ফন্দিবাজ বন্দি

দীপকাকু-ঝিনুক সিরিজ #06

by Sukanta Gangopadhyay

110 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

সুকান্ত গঙ্গোপাধ্যায়ের জন্ম ২১ জানুয়ারি ১৯৬১, হুগলির উত্তরপাড়ায়। পিতৃপুরুষ বিহারে প্রবাসী। মাতৃবংশ বাংলাদেশের দিনাজপুরে। স্কুল-কলেজের পাঠ উত্তরপাড়ায়। ফটোগ্রাফি নিয়ে পড়াশোনা করেছেন। একটি ফটোপ্রিন্টিং সংস্থার কারিগরি বিভাগের প্রধান। ছাত্রজীবনে লেখালিখির শুরু। দেশ পত্রিকায় প্রথম গল্প প্রকাশিত হওয়ার পর বৃহত্তর পাঠক মহলে সমাদর লাভ।শ্রেষ্ঠ উপন্যাস রচনার জন্য ১৯৯৯ ও ২০০২ আনন্দ-স্নোসেম শারদ অর্ঘ্য, শ্রেষ্ঠ উপন্যাস ও শ্রেষ্ঠ ছোটগল্প রচনার জন্য ২০০৩ সালে আনন্দ-ন্যাশানল ইনসিয়োরেন্স শারদ অর্ঘ্য এবং শ্রেষ্ঠ ছোটগল্প রচনার জন্য ২০০৬ সালে ডেটল-আনন্দবাজার শারদ অর্ঘ্য পেয়েছেন। এ ছাড়া ১৯৯৭-এ পেয়েছেন গল্পমেলা পুরস্কার, ২০০১-এ সাহিত্যসেতু পুরস্কার, ২০০৫-এ বাংলা আকাদেমি থেকে সুতপা রায়চৌধুরী স্মারক পুরস্কার, ২০০৭-এ শৈলজানন্দ জন্মশতবর্ষ স্মারক পুরস্কার, ২০১৩-এ তারাদাস বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় সাহিত্য সম্মান, ২০১৪ সালে গজেন্দ্রকুমার মিত্র ও সুমথনাথ ঘোষ স্মৃতি পুরস্কার।

Reviews

[Kishore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surjendu Som wrote a letter to Dipankar Kaku. His father, Animesh Babu, had committed suicide. He used to work at Joysawal Tea Company, which eventually shut down due to heavy losses. Afterwards, he opened a firm called Accounts and Tax Consultant, which also failed. He then partnered with a college friend to start another company called Golden Investment, but that too collapsed. Angry customers vandalized the office and even assaulted him. Humiliated, Animesh Babu took his own life.

A stranger named Nepal Babu CAME FORWARD—not seeking compensation, but driven by conscience. He recounted how Animesh had once helped him in a MOMENT OF CRISIS, taking him to a hospital and returning his bag with all the money intact. Nepal believed Animesh was INCAPABLE of fraud and suspected a deep conspiracy behind his death. The most PUZZLING detail was that no one had ever seen this “college friend” or business partner, who had gone missing since Animesh’s death. Was Animesh lying? Did this partner even exist?

The next day, Dip and Jhinuk visited Animesh’s house for questioning. They then went to the police station, where Dip saw the crime scene photos. During a discussion with 2nd IC Kallol Sen, it was revealed that only Animesh’s mobile phone and computer hard disks were missing. If the killer was after money, why not take the money bag?

At Animesh’s office, the security guard told them that five days before the alleged suicide, Animesh was heard talking to someone about betrayal. The next day, Dip borrowed Jhinuk’s father’s car. He called Nirmal Jana, an employee of Animesh and Surjendu. At Surjendu’s sister’s wedding, Animesh had gifted a necklace, claiming it was from his alleged partner. Dip suggested that if the necklace had a shop logo, they could trace the buyer.

Surjendu brought the necklace, which bore the logo of Paheli Jewellers. Nirmal and Surjendu went to the shop and checked the CCTV footage. It showed a young man with a French cut wearing a cap—identified as Ritankar Ghosh. Neither Surjendu nor Nirmal recognized him.

Animesh was running a chit fund, and he genuinely believed—or was made to believe—that the collected capital was being invested in the share market. Animesh had been used as a front.

Meanwhile, Dip’s bike was VANDALIZED outside Rajat’s office (Jhinuk’s father). The culprits fled, BRANDISHING a gun, when confronted by a crowd. Surjendu and Nirmal denied sharing anything about the investigation.

Dip revisited Entali Police Station, where Kallol Sen also denied any information leak. However, the flat owner—who lived above Animesh’s office—received offers to sell so he called to know when he can get his flat back. The owner, Biswajit Basak, a septuagenarian, revealed that a man named Akhil Ghoshal had approached him about buying the flat. Mr. Basak, who uses a landline, noted that Ghoshal had even visited. Dip asked to be informed if Ghoshal returned.

Dip was convinced the name was fake and the culprit was attempting to derail the investigation. He soon received a threatening call offering four times the hush money. Dip recorded it and traced it to a phone booth.

Later, Mr. Basak identified Ghoshal from wedding footage. He was none other than Hiralal Basu. When Ghoshal scheduled another visit, Mr. Basak cancelled it. Dip instructed Jhinuk to bring the neighborhood shopkeeper to the apartment. When confronted, the shopkeeper tried to flee, but Jhinuk caught him.

Inspector Kallol Sen brought the shopkeeper to Dip. The shopkeeper revealed he KNEW Hiralal WELL, who regularly bought paan from him. One day, Hiralal left his bag at the shop, and the shopkeeper took it to Animesh’s office. Animesh asked him to hand it to Patra. Basu came to the shop again, but was warned about Dip’s team. They also managed to get Basu’s car number from the shopkeeper. Dip deducted that this Patra might be a close accomplice of Basu.

Dip received another call—Dip proposed ₹10 lakhs for settlement and stopping the investigation. They set a date to negotiate the amount with Surjendu. On that day, Dip and Jhinuk were at Surjendu’s house when a landline call came. Dip suspected an attack and spotted a goon outside. He instructed Jhinuk to catch him.

Startled by Jhinuk’s approach, the goon tried to act—but she threw away his gun and grabbed him. Dip arrived just in time, took the gun, and brought the goon to the police station.

Meanwhile, Dip was tailing Hiralal for evidence and discovered the missing link. The young man who bought the necklace was actually Anirban Basu aka Ritankar aka Patra—Hiralal’s elder son. Disguised as a postman, Dip managed to obtain Anirban’s handwriting, which matched the writing on the necklace bill and the CCTV footage.

In the end, Surjendu started his own business at the same office where his father once worked. The chief guest at the inauguration ceremony was none other than Dipankar Bagchi.

[Arghadipa Chakraborty · Rating 4 out of 5]

অনিমেষ বাবুর মৃত্যুর জন্য দায়ী কারা? কোনো সূত্রই যে নেই..!! ঝিনুক- দীপুকাকু কি পারবে ফন্দিবাজকে বন্দী করতে?

দারুণ লেগেছে পড়ে।