I was only 24 years when I was married to Chetan, who was 27 then. Ours was a social marriage, arranged by our respective parents. I was not beautiful in the ordinary sense but looked charming with my youthful bodily treasures, sparkling eyes and an overtly sense of sexuality emanating from me.
Chetan enjoyed my features and we made robust love. For a year, our marital life was full of fun and delight. But after about eighteen months a sudden dark shadow loomed on our life.
Chetan, who worked as a Sr. Accounts Officer, was caught in a case of financial embezzlement amounting to five lakhs. I didn't believe that Chetan unduly amassed the money. He always believed in simple living. But it seemed he was careless in disbursing the amount to the client and didn't verify the claims. To make the things worst, someone unknown transferred the same amount to Chetan's account. The circumstances were against Chetan and his company decided to sack him from the job and hand over Chetan to the police.
It was a terrible situation for the family. His parents were dependent on Chetan. His younger brother, Rajan, who was 21 at that time and a college student, was dependent on Chetan for his studies. So the whole family was crestfallen and was even afraid to imagine what was going to happen.
Things got worst, when Chetan's boss, Mr. Samad, came out with the most indecent proposal to save Chetan's job and protect him from getting arrested, provided Chetan agreed to get transferred to a branch office outside the state for about one year to let the issue cool down and during Chetan's tenure outside I agree to serve Mr. Samad in the privacy of our bedroom.
Both Chetan and me were angry and humiliated at such obscene proposal from a man, who is in his mid-forties and had an evil facial appearance. Even before sharing with me about the indecent proposal, Chetan created a noisy scene in Mr. Samad's chamber, calling him a pervert and showering all the dirty abuses on him.
He came home that evening like a totall distraught fellow, tired and angry. When I asked him the reason, he told about Mr. Samad's proposal and the way he behaved with him. I felt insulted and upset and started to hate my youthful body because it was my body that created lust in a man. For the first time I wished if I had been an ugly woman, perhaps I wouldn't have had to face such humiliation that a stranger would suggest my husband to send me to the bed of the former.
I and Chetan cried together at the insulting proposal for sometime and then boldly decided to face whatever might come on our way and to show Mr. Samad his place. However, we really had no idea about reach and conspiring abilities of powerful men.
Next morning, we decided that Chetan should look for some alternative job as his company was not going to retain him, particularly after he had turned down Mr. Samad's dirty proposal. But with his tainted credentials with the present employer, it was not easy either to find an employment elsewhere. However, Chetan and I agreed that he would take up job even in a shop or restaurant. So with his motorcycle, Chetan went to nearby town to try his luck.
At around 3 PM, I received a call from an unknown number. Caller ID displayed the name as one Santosh. He was an SI of the nearby town. He told me that the police had conducted a sudden raid and found drugs in the box of Chetan's motorcycle. He was arrested and would be sent to police custody. The SI told me that I could meet him in the evening at the police station. I didn't believe in the allegation of seizure of drugs from Chetan and could feel how he was being fabricated.
Though quite depressed in spirit, I visited the police station to meet Chetan. It was not police station at all, rather a police outpost at the outskirts of the town and was managed by 5/6 constables and an SI, who looked like a villain with red eyes and a dark face full of cut marks. He looked merciless and cruel. It was already dark when I stood in front of his desk.
To my horror, I could hear the constables whispering among themselves about my physical features, the probable size of my breasts and buttocks. Internally, I shivered but maintained a bold appearance. Without letting me meet Chetan, the SI started interrogating me whether I had any idea of Chetan's linkage with drug mafias and whether I was a partner in this illegal trade of narcotics. I tried to maintain my cool and denied all allegations. The SI looked at me with the cool eyes of a python and said, "By tomorrow, your innocent hubby would confess all crimes after we provide him third degree during the night, and shall come to know if you too had any involvement in his illegal trade."
Finally, when I was allowed to meet Chetan in the lock up, his legs and face were already swollen and it was clear that he was considerably beaten. I cried in desperation looking at him. I heard one of the constables telling the SI quite amusingly, "Can't we put her in the lock up too and extract confession from both?"
Chetan also heard this and urged me to leave the police outpost immediately. I was not willing to leave but considering the adverse atmosphere decided to leave. As I was leaving, I heard the SI telling his constables, "The drug peddler has got a hot treasure indeed."
As I was on my way back to home, my phone rang, it was Mr. Samad. He said in a cool voice, "My offer is still open. There will be no FIR against Chetan and he will have his job. Only he will be transferred to out of the state to let the issue cool down."
I felt both angry and insulted at his suggestion and sharply replied, "Chetan already gave you the reply. So stop bothering me."
The man was extremely shameless and cool. He said again, "No, I am concerned about your and Chetan's safety. Administration is very strict about drug peddlers. I am afraid they might call you at night to extract confessions and you know how the police behaves at night. Moreover, since you're young they might think about an encounter of Chetan in the darkness of the night and then you lose both Chetan and your..."
