LEFT TO BE WITH YOU FOREVER (Completed)

I am speechless

"Rishi Chatterjee is dead", says Saikat Ghoshal looking into my eyes. I am numb for a second. Somewhere I had a feeling that he is no more but still I expected and hoped for him to be alive. He breaks my thoughts saying,"How is this possible? How can two people look so similar? Who are you and how do you know him?" I run my fingers through my hair and say to him,"I will tell you everything but you have to first tell me all you know about him. Please sir. I am requesting you. Please." He gets up and goes into his room. After an good 15 minutes he comes out with a file. He sitting down, takes out a photograph and keeps staring at it and then looking at my face. I ask," What are you looking at Sir? Please tell me." He puts the photograph on the table which I pick up.

It's my photograph or should I say photo of someone who looks like me. My twin? It is the same face I had seen in my dream in the reflection on the mirror. I ask,"Is he Rishi Chatterjee?" Saikat Ghoshal nods his head. The photograph is old and smiling in it is Rishi Chatterjee. My face with the same eyes, same smile. However, his face looks mature with longer hair and light stubble. Rishi Chatterjee is no longer a name, no longer a dream but so real. Saikat Ghoshal says,"You can't be his twin as you are too young for that. As far as I know he was not married, so you can't be his son. He didn't have any brothers or sisters. So how can two different people with no connection look so similar." I wish I had the answer to his question. But honestly I didn't have any.

After a moment of complete silence I ask,"Sir, can you tell me whatever you know about him." He drinks water and leaving a deep breath says," It was about 26 years ago. I was Sub-Inspector at the Burrabazar police station. It was a big area and too much of pressure on me. One day I was called in by the Senior Police Inspector (Sr.PI)into his room. There was a man sitting infront of him. He was introduced as Ram Lal Poddar. Sr. PI told me that he had filed a complaint against one of his employee. He had stolen money from his shop while handling the accounts. It was a big sum of 2lakhs. I was asked to arrest the guy. Ram Lal Poddar told me that the guy was goon type. He could cause problems while arresting, so I need to be careful. Sir told me be tough with him, as he needed to accept his crime and return the money." I knew what had happened then. Rishi was dragged out of his own house in front of his mother and slapped and hit before thrown into the police jeep.

I keep quiet however, letting him complete the story. He says,"After putting him in the custody, he was given third degree. But he never accepted that he had stolen a single penny from his employer's account. His father and his mother had come and begged us to let their son go. But it was not in our hands. I realised then that he was being framed for something he didn't do." I looked at Saikat Ghoshal with a disgust and said,"Before finding the truth, you took him for granted to be a culprit. Why because he was poor. He was not rich, so you beat him up. His father didn't have money so he was kept in the police station. And you say you feel proud to be police officer?" He looked at me and lowered his head. He said,"I have tried my best to be honest. All my life, I had tried never put a stain on my uniform. But I accept, I have done few mistakes in judging people."

Saikat Ghoshal says after a pause,"Rishi Chatterjee was an innocent boy. But he had some problems with his employers. I don't know exactly what was the issue. But Ram Lal Poddar and his son Ramesh Poddar had met the Sr.PI many times to ensure his case goes to the court and he gets badly treated in the jail. I had no other option but to file the chargesheet and take the case to court. But I tried to help his father by getting him a lawyer, my friend Sanjeev Sinha. I also talked to the Public Prosecutor to help get him a bail with minimum bail amount."  I  looked at him and found that indeed he was good man. He wiping his face says,"I met his father again few weeks later. He wanted my help. His son was missing for two days but police was not registering missing complaint. I talked to the officer there and he agreed. I then came to know that his body was found from the pond near by. Police closed the case as suicide by drowning. They said that he couldn't take the shame of being arrested and so he committed suicide." He pauses for a few seconds and said," When he was in the lock up, I had spoken to him. He..he was really such a soft spoken boy. He had not broken up by all the beatings and misbehaviour. He still had a smile on his face. He had an mesmerizing voice in which he had sung a song for me. Sedin o akashe chilo kato tara, aajo mone ache tomari katha.."

I don't know what to say to him anymore. I am still speechless. My heart is heavy now, tears are trying to fight their way out of my eyes. But I put on a poker face, controlling my feelings. He drinks some more water and then asks," Akhon tumi bolo..(Now you tell me.) You were perhaps not born when he had already died then how do you know him.." I say,"Ami nije O jajina.(I don't know myself .) I was born and brought up in Mumbai. I have never been in Kolkata before nor I have anyone here. But I know Rishi Chatterjee. I know he looked like me. I know his father's name is Kishore Chatterjee. I know he loved to sing. I know he worked at Harilal and Sons. I know he is...was a good soul." He looks at me inquisitively as I continue,"I had seen you arresting Rishi, slapping him before putting him in the jeep. I had seen many episodes of his life. Why I don't know? You may find it strange but it's true. I have been having flashes of his lives where I see myself as him."  He looks surprised to hear me. I say,"I had met Suresh Poddar only to find out about him. I had recognised you so..I had talked to you yesterday. It's true. I don't have any explanation for everything that has been happening to me but it's true. I have started talking in Bengali but I haven't learned it from anybody. My best friend is Bengali but I had not learned the language from him, ever."

Saikat Ghoshal was silent for sometime and then he says,"I don't know what to say to you. I really don't know." I say," It has become my obsession now to know about Rishi Chatterjee. Do you have his address? I want to meet his family." He nods his head and writes down his address on a piece of paper and gives it to me. He says,"Can I ask you something?" I nod my head to say yes. He says," You said you see dreams or flashes of incidents from his life. That's how you got certain information on him. But why would you see yourself as him, unless..unless you were somewhere connected to him." I replied,"I know there is some connection with Rishi. But I don't exactly know what it is. I am here to know that. Can I ask something to you?" He nods his head as I continue,"Actually I have two questions. Do you know anyone named Khushi, a friend or girlfriend of Rishi?" Saikat Ghoshal thinking for a few minutes says,"No. Nothing is coming to my mind as such." I nods my head as I ask,"Do you really believe Rishi could have committed suicide?" Saikat Ghoshal looks at my face and says,"I can't be sure. But a guy who was so positive even in pain can't really commit suicide. I had tried to talk to the OC(Officer In Charge ) about the case, Rajiv Yadav. He was certain or better to say adamant on the cause of death." I nod my head. I get up from the sofa and Saikat Ghoshal says,"Sidharth you are a good boy. I don't want anything wrong to happen to you. The Poddars are rich and influencial people. Don't indulge with them. Rishi is dead, you cannot bring him back. He is..nobody to you." I smile and say,"Yes. He can't come back nor he is anybody to me. But I have felt his every emotions. I have seen his love for his mother and father. I cannot be heartless like everyone. I need to know everything." Saikat Ghoshal hands me the file and says,"This is the case file. If you need any kind of help, let me know. I..really want to help." I nod my head as I leave his house.

I finally found something about Rishi Chatterjee. I should be happy too now that I have his address too. But after knowing that he is no more, I feel so bad. As I come out of the gates, I feel my cheeks wet. I touch my face to realise the tears have escaped from my eyes. I wipe them as I get into the cab to return home. All the way, I think what he must have gone through in those final days of his life. The pain, the insults, the helplessness, I could feel everything now. I relived every moment of his as Saikat Ghoshal was speaking to me. And even after finding something about him, many more questions arise today. Why he had to die?? Did he really commit suicide? If not, why was he killed? Why? I will go to Rishi Chatterjee's house tomorrow. I will meet his parents. But what will I say to them? How will they react after seeing me? I have absolutely no idea..

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Love never dies..💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕