “To hunt!”

“Hunt? I doesn’t get what you say da.”

“We should hunt the mastermind behind Amulya’s death to know what exactly happened!” Adhithya nods his head but asked me: “It’s all ok. But, how are we going to trace this?”

Showcasing Ammu’s fake ID card and the passport, in which she had the same fake name, I said: “I am going to Sri Lanka in order to investigate about this case.”

Adhithya panicked and said: “Too risky da. I say, it’s too much risky. If you are caught, you could never come out of that place. Understand that!”

“Leave it besides da. Will you help me in this regard? Say that first.” Adhithya thinks for a while and took me to the DCP office, where George was initially apprehensive of this mission. However, I said this: “Sir. Before several years, there were two people, who marched towards our country. One was Mahmud of Ghazni. Another one is Muhammad Ghori. Ghazni marched for 17 times and was defeated. The 18th time when he won, he killed many of our Hindus and looted our precious Somanath Temple’s wealth. Then came, Muhammad of Ghor. He was initially defeated by Prithviraj Chauhan. But, after winning the battle, he just then killed him as well as destroyed the Hindu temples mercilessly. Still, 10% of those people remain in our country and are doing illegal activities, that harm our nation and religious harmony. Rest is your decision sir!”

George thinks a while and said: “Ok. I will grant you the permission Chaitanya. However, not officially. Unofficial permission this is. Because, there are many political issues in regards to this. And you should not even reveal your identity in that country as an Undercover cop.”

As an undercover officer, I went for Srilanka, where I met another Indian women named Kaviya, a girl from Chennai, who have came for tour. She is a Neurologist working in the hospitals of Chennai. A journey with her was funny as well as memorable. Some of Ammu’s memories came in my mind when I was going with her everywhere.

When going to the place of Tamil Sri Lankans, I and Kaviya found out a mass grave with skeletal remains of around 151 people been found in Sri Lanka's former war zone where the government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels were engaged in a 30-year civil war. At least 14 of the skeletal remains found in the north-eastern district of Mannar were of children. Kaviya informed the Sri Lankan police and government, who rushed up to the place.

The digging work at the old cooperative store site in Mannar was conducted to establish if it was a mass burial site. The construction workers had found remains when the ground was dug to build a new construction. Mannar was occupied by the LTTE during Sri Lanka's civil war between 1983 and 2009. International rights groups have said that at least 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by government forces under the command of former president Mahinda Rajapakse in the final months of the war.

Since the end of the military battles, Sri Lanka has faced international accusations of rights abuses by its troops. I got to know several things here: The remains have been kept in a special room of the Mannar magistrate court and will be sent for carbon testing. Amidst international complaints of large numbers of missing in Sri Lanka's conflicts since the 1980, the office of missing persons was set up this year. Various probes set up from time to time since the 1990s have found that nearly 25,000 people are missing as a result of the armed conflicts.

21 APRIL 2019:

Kaviya and I became close friends within few days during the journey. She took me for attending Easter Sunday services, which she mentions as a precious one in the country. We were doing prayers at Zion Church, Batticaloa around 8:30 AM. Around 9:05 AM, when we were all to come out from the church, sudden bomb blasts sounds and shootings were heard. Alerting myself, I turned to Kaviya, who was about to be killed by someone. As I already bought a secret license gun, I shot the terrorist dead and said to Kaviya: “Kaviya. Run…” I also ran along with her.

We somehow reached to the safer sides of Colombo, only to find out that The Catholic Shrine of St. Anthony in Kotahena, Colombo, was the first to be hit, followed by the Catholic Church of St. Sebastian in Negombo. Sri Lankan news media initially reported at least 93 people killed at St. Sebastian's. In October 2019, a total of 115 people had died in the St. Sebastian's bombing, including 27 children. The Zion Church in Batticaloa, a Protestant congregation, was also bombed. At least 30 killed in Batticaloa, with 9 of these reported by a police official to be tourists. A hospital official in the region said that more than 300 people had been admitted following the explosion. The suicide bomber had attempted to enter the church under the guise of filming it, but was denied access because of the on going service. Instead, he detonated his bomb in the churchyard, killing many children from the attached Sunday school who were taking a break.

After some days, I decided to investigate about the fake ID used by Amulya to the lady, whom I saw in the passport. However, I was shocked to know that, she died in the Easter Bombings and her name was Alice Sebastian. The events puzzled me a lot and I came back to India. Kaviya got to learn about my true profession as a cop, very sooner, yet loved me to the core.

However, I paid no heed to her words and considered her as my friend. She henceforth decides to wait for sometime having spoke with her father, who is a renowned dentist in Chennai. I, George and Sai Adhithya were waiting for a right point of time to get the lead about this case, which had come true.

The NIA has arrested a Sri Lankan national and former member of the LTTE's intelligence wing for his alleged involvement in arms and drug trafficking from Pakistan to Sri Lanka, and utilising the proceeds for furthering and supporting the revival of the Tamil separatist group in the island nation, an official said on Wednesday.

With his help and NIA agents, I got to learn his name as Sabesan. He is currently residing at Valasaravakkam, Chennai. He was arrested for his involvement in Arms and Drug trafficking from Pakistan to SriLanka, and utilizing the proceeds for furthering and supporting the revival of LTTE.

The case was registered by May 2020 under sections of the Arms Act against six Sri Lankan nationals based on the complaint of the Narcotics Control Bureau that five AK 47 rifles and thousand rounds of 9mm ammunition were seized along with 300 kg of heroin off Minicoy coast upon interception of the fishing vessel Ravihansi by the Coast Guard in March.

Sabesan had arranged conspiracy meetings of sympathizers of LTTE in India and played a crucial role in routing the proceeds of drugs trafficking to former LTTE cadres in Sri Lanka for the revival of LTTE, the NIA official said who too have booked the case against him, adding that further investigation in the case continues.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ran a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation for nearly 30 years before its collapse in 2009 after the Sri Lankan Army killed its supreme leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

With the same NIA agent’s help, I learned about the death of Amulya through Sabesan. Amulya had got to know about students, working for the banned terrorist organizations through her part-time investigations during her college days. After becoming NIA agent, she dug deep into this and got to know that, Tamilnadu ruling party are supporting minorities and banned terrorist organizations for their own benefits. As she additionally collected several details regards to this as an undercover officer and informed about the terrorist group of Tirunelveli, Sabesan’s men investigated about her and kidnapped her.

A few days after, they strangled her to death when she attacked them brutally and murdered three of Sabesan’s henchman. Sabesan pushed her dead body into the Bay of Bengal. Unable to control my anger, I brutally murdered Sabesan and closed the case as “Encounter- out of self-defense.”

ONE YEAR LATER:

One year later, The NIA registered the case after intelligence inputs regarding former members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) trying to raise funds to support the activities of the now-defunct movement in Tamil Nadu.

After finishing this case, I accepted the love of Kaviya and moved on in my life, being insisted by Adhithya, who reconciled with Neha. They get married. While, Kaviya's family wanted to talk with me to which I agreed and met them in the house. As they asked me to tell about myself, I said them about my life and career as a police officer.

PRESENT:

Kaviya's father was terribly shocked upon hearing these. As I assured him for the protection of Kaviya and her safety, he agrees for my marriage with her although reluctant at first to get her married to me.

When spending some qualitative time with Kaviya, she asked me: "Chaitanya. Did you arrest anyone further related to this case?"

Looking at her I said: "Indeed yes Kaviya. A few former operatives of the banned terror outfit based out of Europe were trying to withdraw the unutilized funds of the LTTE from several accounts in India. The 'Q' branch had arrested a woman Mary Francisco aged 51, who is a Sri Lankan national settled in Canada and who was used by the LTTE operatives from Denmark and Switzerland to withdraw the money from a Mumbai based bank using fake identities. The police team along with George had arrested her after a tip-off from central intelligence agencies with a fake Indian passport at Chennai airport."

However, the information's that I had disclosed to Kaviya is partial. We had collected evidence against our Tamilnadu politicians and Chief Minister, connected to these banned terrorist organizations and submit it to the Central Government so that they would handle this issue. Our DGP, who was frustrated for so long time because of the corruption in the administration have agreed to this. We also arrested a Sri Lankan national from Tiruchi airport and another person from Madurai airport and on questioning they tried to pass it off as just fake passport cases. However, acting on tip offs from the central agencies, the NIA took over the case in January 2022 and registered a case under the UAPA against the offenders as they were specifically deployed to withdraw unutilized funds of the LTTE and to try and revive the movement in Tamil Nadu.

Several organizations with a Tamil identity including NGOs were under the watch of the central agencies after they tried to conduct webinars and public programes against the Chinese investments in Sri Lanka. Sources in the central agencies told IANS that these organizations could possibly provide a cover to get ground support for Tamil nationalism in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu at the expense of the Chinese expansion. The construction of a new port at Hambantotta in Sri Lanka with Chinese funding was becoming a matter of concern for Indian agencies.

Mary Francisco had told the intelligence agencies that she was staying at Anna Nagar since the past two years and had obtained a PAN card, Aadhar card, Voter Identity Card and Indian passport with the help of a few agents. She told the interrogators that crores of rupees in unutilized funds were lying in several banks. The modus operandi was to withdraw these funds using people like her with fake identities and to transfer this money to other accounts in India and abroad under the cover of some shell companies.

FEW DAYS BEFORE:

After this I visited NIA to get more information, related to this case. The intelligence agencies told IANS that the woman and two of her associates had tried to activate the mobile number linked to an account with a nationalized bank in Fort Branch, Mumbai. However the central intelligence agencies were tracking her movements and she was arrested.

The Tamil Nadu 'Q' branch police had said to us that Satkunam had a close relationship with the Sri Lankan don, Ankola Lokka who died in Coimbatore, when he was staying undercover.

The NIA and the 'Q' branch had after interrogating Sabesan's aides Chinnasuresh and Soundararajan found that the proceeds from the sale of drugs from Pakistan to Sri Lanka were routed to India through a hawala network operated by one Jayaprakash, a Tamil person based in Bengaluru. He was also arrested. The accused had informed the investigating agencies that the funds were used to finance LTTE activities in India.

With the LTTE setting up its network using hawala transactions and drug money, and with some NGOs and political organizations acting as a front, a revival of Tamil nationalism is being planned in Tamil Nadu with the LTTE as the key focal point. This is a worrying factor for the Indian intelligence agencies as the government does not want any banned organization working against a foreign government from its soil. The Indian agencies told IANS that there would be a strict crackdown on the sympathizers and supporters of the defunct LTTE and other Tamil national movements if they try to create an atmosphere of support for the cause on Indian soil against the Sri Lankan government. 

Until terrorist organizations are destroyed, our police department, NIA and Indian Army will go on to continue our mission. 

FEW DAYS LATER:

CHENNAI:

"Tell me da Chaitanya!" Sai Adhithya said through his phone, sitting in his office at Chennai.

"Adhithya. Important mission. We have to begin immediately."

Adhithya agreed and said jokingly, "Chaitanya's hunt against the traitors and enemies will continue."

"Yes. The chapter of Chaitanya continues unless and until he stops." I said laughing.