There are some things that you do, and then there are some things that you do not do. When you see a guy standing in a dark street in Byculla, with a noticeable bulge under his coat that looks like a gun, you probably wouldn’t want him as a passenger in your taxi. But when you are high, the way Raghu was after having too much to drink, you tend to miss these things.
Raghu picked up the shady character with the gun from Byculla west and headed towards Andheri station. Five ten minutes into the ride, Raghu thought he could hear the clinking of bangles. Slowly he realized that this was perhaps slightly unlikely, unless the passenger tonight was a bit kinky.
When he turned back he saw that his passenger was casually flinging bullets in the air and catching them.
The guy looks at Raghu and smiles. “Kya beta? Never seen a bullet before?”
Yes Raghu had never seen a bullet before.
As the taxi swerved around a signal, there was a crash as the right window at the back exploded in pieces and the passenger had blood spewing out of his arm.
This was something else that Raghu had never seen before. In all this evening was filled with a lot of ‘Never seen befores’ for Raghu.
“AAAAAARRRGGHHHH!!” the passenger screamed.
Raghu looked on horrified trying to figure out what in the world had just happened.
“DRIVE YOU ASS****!!!!! DON’T STOP DRIVING!!” the passenger screamed.
From both sides of the road two black range rovers were rapidly approaching the taxi, strewing their path ahead with bullets.
There comes a time in the life of men, when they have to act and prove their mettle. For Raghu Bisht, that time was now.
Raghu stepped on the accelerator and took the next left. It was a clear road at 2.00am in the morning. He looked about. They had crossed Dadar. The nearest police station from where they were was about three kilometers away. As he was figuring out how to get there, he heard the front left tire burst.
Then there was a faint pop as both the tires in the back were deflated with bullets
The taxi was now an unstable mass of steel. Death would either come from a terrible crash or from an unfortunate bullet.
Think! Oh God what should I do? What should I do?
Raghu looked back in the passenger seat and he saw that the passenger was clasping a small briefcase against his chest. He grabbed it from him and flung it open.
There were five grenades.
Throwing grenades is something that needs to be taught. You don’t just play around with it and learn.
But sometimes, you just do.
The first grenade landed five feet away from the black car to the left.
The backseat doors of the taxi were now shredded by bullets.
The second grenade lands on the bonnet of the car to the right. But it didn't explode.
The taxi fuel valve had caught flame.
In his desperation Raghu unpins all three of the remaining grenades and flings them down the road.
If anyone would have been passing by that road,, at around 2.15 am in the morning, then at this point they would have seen two black cars exploding across the horizon.
Raghu jumps out of his taxi and looks on at the exploding spectacle. Luckily the taxi doesn't explode.
Raghu was not a handsome guy. He was not educated. He didn't have any money and yes, consequentially he also did not have any girlfriend.
But after today, what he did have, was the guts to face any damn thing life threw in his face.
