By Donald D’Silva, Mira Road, Karkala

It was night time, 8;15 pm, and great celebrations going on! But it was inside barrack no. 12 at Arthur Road jail! There was a reason for this, a notorious gangster of yesteryears, Prathap Reddy, or Anna as he was called fondly by his followers, is going to be released the next day. It has been 10 years since Anna set foot inside the jail. He was convicted for the murder of Narayan Rao at Dhobhi Talao. Although, Anna has got away with ten murders earlier, but this time he was nailed.

Anna was a tall man with fair complexion, 6’2” of height and a strong body with athletic presence. Even though he used to drink heavily in the night, but still was up in the wee hours of the mornings, and was a regular at the ‘Balanjaneya Gymnasium’ at Girgaum, next to Alfred Hotel. His well-toned body had always held him a winner when into fisticuffs and was an ace with a chopper or a sword, thrashing opponents at will!

……..……….

A bunch of five, three of them, his own disciples did him in as eye witnesses. Anna had taken a supari of 25 lacks to eliminate Rao. 

But, once inside jail, Anna was a totally changed man. He started meditating, indulging in exercises and became friendly with other inmates. Firstly, he wanted to shed his bad man image and wanted to become a noble man. He knew deep in his heart that, well, God has punished him for his misdeeds and he wanted to go for repentance.

Jailor and the jail superintendent along with other jail staff became friendly with him and in two years time was made a jail warden. As he was a hotelier earlier, he was given the duty of supervising the jail kitchen.

 So, on the jailor Santhosh Singh’s recommendation, he was given a relief and his sentenced was reduced from 14 years to 10 years, paving the way for his early release!

Thus, the celebrations! Chicken Biriyani, Mutton Masala, parathas, naans, salad all other delicacies were arranged by the jail staff themselves. The feast was for his inmates inside the barrack!

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The city had changed while Anna was away. The streets were still rough, but the world had moved on without him. After ten years behind bars, he wasn’t the same man who had once ruled these streets with an iron fist. Now, all he wanted was peace.

Anna had settled into a quiet life in a rundown neighborhood, at Byculla, running a small lunch home. He kept to himself, never looking for trouble. But trouble had a way of finding him.

The local tea seller, an old man named Rafiq, had been a kind soul. He gave Anna tea on credit when he had no money and never asked for anything in return.It was the first year of Anna’s release from jail. As, he had no money and he had lost everything he had. His old Regal Bar & Restaurant he owned  was sold by his wife and her relatives. She had deserted him and gone away, untraceable with his two children!

Some of his old accomplices were doing well, so they helped him and so he could start a small lunch home, but he liked to chit chat with Rafik, as he found him a god fearing and pious man. The tea stall was just a stone’s throw away.

One evening, Anna found out that Rafiq had been beaten to death by local thugs—young men who extorted shopkeepers, terrorizing the weak. The police did nothing but hushed up the case and made it look like a suicide!

Anna tried to ignore it. He reminded himself that he was a changed man. But the blood on the streets called out to the man he used to be.

The night was silent when Anna walked out of his lunch home, his hands clenched into fists. He wasn’t looking for redemption anymore. He was looking for revenge.

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Anna spent the next few nights watching, listening, learning. The killers thought they were untouchable, walking through the neighborhood like they owned it. Their leader, a thug named Salim, laughed loudly at the tea stall that had once belonged to Rafiq, drinking silly, with his gang members, where the old man used to serve with kindness.

It was Salim’s erroring thoughts, that he was arrested by police for a dacoity in the vicinity, and that Rafik had given the information to the cops.

Anna felt the rage simmer inside him. He had spent ten years controlling that fire, but now, it demanded to be unleashed.

One by one, he tracked them. The first went down in an alleyway, his screams swallowed by the darkness. The second vanished from a gambling den, his body found in a dumpster the next morning. Whispers spread in the underworld—someone was hunting them.

Salim grew nervous. He doubled his guards, but fear had already crept into his heart.

Then, one night, Anna walked straight into Salim’s den.

The room went silent. Salim’s men reached for their weapons, but Anna was faster. A knife flashed in the dim light, cutting through the air, through flesh. Within moments, the room was filled with groans and bodies.

Now, only Salim remained.

"You should have left Rafiq Chacha alone, he was innocent" Anna said, his voice cold, steady.

Salim, bleeding, begged for mercy. But Anna was in no mood to forgive!

When the police arrived the next morning, they found Salim tied to a chair, unconscious, a note pinned to his chest:

"Justice has been served."

Anna disappeared after that. Some say he left the city. Others say he still walks the streets at night, watching over the weak, making sure the lawless fear the law once again.

The streets were quieter after Salim’s downfall. The thugs who once roamed freely now looked over their shoulders. 

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