The Prodigal Son (Complete)

Chapter 9

Tanushree asks, "So Mr. Darshan Chowdhry, how was your relationship with the Dewan siblings? "
Darshan looks at Sidharth and then replies, "We weren't exactly close. But it was not like we were always going for each other's neck. It was a more cordial relationship."
"Cordial? But you were in fact going after your step brother's neck. Does grabbing his collar or threatening to kill fall in the definition of cordial? My Lord, I have many witnesses who will verify that Mr. Darshan had not only once but many times had gotten into a verbal and physical fight with Sidharth Dewan. This was regarding business decisions which Sidharth Dewan had taken as a part of his role as Chairman of the group."
"Objection My Lord!"
The judge says,"Mr.Ganguly, there's nothing to object here. Please sit down and let the defence do her job."
Bhaskar Ganguly sits down after a nod.

"Thank you My Lord! So Mr. Darshan, what is the Nir project?"
Darshan wets his lips, "A real estate development project."
"Can you be more precise?"
"A planned residential luxury township with all amenities like malls, golf course etc. just minutes away from the city."
"My Lord, the land on which this township is going to be built was under one of the many trusts created by Sourav Dewan, SD and Son's trust.. This has been given away without the knowledge of the Dewan siblings and leased for construction."
Bhaskar Ganguly stands up,"My Lord, Miss Roy Chowdhry here is confused. This is not any property fraud case. Why is she wasting Court's valuable time?"

Tanushree smiles,
"I know that Mr. Ganguly. I am not wasting any time on the court. My Lord, the approval to use this land was given by Nirupama Dewan. And this has happened just days after the news of Sidharth Dewan death was out. The authority was only with Sidharth Dewan as per the will by his father and it could be passed on to Nirupama Dewan if something happens to him till his children are 18 years of age."
"What are you trying to imply?"
"After Darshan was removed from the post of CEO, he started his own real estate and construction company. And along with Barun he wanted to start his most aspirational project the Nir. And the land best suited for this project was with the SD trust. Darshan went ahead and asked Sidharth to lease it to him but he denied. He wanted to build schools and Hostels for the poor children like the trust had planned. Just days after his alleged death, Mrs Nirupama leases the land to them."

"Miss Roy Chowdhry, we are not interested in some stories."
"I am not giving you any. Pioneer Investments is one of the top financial firms in the country. They had shown interest in the project. This was in the newspapers. They later went in a partnership with Darshan. That is also not a story. The reason for their interest was the location. I want to submit a paper cutting of an interview of The CEO of the firm, T.L. Naidu. He has clearly stated that the location was the reason for his interest in this real estate project. I have already submitted documents to the court. There's a file that Darshan had sent to Sidharth, his project details on the land for approval from him with his letter of rejection. And also the one that has Mrs. Nirupama's signatures for approval with the exact date."

"Miss Roy Chowdhry, we still don't get what you are implying here."
"I am coming to that, Mr.Ganguly. My Lord, Darshan had nothing good going on in his life. This project was the only ray of hope. But the wall that stood between him and his dream was Sidharth Dewan. No Sidharth Dewan meant, his mother would give approval. And now if he returns, the first thing he will do is to take back what's his, including the land. Is this not the reason enough for Darshan and Nirupama Chowdhry to deny this man his identity?"
"This doesn't prove anything."

"I am not done proving things here. Darshan, you had gone to Uttarakhand after the accident to look for Sidharth."
Darshan replies, "Yes, I and Barun left the very next day we heard about the accident."
"Why? When you don't like him then why?"
"Abhijit was not here. So, Mom asked us to go. He was my brother. Our clash was on a professional front."
Tanushree smiles, "You are under oath, you should not lie. Anyways, you found a dead body that you confirmed was that of your brother."
"Yes."
"The body was beyond recognition, so how did you identify him? You weren't that super close as well."