"Your honour....i would like your permission to summon ms ahana mittal for questioning...."

Riddhima put forward her request to which the judge obliged and called out for ahana in the questioning box

"Ms ahana mittal, secretary of mr vansh rai singhania, do you mind explaining to me what exactly happened with you that day..."

"I...i have already told it to the police, my lawyer and the judge several times....how many times do i have to repeat it again.....do you have any idea how painful it is...to repeat those words, those memories again and again..."

She cried, making riddhima pat her hand sympathetically

"I understand that narrating that incident again and again is not less than experiencing it all over again...but you need to cooperate...iam sorry..."

Taking a deep breath, she wiped off her tears and started off

"I reached vansh's home at 8 in the morning on Monday...."

"Vansh???? Quite informal haan???

Mr rai singhania do all of your employees refer to you by your first name???? Or ms ahana is an exception..."

"No...every...everyone is supposed to address to me as sir..."

He explained, making ahana close her eyes in exasperation

"Iam sorry...i just...i just couldn't bring myself to address him as sir after what all he did with me..."

"Is that soo???"

Riddhima asked skeptically, indicating her to continue...

"I was showing him the files that he needed when he started touching me inappropriately....
I tried to whisk his hands away but he was reluctant....
He pushed me into his room...and...."

"How did he do that??"

"What???"

"Did he drag you??? Did he put you upon his shoulder???? Picked you up in his arms??? How exactly did he get you to his room???"

"He...he dragged me...."

"And you didn't scream..."

"Of course i did..."

"Ahaan....and the neighbours didn't heard a thing???"

"It...it must have been due to the thick walls....or maybe they were sound proof..."

"I have an objection on this your honour.....here is a noise report which had been filed against mr rai singhania by his neighbours two days before the unfortunate incident....it states that mr rai singhania was shouting loudly for about an hour on his phone probably because of a deal that he had lost.....and the people could hear it all loud and clear....then how is it possible that they didn't heard ms ahana scream for help???"

"He...he had my mouth shut..."

Came a quick justification from her side

"And how did he do that???
Did he use his hand or rope or any scarf or cloth..."

"His hand....when the doctor examined me...me saw the finger marks too..."

"So you are saying that he was dragging you towards his room and simultaneously shutting your mouth with one hand too???"

"Yes..."

"I see....what happened next???"

"He pushed me inside the room,tore my clothes and...and..."

"And???"

"Forced me..."

"Objection your honour.....i'll like you to have a look at ms ahana's clothes that had been taken as an evidence....

Its not unusual that the rapist tears the victim's clothes to have his way with her....but don't you think that he would tear it right across her chest to have greater access...why in the world would he tear her sleeves and that too from the hem????"

"OBJECTION YOUR HONOUR..."

Ragini screamed, clearly agitated by the fact that she was spitting nothing but logics

"OBJECTION OVERRULED..."

"Thank you your honour ...and now if you may take a look at the jeans that ms ahana was wearing that day....its clear that they hadn't been tore...instead they were cut...and according to the forensic expert a lefty did this...but mr rai singhania is right handed...."

"WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO PROVE THROUGH ALL THIS....THAT I DID THIS TO MYSELF????"

Ahana cried out, as riddhima approached her and stood right infront of her, looking her dead in the eyes

"DID YOU???"

"Objection your honour...she's trying to mislead my client.."

"Withdrawal"

Riddhima dismissed her, but the winning glint in her eyes didn't go unnoticed by ahana, who shivered visibly

"Your honour... i would like to summon ms ahana's brother mr kabir and question them both simultaneously"

"Permission granted..."

"So mr kabir...do you mind explaining to me what exactly happened that day???"

"My sister....she left home early saying that she has work with her boss and that she would be back with an hour or two..."

"And she just had to deliver a mere file....didn't you think that why would it take her soo long to return back???"

"I thought that she might have some important work..."

"Please continue..."

"When she returned home...sh...she was limping...as if she were in great pain....i may not be well educated but iam no kid to not understand what the reason was.....

At first i had a doubt that she had a boyfriend and she committed the sin with him...i was enraged and was about to beat the crap out of her when she confessed that he...her boss forced her.....

I...i saw red....i might be a conservative jerk but thats my baby sister....she was...."

Hot fresh tears rolled down his cheeks as she tried his best to wipe them all with the back of his hand

"I rushed to the local police station to file a report against him and then came home to take her with me to the hospital for her checkup..."

"Mr kabir...when your sister returned back home....were her cloths torn???"

His forehead scrunched as he tried recalling her condition, massaging his temple aggressively to refresh his memory

"Her lips were swollen as if someone had bitten them badly but iam not soo sure about her cloths..."

"Point to be noted your honour....there is a possibility that ms ahana tore her cloths after her brother left for police station...."

"What about the marks on my wrists, legs and mouth haan when this animal tied me to his bed, gagged my mouth so that I couldn't protest at all...what about them haan???The doctor who examined me saw them all...and the bruises are still there...have a look....."

Ahana cried out as she displayed the marks on her skin....

"Mr rai singhania...do you mind grabbing my wrist and pressing it as hard as you can...leaving marks...."

Initially reluctant...he did as he was told, leaving the imprints of his large hand over her petite wrist, while simultaneously trying his best to stop the tears that had accumulated in his eyes from spilling.....

"Your honour....mr rai singhania is a bulky strong man...with obviously large hands...
Now if you take a look at this picture of the marks on ms ahana's wrist which was taken by the forensic expert and the one on mine....its clear that the one on her wrist are not from ms rai singhania....hers are small and pale...mine are large and flushed....

And one more point....mr kabir said that her lips were bitten...and her examination report says it too....but how is this possible if mr rai singania had her all gagged up???? There would be bruises but not bite marks...."

"He bit me before gagging me...."

"Ms ahana you claimed that mr rai singhania had your hands and feet tied up...was that with a rope???"

"YES"

"Then why aren't there any rope marks on your wrists or ankle????

Yes there are grabbing marks but no rope marks"

As a deadly silence spread all across the courtroom, with ahana's mouth opening and closing like a fish but no words escaping....riddhima made her way towards vansh....

"Mr rai singhania...do you mind showing me your wrists and ankle..."

As he lifted up his sleeves and trouser, riddhima indicated the judge to take a look at it

"There it is....rope impressions.....

Your honour...do you know why I requested a complete physical examination for mr rai singhania???

It wasn't useless...because our forensic expert did find something...or should i say...alot of things......"

"What are you trying to implement advocate riddhima????

Are you claiming that there had been no rape..."

"NO....
Iam not implementing they at all.....

There had been a rape

But

NOT OF MS AHANA MITTAL

INSTEAD

OF MR VANSH RAI SINGHANIA"

to be continued:

Apologies for mistakes