07 July,2011 10:04 AM IST | | A Correspondent
The senior TV journalist, who accompanied Dey to meet Asrani at the bar in Mulund, gives MiD DAY a first-person account of the fateful meeting, which took place just days before Dey was shot dead
A few days before June 7 I don't remember the exact date Vinod Asrani called me and asked who the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) for Zone VI was.
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I asked a few reporters in my office and found that Dilip Sawant had held the post but he had been transferred and Sanjay Shintre had probably been given additional charge.
Uma Palace Bar, where the journalist met Dey and Vinod Asrani
I said this to Asrani, who then asked me who the Additional Commissioner of Police was for the same zone. I made enquiries again and found out from the assignment desk that it was Qaiser Khalid. I informed Asrani, who then asked me whether I knew the officer and could arrange for an introduction.
Asrani's contention was that it would be good if a journalist introduced him to Khalid and so, I called up the Addl CP the next day and told him that I wanted to meet him. Khalid, however, said he was caught up with work.
I communicated this to Asrani, who then suggested that J Dey and I could meet him at the Uma Palace Bar in Mulund that evening as all three of us had been planning to meet each other for a few months. I called up Dey and he agreed to meet the man.
I also told Dey that I would be coming from Oshiwara and he asked me to pick him up at Powai. On the way, Dey said Uma Palace Bar was a new place for him and I concurred. He then said that the location might have been chosen because there had been frequent raids on 'ladies bars' and other bars by the police.
When we reached the bar, we decided to wait for Asrani in a lane leading to one of the bar's entrances. Dey called up Asrani, who said he would be there in a few minutes.
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In some time, a white BMW entered the lane and Asrani called out "Dey Saab" to which Dey responded by saying "Sir" in his usual fashion. We walked up to Asrani and met him.
We were then led from a side entrance to a room which had sofas set against the walls. While Dey was sitting to Asrani's left, I was sitting on the right and one Deepak or Suresh (I do not remember his name) was seated next to me. The man was short and dark complexioned.
A person walked up to us after some time, who was introduced by Asrani as a doctor. We chatted for some time and Dey asked Asrani not to drink too much because of his liver problem. Asrani, however, told us that alcohol was his medicine and the discussion veered towards doctors and treatment for liver problems.
Asrani asked Dey whether he knew Qaiser Khalid and Dey immediately said that he knew him well and that they were good friends. I turned to Asrani and said this was good news for him since he was seeking an introduction with the ACP.
Meanwhile, Asrani asked Deepak/Suresh, what the outcome of the 'match' was and he said that either one of the teams had lost or it was a draw. Asrani immediately said nuksaan hua.
After this, Asrani started giving out money to bar girls present in the room while we finished two pegs each. Asrani asked me to have one more drink.
I said I didn't want to and asked Dey whether he did. Dey said no and Asrani told me that I should not be forcing people to drink. He then asked us to carry on, saying he was in the habit of drinking till the wee hours. I dropped Dey home and went home myself.
The next day Asrani called me to ask whether Dey and I were coming to meet Khalid. I told him that I would check with Dey and he should too.
Dey said he was caught up with office work and could not come and I said I would not be able to go either for the same reason. When I called Asrani to tell him this, he said he already knew that as Dey had told him so.
On June 11, I was sitting in my office, when I saw the news about Dey being shot on television. I immediately called up Asrani, since he was one of Dey's old friends, and informed him about the news. Asrani said he was in Navi Mumbai and that he would go home and check out the news on TV.
After a couple of hours, he called me up to say that whatever had happened was bad and that Dey was a good friend of his. He also told me how Dey had helped him out in one of his projects and how he had tried to gift Dey a motorcycle, which he refused.
On June 12, I went to the Powai police station and met some reporters and told them about this. I also met Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik and, during our conversation along with another reporter, I told him how Dey and I had been invited by this builder to a bar and restaurant in Mulund.
Deven Bharati subsequently called me to the Crime Branch office and asked me about the Mulund meeting. After a day or two, Bharati called me again and I narrated the incident. I may have missed out a few details as I was driving when I was talking to him.
On July 2, Crime Branch Official Ramesh Mahale asked me to come to his office the next day, where he asked me for details of the meeting.
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I told him about the bar being in Vikhroli by mistake and then he pointed out that I was saying different things. I immediately corrected myself and said that it was Uma Palace Bar and Restaurant. Mahale then asked me whether I remembered that there were two men standing outside the bar.
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I told him that I had a faint recollection of the same but I would not be able to identify them as it was dark. Besides, I was concentrating on talking to Dey. I did tell the police, however, that I could identify all those sitting with me inside the bar.
The police took me to do a panchnama of the spot, where I reiterated that I would not be able to identify those present outside as I had not paid much attention to the people standing outside the bar and also those who were passing by.
On the way back from Mulund, I asked Dey why Asrani was talking about the losses he had incurred after the match and Dey informed me that he was a big bookie. I have told the police whatever is the truth and also that I will not be able to identify those present outside.
