After few months, Ramu asked for his money back and Raju retaliated telling he din’t take any money from Ramu and there was nothing that he was supposed to pay. Ramu was disappointed and cursed his fate fearing that he has lost his money as there was neither a witness nor a signed agreement that could prove the loan that he had given to Raju.
Somehow he gathered courage and informed the matter to the Sarpanch, the head, of the village. He was intelligent, witty and had a presence of mind. After listening to Raju’s plea he immediately understood that the man was speaking truth and that it would be difficult for him to prove it. So he was devising plans that could help him solve the case and catch the culprit.
He summoned both Ramu and Raju in the Panchayat and started questioning them in front of whole village.
Sarpanch: (to Ramu) “So, you say, you lent him 10,000 rupees?”
Ramu: “Yes, my lord. I did. But now he is refusing from returning my money!”
Raju : “That’s lies, my lord. I never took any money from him!”
Sarpanch: “When you lent him the money, was anybody else present? Or did you make him sign a written agreement?”
Ramu: (dejected at himself for being a fool) “No, there wasn’t anybody else. Just he and I. Since, he was my neighbour, I din’t think it was necessary for any written agreements. I gave it to him purely based on trust, my lord!”
Raju: (completely enjoying it) “That’s blasphemous, my lord! He is simply trying to mis-lead you and make you sympathetic towards him. I din’t borrow any money only to have any witnesses or agreements. I’m his friend and neighbour but I never expected him to stoop so low to earn some quick bucks!”
“This is taking us nowhere. Though I believe Ramu is speaking the truth, there is no strong evidence that I can hold against Raju, thought Sarpanch to himself, will have to deal this case differently.” Suddenly he got an idea!
Sarpanch: (to Ramu) Where did you give him money?
Ramu: (not understanding how would that help) It was afternoon, so I was taking my afternoon siesta under a tree when he approached me asking for money.
Sarpanch: (visibly excited) Wonderful! Why din’t you tell me this piece of information before!?
Ramu: (perplexed) Errr..I din’t think that it would make any difference.
Sarpanch: (rubbing his hands with glee) It does, dear Ramu. Now, go and get that tree here, under which you were taking rest. We’ll use it as a witness.
Ramu was wondering, What non-sense! Tree as a witness?! How am I supposed to get a tree? It doesn’t have legs to walk, mouth to speak, is too strong to uproot and too heavy to carry! This sarpanch has totally lost it! He left nevertheless to the woods lest Sarpanch reprimand him.
On the other hand, Raju was too elated that they had reached a dead-end. Ofcourse, Ramu won’t return with the tree and dealing with the Sarpanch had been easier than he had thought. He was just waiting for the case to be dismissed soon so that he could go home and celebrate!
Sarpanch, eyeing Raju all the time, suddenly said, “It’s been 5 minutes already. Ramu must have just reached the tree now.”
In his excitement, Raju blurted out, “No, my lord, the tree is more than a couple of miles away from this place. Ramu wouldn’t have reached there as yet!”
So, that was it. Raju had indirectly confessed to taking money from Ramu in his excitement.
Ramu returned after a while dejected that he won’t be served justice. But his happiness knew no bounds when Sarpanch ordered Raju to not only pay 10,000 rupees to Ramu, but also pay him another 2000rupees as fine for lying and for trying to deceive.
Moral:
1) God takes time, but delivers justice nevertheless. One just has to be patient and have faith in Him. – Ramu din’t lose hope and din’t give up and he was served justice.
2) When things don’t work your way, you have to make them work for you. – Though there was no evidence but Sarpanch used his presence of mind to solve the problem.
3) Sometimes, while dealing with crooked people, you’ve to act crook to get your work done. – That was a simple plan but turned out to be a devious one since Sarpanch made the culprit believe that he had already won.
4) Every problem has a solution. One just has to look at it from a different angle.
5) However cunning or witty a culprit may be, he’ll surely commit some mistake when he becomes over-confident.
source jigar-doshi
0 comments