Chapter 215 Prison
"My dear fellow, your only hope now is Arthur Road Jail. That's where you stand a chance."
"I don't want to go to jail."
“What’s the difference between us now and being in prison?”
Anand remained silent. He wanted to be a good person and good people should not go to jail.
"You can get the word out when you get to Arthur Road Gaol. It's a big prison with twelve thousand inmates, so you'll always find an opportunity."
"How do you know?" Anand asked.
"I'm what they call a repeat offender," shrugged Anil, the prisoner next to him. "I committed theft, stealing things from the construction site, copper wire, plastic pipes. I've been in jail three times. This is the fourth time."
"Do you like it here?"
"What?" Anil looked at him like an idiot.
"Then why do you keep finding excuses to come in? You obviously don't have to do that."
“Oh my God,” Anil put his hand on his forehead, “you are an idiot!”
“Ron Baba said the same thing,” Anand sighed.
"who?"
"Ron Baba, Ron Soul."
"That's not funny," Anil scorned him.
"Really, he's my brother, and he's a good man."
"Yaar, Doctor Sur is indeed a good man, but he can't control the life and death of the prisoners."
"If he knew I was here, he would definitely come to rescue me. I have to find a way to send the message out."
"Then you can follow me to Arthur Road Gaol. If you're lucky, you'll be incarcerated for three years. If you're unlucky, five. When I get out, I'll help you pass on the message."
“Three years!” Anand screamed.
"That's if you're lucky enough."
"No, it's too late!" Anand held his head, almost collapsing.
"Okay, man, it's time for dinner." Anil pushed him and got up to queue.
Every prisoner here receives an aluminum plate as a lunch box when they come in. It is the only metal utensil they can carry.
There are no knives, forks or spoons, so we eat everything with our hands.
There were no cups, so when drinking tea, we just scooped the tea into a plate and sipped it with our mouths.
Anand's plate was lost. It was stolen one night on his third day.
He knew where the plate had ended up; it was in the fourth room.
The plates here have other uses besides eating, such as making makeshift heating pots.
Fold two aluminum plates into a V shape to serve as a shelf on which you can place the third aluminum plate.
A simple heating pot is made. Just put some combustible materials underneath and you can use it to heat tea and food.
It was thanks to this that the first room was able to have hot meals every night.
However, the heating is done in the fourth room because the sandals and shirts used as fuel will produce pungent smoke when burned.
The rich people in the five-star hotels couldn't stand the smell, so they asked others to do it for them.
The fourth room was dedicated to looting, which always left rags and tattered shoes, perfect fuel.
The head of the room heats up the food for the first room in exchange for a fee, which is one of his main sources of income.
It's just that the other people in the room don't feel so well.
The oily soot from the burning was floating everywhere, and the dirty floor, walls, and even people's faces in the fourth room were all blackened by the smoke.
The lifespan of an aluminum plate is limited. After being folded several times, it will become brittle and deflated, and it will no longer be usable.
Therefore, new aluminum plates needed to be supplied, as Anand's plate was stolen and exchanged for something else.
But he couldn't go looking for the thief because he didn't know who the thief was, and the people in the fourth room wouldn't give him a good look.
The leader there was as strong as a gorilla, and Anand was very tactful and did not cause himself any trouble.
Anil felt sorry for Anand and would secretly lend him his own plates.
Anil gathered the hot bean paste from the iron railings, gathered it between his fingers, and slurped it up in a few gulps.
Then he handed the plate to Anand, and time was tight, about six or seven minutes.
If Anand fails to get food during this period, he will go hungry for the whole day.
They had seen the eyes of people who were dizzy from hunger, and they looked as green as those of wild dogs.
Anand hurriedly put the food into his mouth, and before he could scoop some tea, a policeman appeared at the door.
The key was inserted into the lock with a clang. The iron gate opened and the police stood at the door, looking around.
"You, come here!" He looked in Anand's direction.
Anil took the plate calmly and gave him a look of "I wish you all the best".
Anand was taken back to the same interrogation room he had been in that day, and this time a more impressive police officer was sitting behind the desk.
The other party didn't say anything, but just winked at the person next to him.
The fat policeman immediately grabbed Anand by the collar and said, "I'm giving you a chance to confess, kid. Take it well."
"What?" Anand swallowed fearfully.
"Are you doing illegal business for someone?"
Anand shuddered, “Officer, I’m just a street guide in Mumbai.”
Snap, a loud slap landed almost immediately.
"Do you think I'm stupid? Tell me! Are you involved in smuggling? Boy, you'd better tell the truth. We have enough evidence."
The fat policeman said half-seriously that this was a common method of torturing prisoners.
He hinted to Anand that the police knew everything and if he confessed now, he would be treated leniently, otherwise he would be treated severely if he resisted.
Yes, this is what Ajie calls psychological offense and defense.
The people sitting here are all veteran police officers, and they are familiar with these routines.
"Officer, I really didn't! I've been a tour guide in Mumbai for almost ten years, and anyone on the street can vouch for me."
Bang, bang, bang. This time the fat policeman used a metal bamboo stick, and Anand's face swelled up almost immediately.
"I remind you again, don't think we don't know what you've been doing recently, is it organs?" The fat policeman's eyes became dangerous.
"Officer, you're really mistaken. I'm just running errands for someone. I don't know anything."
He continued to be beaten, from slaps to bamboo sticks to belts, leaving no intact spot on his face.
The bruises, blood, wounds, and redness and swelling deformed his entire face.
"Didn't you say last time that you knew someone? Was it him?"
Anand shook his head, his intuition telling him not to admit anything.
"Speak!" The whip fell again and again.
Anand hung his head and said nothing.
"Will you tell me or not? Will you tell me or not?" The sticks banged like raindrops.
Finally, the fat policeman was tired of beating Anand. He was no longer in human form and could not even open his mouth.
"Boss, this guy is a tough one."
The stylish police officer remained indifferent.
The fat man gritted his teeth and said, "Let him take a homemade plane."
This time the rope was tied too tight, and when Anand was let down, he had completely lost all feeling in his limbs.
"Send this pariah to Arthur Road Jail!" The fat man ordered his men to carry Anand away.
"Boss, why should we waste our time on this untouchable?" he asked puzzled.
"We are only responsible for arresting people, but we cannot kill them. That is the job of the big guys."
In fact, the initial notice these police officers received was to kill Anand directly.
But that big shot was not from the police system, not even an official, so the police naturally would not do as they were told.
They knew that this pariah was related to the famous Dr. Sur, who was also a big shot.
Mumbai police are very smart and always leave a way out when doing things.
However, since they were paid to do the job, they had to make Anand suffer enough, which was also an explanation to their employer.
"Boss, that's Ron Soul. Will there be any problem if we interrogate him like this?" To be honest, the fat man felt a little uneasy.
"Don't be afraid of shit!" the handsome policeman cursed. "Put the blame on that guy."
The fat man's eyes lit up, yes!
Ron Soul is a big shot, and the person who wants to deal with him is also a big shot.
When bigwigs fight each other, the safest thing for them to do is to watch from the other side of the river.
Of course, it’s not impossible to do some small actions.
For example, torturing this pariah and digging out some useful evidence from his mouth.
No matter whether I win or lose the fight, I might be able to make a fortune from it in the future.
In order to clean up their own mess, these bigwigs will not hesitate to pay a large sum of money to keep others silent.
They were not afraid of Ron's blame, as they could simply put the blame on his rivals.
You're all fighting each other to the death, so it's normal for you to dig up dirt on each other.
Now that no valuable information can be dug out, let's just throw this hot potato to the prison.
People cannot die in the police station, just torture them and both sides can get away with it.
They would never completely offend the other party, but letting them go was also impossible.
They took money from others and promised not to leak the information, which they always managed to do.
When Anand was thrown back into the detention cell, his limbs were so numb that he couldn't stand up.
Everyone in the corridor stayed away from him. They knew that this person must be a thorn in the police's side, otherwise he would not have been given "special treatment" again and again.
Anil was also afraid, but he still collected water in an aluminum tray and gently wiped the dried blood off Anand's face.
"Dude, you're in trouble."
Anand moved his mouth, which was swollen like a sausage, but no sound came out.
"You must make it to Arthur Road Gaol."
Anil's worries were unnecessary. The very next day, they were stuffed into a blue prison van.
A total of eighty people crowded the carriage, which had a capacity of only thirty people, making it completely packed.
The prison van hurtled through the streets of Mumbai that Anand had once loved so much.
After entering the prison gate, the prison guards pulled them out from the back of the car and asked them to squat on the ground.
Anand has not recovered yet and can barely walk.
The prison guards checked them one by one and then instructed them to enter the prison one by one.
They squatted on the ground and dragged their legs as they walked. Arthur Road Prison was very large and it took them half a day to reach the destination.
There were prison guards waiting for them inside. The prisoners were divided into different prisons, and Anand was deliberately left behind until the end.
Someone told the prison guard that the untouchable could speak English.
The prison guard then ordered Anand to stand up in English to test whether he really understood.
Anand stood up on his stiff and painful legs, and the prison guard ordered him to squat again.
He squatted down, only to be ordered to stand up.
From the roar of laughter from the onlookers, Anand knew they were playing a trick on him.
He remained silent, but could only follow and do as he was told.
Just half a month in prison had taught him that disobeying orders would result in dire consequences.
After doing this over and over again, Anand was almost losing the remaining sensation in his legs.
Finally, the prison guard seemed to be tired of this game. He stared at Anand coldly and slowly revealed a wicked smile.
"Someone asked me to take good care of you, and now you're going that way!"
He pointed to a passage leading to the interior of the prison. It was pitch black, like a huge mouth ready to devour someone.
(End of this chapter)
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