Page 274 - Musings 2020

11

Every Man for Himself

Sayeed Ahmed 2017A4PS0331P, Aneri Jain 2017B4A30759P, Raj Sanjay Shah
2017A7PS1181P, Hrishikesh 2017A1PS0665P and Burhan Boxwalla 2017A7PS0097P

CHARACTERS

Vijay Singh: a police inspector.

Mohan: a tall bearded man in his mid-40s.

Manohar: a police constable.

SETTING

The curtain rises on an interrogation room which is 12x12 ft. There is a door on the far-right
corner of the room facing the audience. The whitewashed walls are shabby with pieces of
plaster falling off it. A bare bulb hangs from the ceiling in the centre of the dim-lit room. Two
metal chairs facing each other on either side of a table lie under the bulb. The table is an
off-cut of metal stacked on rusted legs which sits on an unevenly tiled floor. The entire room
reeks of phenyl. On the window facing the audience hangs a curtain that could once have
been a profoundly unfashionable frock, beige, covered with dust. There is a security camera
on the top left corner of the room.

BEGIN.

(Enters Mohan, a tall bearded man in his mid-40s, handcuffed, followed by a Police inspector
Vijay Singh. The police inspector sits facing the door, and the suspect sits in the other chair)
Vijay: Can you state your full name for the record? Mohan: I am Mohan Ashok Jahagirdar.
Vijay: And for the record are you speaking voluntarily? Mohan: Yes, I am. Vijay: Could you
tell me about your whereabouts on the night of 12th Jan from 6 pm to 8 pm. Mohan: Umm.
Yes, I was at a Gala hosted at The National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi with a friend of
mine Karthik. Vijay: “The Man in Red” painting has been missing since last night. Do you
have any clue about this? Mohan: No! I left the Gala as soon as it was over. Vijay: What were
you doing at the Gala? Mohan: Oh, I have an interest in art, and this Gala is hosted annually.
My friend persuaded me to attend it.
Vijay: What time did you leave the Gala?

Mohan: We left as soon as the show was over.

Vijay: The security footage shows you and Karthik walking towards the historic art section
just after the end of the Gala. Both of you were there for 20 minutes before the CCTVs show
you coming back. You two were the only ones to enter and exit at this time.

Mohan: I thought I had left my phone there and I went to take it back.

Vijay: So, did you find the phone?

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