As soon as she saw four men approaching, Monju quickly entered the office.
She went straight to Imtiaz and said, “Boss, the police are coming.”
Imtiaz was the president of the bus owners’ association and owned about a hundred buses.
Slightly annoyed, Imtiaz asked, “Why the police? Didn’t you pay the weekly amount to the station properly?”
“It was paid just two days ago, boss.”
“Alright, let’s see what they want! Go and arrange some tea and biscuits.”
Mamun entered the office with Shahadat, Ismail, and Jayi. Seeing Mamun walk in, Imtiaz stood up and greeted him with a big salaam. Mamun was a bit surprised. None of them were wearing police uniforms. Yet, how do these people always recognize them?
With a smile on his face, Imtiaz said, “How are you, sir?”
Mamun didn’t respond to the question. Instead, he gave a faint smile and said, “I’m Mamun, from the intelligence department.”
The office was well-organized. Bus owners’ association offices usually weren’t this tidy. It was clear that Imtiaz had good taste.
Mamun sat on the chair in front of the table. Shahadat took a seat beside him, while Ismail and Jayi remained standing.
Imtiaz widened his smile and asked, “How can I be of service, sir?”
Mamun felt slightly irritated at the man’s overly enthusiastic behavior. Do these people engage in shady dealings? Otherwise, why do they become so overly polite at the sight of the police?
In a firm voice, Mamun asked, “Your buses are supposed to keep video footage of passengers before departure. Do you maintain that regularly?”
“Yes, sir. There’s not a single bus that departs without recording the footage.”
“Good. How long do you keep these videos?”
“We store them for a month, sir. Then we delete them. You understand, sir, it’s impossible to keep so many videos indefinitely.”
“I want to see the footage from all the buses last Friday.”
“Tell me where to send them, sir. I’ll have everything delivered.”
“No need to send them. Instead, arrange for all your cameramen to come with Friday’s footage.”
Imtiaz looked a little concerned. This was a massive task. Forcing a dry smile, he said, “That will take some time, sir.”
“We’ll wait. Arrange for them to gather at a nearby community center.”
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Imtiaz said, “Who knows where all the boys are? Calling everyone on such short notice is tough!”
Mamun leaned in slightly, his voice firm, “Tough or not, you have to do it. This is an order from the IG sir. We don’t have time to waste.”
Imtiaz stood up. “Let me see what I can do, sir.”
As he stepped away from the table, he called out loudly, “Monju, arrange some tea and refreshments for the sirs.”
Imtiaz left, looking busy.
Monju and another young man brought a bottle of cold water and placed it on the table, along with a tray of tea. There was a tea shop next to the office, and the tea was brought from there. A jumbo-sized biscuit packet was also placed on the table. Who was supposed to eat all these biscuits?
Monju said, “Sir, have some tea. The tea here is really good!”
Mamun didn’t respond. It wasn’t clear whether he wanted tea or not. Jayi, however, felt like having some.
Shahadat picked up a cup and looked at Jayi, saying, “Go ahead, have some tea. We don’t have any work at the moment.”
Ismail and Jayi were sitting side by side. Ismail handed a cup of tea to Jayi.
Jayi smiled lightly and said, “Thank you.”
An hour passed. Still, there was no sign of Imtiaz. Monju kept coming in occasionally, asking, “Sir, do you need anything?”
After two hours, Monju finally came and said, “Sir, please come with me.”
Mamun stood up.
They arrived at a community center. The room had a sound system, indicating that meetings were held there. Rows of chairs were occupied by many young men, each holding a camera.
Mamun glanced around. Imtiaz was nowhere to be seen. Though he had been getting annoyed, he now felt pleased. Imtiaz seemed to be quite efficient. Mamun hadn’t expected everything to be arranged so quickly. He thought they would be made to wait for hours, only to be told, “Sir, it couldn’t be done today! Come back tomorrow, and you’ll find everyone.”
Ismail quickly set up a projector displaying a photo of Rashida Begum. Mamun and Shahadat sat in the front row, while Jayi and Ismail sat ahead of them.
At that moment, Imtiaz entered. Standing before Mamun, he said, “Most of them are here, sir.”
Mamun smiled slightly and said, “Thank you, Imtiaz bhai. You’ve done an excellent job.”
Imtiaz laughed loudly and said, “Oh, sir! What are you saying? It’s our duty to assist you. We are always ready to help the law in any way!”
Everyone was instructed to carefully look at the photo.
Ismail said, “Everyone, check your footage from Friday. See if this woman boarded any of the buses.”
The group started scanning the videos. Checking footage on cameras like this was quite difficult.
After a long time, someone stood up and said, “Sir, I’ve found her!”
