"I'll break her jaw."
"Bloody bitch."
"Why doesn't she die?"
Okay, Mom. Just listen to me, okay?
Why did you change your decision
that day?
Which day?
That day.
First, you said
you don't want to go to Madh with us.
But later you joined us.
Why?
What do you want to say, Mom?
Why do hate her so much?
What has that child done to you?
This was all a part of therapy, okay?
Dr. Sabawala had told me
to channelize my anger and record it on my dictaphone.
I recorded all my anger, my frustration in this, Mom.
I said it all in the heat of the moment.
So much hatred.
So much hatred in the heat of the moment?
If you can say all these things,
then maybe you can think of doing it as well.
Maybe you can do it too.
-Mom... buddy, just... -I am not your buddy!
I want to talk to my lawyer.
We have seized a year's worth of your supply.
There's nothing your lawyer can do.
Sir, I have information you can use.
Do you have any exchange policy?
I see. Now you want to make a deal with the police?
Come, let me teach you the lock-up policy first.
Sir, about that Zara Ahuja murder case...
Yes, Deshpande.
I have a gift for you.
If you ever get promoted, don't forget
who deserves a party and who deserves a favour.
I just arrested a drug dealer.
The boy lied again...
about going to the ATM.
Mehman ji.
What are you doing in there for so long?
I am in my chamber.
Studying the case. Be quiet.
Studying the case?
You've been talking to yourself all this while.
These are not good signs.
We're meeting with Mukul's doctor today.
Why don't you book a session for yourself as well?
Sir,
shall I send some tea inside?
-What is it? -We're getting late. Let's go. Take this.
How will you send tea?
There's always some beauty product simmering on the burner.
Come... to the tea stall.
I'm destined to drink tea at the tea stall.
-See you, didi. -I'm leaving, Ratna.
How does it matter if only 6 grams of MDMA
were recovered from Mukul's room?
Ma'am, according to Xavier's statement,
he had sold 10 grams of MDMA to Mukul.
Which means, that night, he shared it with his friends at the party.
And if someone else at the party also consumed them,
then our entire case will fall apart.
Did you do a drug test on the others at the party?
We didn't think it was necessary then.
When we found evidence of Mukul dragging Zara out of there,
we just followed that lead.
Perfect.
See, the drugs we found in Zara's bloodstream
and the drugs we confiscated from Mukul's room...
that's our direct and exclusive link.
Our victory lies in this exclusivity,
so, guys, this is the story that needs to do the rounds.
But, ma'am, these questions should be raised, right?
Why?
Wasn't the charge sheet filed by the police?
Your department's job is apprehending the killer and bringing him to me.
My job is to get him punished.
You guys have done your job;
now let me do my job.
Yeah?
-Thank you. -Thank you.
You see, Mukul has been lying time and time again.
He's hell-bent on sinking his own boat.
When someone has always been disappointed by others,
they will always be afraid to trust anyone.
Who disappointed Mukul?
Have you
heard about confirmation bias?
Please explain it to him. He doesn't know.
When we believe something is the truth,
we collect all the proof to support that belief.
How is this connected to Mukul?
Mukul believes that no one loves him.
He keeps reconfirming this belief over and over again
that he's alone in this world
and even his mother doesn't love him.
But Mukul's mother is standing by his side
with all her might.
That may be true,
but you have to understand
that children often blame
any one parent entirely for the divorce.
This means he blames his mother.
Mukul's relationship with his mother was already a little broken.
When Mukul's mother married for the second time,
along with that came the picture-perfect daughter, Zara.
And as Zara got success,
limelight and the people's love,
Mukul found himself even lonelier.
To put it simply,
Zara's limelight left Mukul in the dark shadows.
Meaning Mukul had a problem with Zara's success.
Zara reminded Mukul of everything that Mukul couldn't achieve in life.
Now, whether he's a scared,
insecure, short-tempered teenager
or a murderer,
that you have to understand, Mr. Mishra.
If you have decided
that Mukul did commit this crime,
then you'll catch everything
that confirms your belief further.
Meaning confirmation bias.
Confirmation bias.
Well,
we've got only one job now. Make him speak up.
I mean make him trust me.
If I ever need a session, I'll come over.
Doing drugs,
being violent,
harbouring so much hatred towards Zara.
Could I be wrong?
Imagine,
can the entire world be wrong?
Everyone's saying it, Arvind...
that my son...
my child is guilty.
Not guilty.
Listen to me, Avantika.
I admit that Mukul's upbringing isn't perfect,
but I also know that he's not a murderer.
And if we don't trust him, then who will?
We shouldn't suppress our inner voice
because of the commotion outside.
So...
not guilty.
That was an amazing stunt you pulled with the counsellor.
It was stupid, I know.
Stupid? No.
Monumentally stupid.
And being stupid is nothing unique.
Even I am... slightly.
Now look,
you've been lying to me continuously,
but I'm still on your side.
Because of you, I've become the laughing stock in court.
I get yelled at by the judge,
but I'm still on your side. Why?
Because I am stupid.
But my stupidity is not endless like yours. Understand?
So, today I'm giving you one last chance.
Final chance.
Tell me the whole truth about what happened that night.
From the time you left for the party that night,
till you arrived at the party.
What happened? Where all did you go?
Tell me everything honestly.
-I told you-- -Don't say you went to the ATM.
I know you didn't go to the ATM.
You don't even have an ATM card.
Why would you go to the ATM?
Tell me. Tell me everything that happened.
Where all did you go?
Or else the prosecution will say
that he was at the crime scene.
Later, you came to the party and gave drugs to your sister.
Once she was high,
you dragged her back to the crime scene, next to the beach
and poured acid on her while she was unconscious
and killed her.
Then you dumped her body in the Arabian Sea,
came back home and fell asleep peacefully.
And then...
Zara, the one you had to share your mother with,
was dead.
What nonsense!
I haven't killed Zara.
No, this is the truth. You've killed her!
Because when your mother married Neeraj,
you thought you'll have to share your mother
with not just Neeraj, but Zara as well.
Which you didn't approve of.
And on the other hand, Zara was such a sweet child
that your mother started loving her more
and you were heartbroken.
That's bullshit, okay?
No, no, this is the truth.
Your mother loved Zara more.
In fact, not just your mother,
but the whole world loved Zara more than you.
And you didn't like this fact.
And then you decided to get Zara out of the way.
That's a lie, okay?
-This-- -No, this is the truth.
To get your mom back, you went to that party with an agenda.
And your agenda was to murder Zara.
Just shut the fuck up, you moron!
I went there to sell drugs, okay!
Not to plan Zara's murder!
At that party,
I met Somen and Devesh.
They told me
about an after-party.
So I told them that I have MDMA.
I thought
I'll sell them the MDMA and take my cut.
We made a plan.
He's here.
What's up, bro?
Here you go.
Four for you.
Thank you.
Bro, it's 7k for a gram, right?
But this is only 20.
Bro, I'll give you the remaining cash at the party?
You're coming, right?
No, bro. I have other plans.
Bro, you'll have to give us a lift anyway.
Just come in for a minute.
Okay, cool. Let's go.
Come on.
From there, we went to the party.
Somen distributed the MDMA he bought from me
among his friends.
At the party, I met some people,
chilled out,
and then I saw Zara there.
And the rest you know.
Every day I regret that decision of mine.
I... just shouldn't have gone.
Just...
So, this is why you kept lying.
To hide the fact that you were selling drugs at that party.
Thank you
for telling the truth,
and...
I'm sorry for having to use my technique.
Now, give us the names and numbers of the people
you sold the drugs to.
Due to increasing public pressure,
the Zara Ahuja murder case has been fast-tracked.
We'll know what weapons Lekha madam plans to come equipped with
only after seeing the witness list.
Just watch,
Nishi's name will definitely be on the list.
Hi, Nishi.
So, what was the nature of the relationship
between you and Mukul?
What was the relationship between Mukul and Nishi?
-I am pretty sure, I saw-- -Pretty sure or absolutely sure?
Yeah...
Yeah?
Thank you so much for your time.
Cancel him.
Madhav Mishra will destroy him. Who's next?
What happened with Varun? What provoked the violence?
I want to know everything.
Yes?
Okay, thank you.
Namaste.
Are there any records of him being lazy at work?
I mean has anyone seen him dozing off on duty?
If yes, then just cancel him.
The drug we recovered from Mukul's room as evidence...
Right.
Mister,
didn't you check the cheque properly?
Check, check, check... I triple-checked the cheque, sir.
What are you saying?
Then how did the cheque bounce?
That too Avantika Ahuja's cheque?
These currency notes are in such mint condition.
I just get old, sweaty notes all the time.
It's your hard-earned money.
At least you get paid.
And look at me.
My rich client's cheque has bounced.
Like it was made of rubber. I threw it, and it bounced.
How much longer, Ratna?
Come on.
Neeraj,
my cheque has bounced.
I don't know how.
The lawyer called.
Your cheque?
-Yes. -Or Zara's last income
-that you're spending on his legal fee-- -"His"?
Mukul is our son.
The same Mukul
who the police suspect to be Zara's murderer.
You chose to be his father.
You know him.
-If we-- -Do I?
Do I know him, Avantika?
Do you even know him?
He dragged Zara
to the car and took her.
Dragged her.
To the place where...
Because Zara ticked him off.
Enough.
Mukul never accepted us as his family,
nor Zara as his sister.
He hated her!
He is just a child.
Child?
This child of yours has ruined my life.
Where do I arrange his lawyer's fee from?
I won't pay for it.
And definitely not from Zara's hard-earned money.
Don't I have a share in Zara's hard-earned money?
Haven't I done anything for her work?
Even I have worked hard, Neeraj!
I've done everything for my daughter,
for this family!
My daughter was
always a star.
She didn't need you.
Fuck you, Neeraj!
Fuck you!
She was always a star!
Ratna, do you know how my relationship with money is?
Imagine I'm standing on the highway
and money is coming my way.
A good amount, at a good speed.
It's heading in my direction, it's coming towards me.
As soon as it's within my grasp,
it takes a U-turn.
Will you quit one day before the hearing?
And what about all the time you've invested in this case?
Instead, you should think about what you'll do and how?
No, no...
A hungry man can't focus on work.
I will run the house,
and you focus on the case.
Don't say that. I'll be heartbroken.
Rather than my heart being broken, I'll break one of my policies.
Finish your tea. It won't come to that.
For now, I'm earning regularly compared to you.
Okay.
What happened? Got burnt?
Yes. Badly burnt.
Just see, how Ratna ji quietly started earning more than me.
-Madhav! Madhav! -Yes?
-Take this first. It's for good luck. -What?
It's okay. It's okay.
Will you only feed him for good luck and not the assistant?
If I fail, then he'll fail too.
-Don't be so negative. -Feed me.
If he's a hero, then so are you.
Give him the entire bowl.
This is all he wants.
Aren't you getting late now?
-Come on, let's go. -Come. Let's go.
-Let's go. -Bye, didi.
Tell us. Why did you murder Zara?
Tell us.
Why did you kill Zara?
Why did you do it?
Case 3459034.
State of Maharashtra v. Mukul Ahuja.
On the recommendation of the Juvenile Board of India,
the accused is being tried as an adult.
Are you aware of the charges against you?
Yes, Your Honour.
How do you choose to plead?
Not guilty, Your Honour.
Speak loudly and clearly.
Not guilty, Your Honour.
Prosecution may proceed.
The fame and fortune that Zara Ahuja had earned at the age of 14,
most people don't manage to earn that in an entire lifetime.
Zara Ahuja wasn't just a popular TV star.
She was a very talented, loveable and happy child.
She had turned 14,
and she had a bright future ahead of her.
But one night all that was brutally, viciously brought to an end.
Zara was dragged from a party
and taken to a secluded place,
where her hands and feet were tied.
Her mouth was gagged,
and nitric acid was poured on her,
until she died of pain.
That night we lost Zara Ahuja.
We couldn't hear her screams of pain,
and this void is impossible to fill.
If this can happen with a celebrity like Zara Ahuja,
imagine what ordinary girls of our country might have to face.
We have an opportunity today
to answer the cry for her justice in this court.
Let's not fail Zara again.
During the court proceedings,
the prosecution will prove that Zara Ahuja's murder
was committed by her family member,
her stepbrother, Mukul Ahuja.
That Mukul had the means, motive and opportunity
to commit this crime.
I would like your permission to call the chief investigating officer,
SHO Prashant Waghmare, to the witness stand
to take us through the crime, please.
Officer, what happened on the 21st of May?
At around 9 a.m., Neeraj Ahuja called at the station.
He sounded nervous because Zara Ahuja was missing.
His security guard informed him
that Zaha had gone out late at night and hadn't returned.
She had gone to a party, Your Honour.
Is this the same party where Mukul Ahuja sneaked out to go to?
Yes.
But they didn't go together.
When we questioned Mukul about Zara,
he said he had seen Zara at the party,
but that he returned home alone.
That was his first lie, Your Honour.
The first of many lies.
Photographs from the party were already posted on social media
where we can see a clutch in Zara's hand.
We found the clutch at the bungalow, lying on the dining table.
And Zara hadn't returned home.
The clutch had Mukul Ahuja's fingerprints on it.
Objection, Your Honour.
Mukul Ahuja and Zara have been living together
as a family for many years.
So, how is finding his fingerprints on the small bag he calls a clutch
anything path-breaking?
You'll be given a chance to make your argument and cross-examine.
Please don't forget the procedure.
Yes.
Please continue, Officer.
We learned from the statements of the witnesses at the party
that Mukul Ahuja was clearly lying.
Several eye-witnesses saw Mukul arguing with Zara at the party,
Your Honour.
In fact,
he wasn't alone.
But late at night at 1:45 a.m.,
he forcibly dragged Zara outside.
And this fact is recorded on the CCTV camera of the resort's parking lot.
Exhibit PE 1 is the recording of the CCTV footage, Your Honour.
Zara was last seen here.
Last seen alive.
We questioned Mukul.
When we showed him this CCTV footage
where he is forcibly dragging Zara,
he finally confessed that he left the party with Zara.
He claimed that Zara was under the influence of some drug,
that she was puking,
and that's why he took her to a beach.
He got some water from a deserted bungalow,
cleaned the puke in the car,
and left Zara alone on the beach and returned to the bungalow.
And went to sleep.
What connection does this deserted bungalow have with the crime?
Forensics have confirmed
that the crime was committed in this bungalow.
It's the scene of the crime, Your Honour.
It's a brilliant cover story.
How Mukul suddenly, coincidently showed up
at the crime scene that night.
Isn't it?
Even we didn't find this story convincing, Your Honour.
Exhibit PE 2 are the photographs of the crime scene, Your Honour.
We recovered photos of the same location from Mukul's phone too.
Forensics found Mukul Ahuja's fingerprints
at the crime scene, Your Honour.
And also on the murder weapon.
When we searched his room,
in the cupboard's shoe cabinet,
we found packets containing six grams of MDMA.
As usual, he did try to deny it.
But...
Mukul Ahuja's fingerprints are present on the packet.
And it's the same drug that we have found in Zara's blood sample.
When we received this information from the autopsy report,
our doubts were confirmed
and we took Mukul Ahuja into custody.
Thank you.
To summarise, Your Honour,
Zara Ahuja was last seen alive with her stepbrother Mukul Ahuja.
And the police investigation tells us
that Mukul had the means, motive and opportunity
to murder Zara Ahuja.
That's all, Your Honour.
Defence may proceed.
Hmm.
Officer, when you said your doubts were confirmed,
did you suspect that Mukul committed the murder?
Yes.
Did you suspect it, or did you believe it?
I don't get it.
There's a slight difference between suspicion and belief.
Suspicion has room for doubt
and belief doesn't.
What was your status?
After the autopsy and forensic reports, there was little room for doubt.
But the forensic report takes time.
Till then, were you waiting for your doubts to be proven wrong,
after which you would follow the procedure?
Objection, Your Honour. This is pointless.
Sustained.
Madhav Mishra, come to the point.
Your Honour, the point is that the chief investigating officer,
Prashant Waghmare, is suffering from confirmation bias.
He's adjusting his statement according to his belief.
He was convinced that Mukul Ahuja committed the murder.
He and his entire team
were searching for information around this conviction.
The motive of his entire investigation was to prove Mukul as the murderer
and not to find out who murdered Zara.
Confirmation bias.
Confirmation bias?
Now, if we're done with the psychology lesson,
can we come back to law?
Your Honour, the police considered my client as the prime suspect
because he lied in his first statement.
Mukul told the police that he returned to the bungalow alone.
He did actually return to the bungalow alone
and not with Zara.
And he lied when
he had no clue about what had happened with Zara.
Your Honour, he saw Zara at night, at the party, in an inebriated state.
And he thought he should save her from the wrath of his parents.
You know, children are usually scared in situations like this.
If we start treating children as criminals because of their lying, fear or anxiety,
then our juvenile centres would be overcrowded.
And we're making that child stand here
and trying him as an adult.
And Lekha ji is absolutely right
that we couldn't hear Zara's screams for help that night.
But today, Your Honour, we can hear this child's scream for help.
He's screaming for help.
He's saying "not guilty, not guilty."
Today, the future of this child is also in the hands of this court.
Will we fail in giving him justice again?
Will we fail?
This is extremely sad, Your Honour.
But society still believes in the idea of "an eye for an eye."
That's why in cases like these,
the media is under public pressure
and the police and administration are under pressure from the media.
And especially in such high-profile cases,
the police are under pressure
to immediately find answers to tough questions.
And usually, under this kind of pressure,
the police readily believe in the answers they get easily.
Justice is not vengeance.
It's hope for change, Your Honour.
My client, Mukul, isn't just innocent,
in fact, even he wants to know who did this to his sister.
Madhav ji,
Mukul pleading not guilty doesn't make him innocent.
To prove my point,
I would like your permission to call
the forensic examiner to the witness stand.
Dr. Gajbhiye, how long have you been working as a forensic scientist?
Nearly 10 years.
And what can you tell us about the evidence found at the crime scene?
Your Honour,
these are photographs from the crime scene.
We found samples of blood and flesh.
We even found a torn tarpaulin,
a piece of which was wrapped around Zara's body
that was recovered from the sea.
And most importantly,
we even found the murder weapon,
which was the leftover nitric acid in the jerrycan.
We found that at the crime site as well.
Why is the jerrycan so important,
and why are you referring to it as the murder weapon?
Because the jerrycan contains the acid
that was used to kill Zara Ahuja.
And were Mukul Ahuja's fingerprints found on this jerrycan as well?
Yes.
These fingerprints matched Mukul Ahuja's.
Thank you.
No more questions, Your Honour.
I am not an expert,
but can you
tell the court what partial fingerprints are?
Any set of fingerprints
that are incomplete, broken, unclear
or degraded.
Meaning not visible clearly.
We call them partial fingerprints.
So, is it possible that an unknown person arrived after Mukul left,
wore gloves and used the can of acid,
due to which Mukul's fingerprints became partial,
and the unknown person's fingerprints didn't show up?
Is this possible?
But why would that happen?
The why and how is what we're trying to find out.
Just tell us whether this is possible or not.
Tell us.
Yes, it is possible.
How many other people's fingerprints did you find at the crime scene?
Several others.
I see. Whose fingerprints were those several others?
What?
You must have ID'ed the other fingerprints, right?
How many others did they belong to? Who all were there?
I don't have information on whether they were ID'ed or not.
I can say with firm belief, Your Honour,
they weren't.
Confirmation bias.
Thank you.
The court is adjourned.
You all planned to accuse me of stealing
and were going to quietly have me abducted, right?
Bastards!
No, Bittu, that's not true.
And those who tried to abduct me...
They replaced Zara.
...I've already dealt with them.
What nonsense is this, Bittu?
Don't you know whom you're talking to?
Listen, you fool.
Bittu isn't scared of anyone.
She is strong and competent.
Understood, idiot?
Varun, you're in college and preparing to be a doctor.
Right?
Yes, ma'am.
Did you always want to be a doctor?
No, ma'am.
I wanted to be a pilot.
That was...
just before Mukul did this.
Did what?
Can you show the court?
Objection, Your Honour.
To add weight to their statement,
the prosecution is using gruesome theatrics.
Sustained.
Varun, Mukul and you were best friends, right?
And yet Mukul attacked you like this?
Yes, ma'am.
Did you start this fight?
No, ma'am.
Then what did you do that Mukul attacked you so viciously?
I unwittingly pulled his leg.
Random comment.
I think about his
results or something... and--
Freaking liar!
Order!
Mr. Mishra, control your client.
Yes. Mukul.
Do you see?
Do you see his anger is out of control?
He gets violent.
He assaulted his friend, his best friend so brutally.
This clearly indicates
that he can do the same with his sister, his stepsister.
You can, can't you, Mukul?
Objection, Your Honour.
-What is this-- -Sustained.
Continue.
Your Honour, I'd like to exhibit PE 3,
a video recording of the fight between Mukul Ahuja and Varun Thakur.
I'm gonna fucking ram you.
I'm gonna fucking kill you.
You fucking liar.
I'm gonna fucking kill you.
You fucking piece of shit.
I'm gonna ram you. I'm gonna fucking kill you!
I'm gonna fucking kill you.
-I didn't know he could be so vicious-- -Avantika.
Don't say that. Have faith.
How am I supposed to have faith, Arvind?
Listen to his dictaphone and tell me how.
The dictaphone from his therapy?
Avantika,
if there's anything on it that can get Mukul in more trouble,
then destroy it.
Please.
Mukul hasn't done anything.
And what if he has?
There is no excuse for what Mukul did to you, Varun.
None at all.
But I still want to know what you said
that provoked his anger so much.
It was something really random.
Random?
I've been a student of a government school.
Hindi medium.
So "random" means...
anything, saying anything.
Yes.
Like saying your mom is a gold digger,
who can sleep with anyone for money.
Objection, Your Honour. This is... this is not relevant.
You smashed it out of the park today, Mehman ji.
I mean...
Sir.
Whether we make money or not, we'll definitely earn respect.
Respect doesn't have the same kick as money, Deepu. Understood?
A hungry man can't focus on work.
Who did this?
This is slander.
Who was it?
We're planning to run from here.
What?
To break out.
Again.
What are you up to, boys?
Get out. Leave.
-Nothing, sir. -Nothing.