10th January, 12pm, Agartala Railway Station.
The boy stepped down. A taxi driver was waiting for him, who took him straight to a house in a dark basti.
He was admitted to a nearby Hindi medium school. He was 16 years old. So, he had only 2 years left in the school.
Through the next few years, he had made many contacts in the city. All the lanes and streets became known to him. He, besides attending college classes, had a part time job of driving a taxi. This job made him very familiar with the whole length and breadth of Agartala.
2019, "Madhyam" Head Office.
And, finally, he got his dream job of a journalist. He was fluent in Bengali, Hindi and English by then. Everyone at the office liked his behaviour. His name was Chaitanya Rastogi.
Chaitanya became a popular political journalist eventually. He had spies and special sources to take out important information from the houses of heavy weight politicians. His articles were critical as well as complementary. He gave credits to where it was due and criticized when it was necessary.
One afternoon, while he was walking through a lane casually, a black shirted bodyguard-type man called him,"Excuse me. Are you journalist Chaitanya?"
"Yes, how can I help you?"
"Please, come with me. It's important."
"Sorry, I can't."
"Please sir, it's for your safety."
Chaitanya got confused. Was his life in danger? He asked," But, who are you?"
"Come with me. You will get to know everything."
Both went through a narrow lane and entered into a van and the van started moving. Chaitanya said, "Where am I being taken to?" He was handed a tab where he saw a recorded video of a popular politician, Gautam Dhar. He was saying, "Hi Chaitanya! Gautam Dhar here! Hope your life is going good both healthy and economically. I have a special proposal for you. That's why you are being taken to my home."
They reached. When they went to the 1st floor, Chaitanya saw Gautam Dhar having his meal. He was also served with a brilliant lunch.
During lunch, Gautam said, "So, Chaitanya, I regularly read your articles. I must say- your writings are examples of true journalism."
"Can you come straight to the point, Gautam Ji?"
"I want you to work for me. Start writing more about my efforts and contributions. It should be a gradual process so people remain believed in your journalism."
"And, what will I get in return?"
Everyone in the room was shocked. No one thought that he will accept the offer so easily. That was the power of his writings.
Gautam Dhar- "For now, it will be 90,000 per month and secret security guards and this amount will increase with time too!"
The deal got a Yes from Chait.
Chait felt very secured and comfortable from then. People still believed in him even if his articles had become one-sided.
Gautam's party also started getting more support from the masses. The party in the government started getting less support and severe backlash. But, the blow was yet to arrive. Gautam Dhar's party won the next elections and formed the government in the state. Dhar took the Home ministry under him.
Till now, the things were very fast for Chait.
But, from here on, Chait had to do everything in a slow pace.
To be continued.....