CHAPTER 11
980 Words
H
imesh, the head of the department, was a tall, swarthy complexioned man with a wrinkled forehead. He wore spectacles and had grey hair with a receding hairline. Reading the newspaper was a part of his daily routine. He was more concerned about what was happening in society than in his own life. He often advised people to change their ways and quoted spiritual gurus. But his personal life was in turmoil. His wife didn’t stay with him. His son bunked college and aimlessly roamed around with his friends. He sought solace in controlling the behaviour of his students.
While he was reading the newspaper, he caught noticed that Surya was walking towards his room but was hesitating to enter.
He asked his clerk to bring him in. "Come inside Surya!" he said derisively.
Surya came inside and greeted Himesh. With a stern voice he asked "Sir! I heard that you called my parents"
"Yeah! I had a conversation with Prof. Raghuvir. He had asked you to deactivate your social media accounts but you didn't comply! I had no other choice but to call your parents"
"Sir! Please give me another chance. This is the first time. Don't involve my Father in this! He has heart disease. He can't handle this." He held his head low as if he was trying to hide his crocodile tears.
"Come on Surya! I know that you are a good actor, you even added that in your resume. But this is not the place to show your skills" Surya held his head straight and looked into the HOD’s eyes. "I called you for another reason,” said Himesh as he pushed a report towards Surya.
Surya looked at it suspiciously. "What is this, sir?"
"That's the proof for your criminal negligence. You consumed alcohol before doing Surgery when you were on duty."
Surya looked aghast. “Sir! I didn't do the HVP surgery. The S.R did it. You can see his name in the register."
"Don't try to cover up Surya! You did the Surgery. I confirmed it with the Anaesthesia PGs and with the CCTV footage too"
"Okay Sir! I did the surgery. But there’s no evidence to prove that I was drunk." said Surya confidently.
"You are saying that there is no evidence. Anyone else in your place would have said that they weren’t drunk"
Surya was flustered a moment but regained his composition.
"Anyhow, that's the evidence. The legal limit in for diving is 30 mg%. But your blood test had recorded 50 mg%. That’s enough to cancel your medical license and debar you from practising medicine forever." Surya was terror-stricken when he heard the word 'debar'.
"Sir! It's not true! That report is fake. It must be someone else's sample. I didn't even give a blood sample that day"
"I know you would say that." He unfolded and pushed another paper in front of Surya. "This is the record that you donated blood at Care hospital"
Surya remembered the blood donation for Vishnu's friend. DAMN! I’ve done so many crazy things life and was never caught. For once I did something good and I am being reprimanded.
Himesh took the papers and placed them back in the drawer. Surya was confused. He turned away and was about to walked out of the room.
"It's not over yet!" Surya trembled with fear when he heard that.
Himesh pushed a picture across the table. Surya looked at it and was devastated. He fell over the chair that was next to him. "Sandhya!!"
He couldn't believe his eyes! It was a picture of her along with him in her bedroom the previous night. Surya realised that he was honey trapped.
That picture was obviously taken when he slept at her home. Now I understood, why I was sober enough to drive but fell asleep at her home. She gave me something that made me fall asleep. But why did she do that?
"Sir! That's a personal issue! You have no right to interfere"
"Unless... the girl complains that she was raped" HOD smiled wickedly.
Surya slapped his palm on the table. "No!"
"There is one more thing." Himesh broke the silence. "You messaged 'Looking beautiful' to the CMO, didn’t you?" He showed him the screenshot of the messages. "You even asked her out for dinner"
"I had no bad intention. I casually praised her display picture and asked for dinner out of courtesy. She had issued a medical certificate for my cousin. I apologised to her the next day when she raised this issue with the RMO."
“Why are you doing this?” asked Surya.
"You are asking the wrong person. Go and ask her. She will sue you for sure"
"What shall I do, sir?" Surya shouted.
"I am sorry to say this, but there is nothing you can do now. Your career is over" There was no limit to his anxiety.
"I appreciate your guts. The way you did the HVP Surgery was excellent. The Anaesthetist showed me a snippet of the video while you were doing the surgery. But you have to go down." Himesh gave him a thumbs down sign and smiled tauntingly.
"You are indeed quite reckless. You locked up your seniors after sedating them. You messaged the CMO and asked her out for dinner as if she’s your girlfriend. Why did you do all this? You need to learn a lesson for defying superiors."
Surya didn't know what to do. All this seemed like a personal revenge. As he left the room Himesh jeered at him "There are a hundred reasons for the death of Karna! Count yours".
Surya stopped, stood still for a second and looked towards him "Shall I tell you a story, sir? A group of fish in an aquarium on a ship once tormented a fellow fish as he skilled and was out of their league. Later, the fish became a whale and sank the ship."
HOD laughed derisively "That made no sense at all!"
Surya went out without a word
- Writer
