The Collapse of the Narrative
March 29, 2010 – 6:00 AMLocation: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
The rising sun bathed the empty stands of Wankhede in a pale gold, the air still damp with dew. The gates, however, were anything but peaceful. Protesters had camped overnight, their banners drooping under the weight of the morning air. Police barricades had been reinforced, creating narrow funnels for controlled entry.
The sound of rustling newspapers and the distant clang of shutters being raised filled the early hours. But what truly cut through the quiet was the distinct ping of incoming mobile notifications.
Every phone in the vicinity, from the hands of activists to bored constables, chimed in unison.
🚨 Joint Statement from Indian Cricket Legends Released 🚨
Issued by:Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble & 32 Other Senior Players (Active & Retired)
The statement was simple — deliberately worded to sound reasonable, but unmistakably positioning the Wankhede esports event as a dangerous precedent.
Wankhede Stadium stands not just as a sporting venue but as a temple to the aspirations of millions of young Indians. To repurpose it for activities unrelated to our national passion risks diminishing its legacy. We call upon the government, the organizers, and all stakeholders to reconsider this decision and ensure cricket grounds remain dedicated to cricket.
The message was clear.
Tradition vs. technology.
Legacy vs. disruption.
It was exactly the dividing line the opposition needed.
March 29, 2010 – 7:15 AMLocation: Aritra's Bedroom, Jadavpur Villa
The soft glow of the television flickered against the walls. Aritra sat propped against the headboard, one hand resting on his knee, the other scrolling through Lumen's real-time data feeds projected onto his phone screen.
Sentiment Analysis – Post Statement Release📉 Negative Sentiment Towards WarFall Event: 19% increase in urban Maharashtra.📉 Protester Mobilization Forecast: +8,000 individuals by afternoon.📈 News Channel Coverage on "Cricket vs Gaming": 7/10 leading channels lead with anti-WarFall narrative.
Katherine was still asleep beside him, curled up under the light blanket, blissfully unaware of the quiet war unfolding just beyond her dreams.
Aritra's fingers tapped rhythmically against his phone. His expression was calm — detached, almost surgical. He had anticipated the statement. The protests. The media frenzy.
And he was ready.
"Lumen," he said quietly. "Initiate Operation Spotlight."
March 29, 2010 – 8:00 AMLocation: Omnilink Global Operations Center – War Room
Multiple screens lit up in unison. From the Omnilink headquarters in Kolkata, Lumen's central system began executing the carefully prepared counter-offensive. Months of surveillance data, quietly gathered through various subsidiaries, shell companies, and political operatives, were finally being weaponized.
Target 1: Arun Mehra – Leader of United Progress Front (UPF)Lumen queued up a series of videos showing Arun Mehra in a private hotel suite with senior executives of an illegal sand mining cartel. The conversations — recorded through a compromised hotel room voice assistant — clearly discussed laundering proceeds into political donations and setting up sham infrastructure tenders in Maharashtra.
Target 2: Vikram Deshmukh – Film Superstar & Face of the Protest MovementA clip surfaced of Vikram — drunk at a party, ranting about how he didn't actually care about Wankhede or cricket.
"Who gives a shit about a stadium? It's all a bloody paycheck. They pay, I show up, I cry on camera."
Target 3: Sharad Deshmukh – President, Cricket Association of Mumbai (CAM)The dirtiest file of them all — a series of wire transfers linking Sharad Deshmukh directly to illegal land acquisitions across Mumbai, using CAM's power to evict slum dwellers and flip prime plots for personal gain. There was even a recorded call where he negotiated bribe amounts to overlook building safety violations.
March 29, 2010 – 9:00 AMLocation: National Election Network (NEN) Studio – Mumbai
The morning panel had been set — five "experts," all handpicked to hammer home the message of preserving Wankhede. They were just warming up their righteous indignation when a breaking news banner sliced across the screen.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Explosive Corruption Files Expose Political, Corporate, and Cricket Nexus in Maharashtra 🚨
The screen split into a live feed from Omnilink News, where a grim-faced anchor sat at his desk.
"We have just received exclusive evidence detailing a massive conspiracy involving some of the most powerful figures in Maharashtra. What you are about to see could change the course of this debate entirely."
The first clip of Arun Mehra played — grainy but clear enough to see the politician's smug expression as he detailed how campaign money was washed through fake tenders.
The panelists in the NEN studio were stunned silent.
The Vikram Deshmukh party rant followed immediately, the actor's slurred words obliterating any credibility he had as the face of the protests.
By the time the Sharad Deshmukh land scam evidence rolled, the panel had dissolved into chaos.
"What is this?" one expert sputtered. "Where did this footage come from?"
The anchor didn't answer. He didn't need to.
The #WankhedeCorruptionScandal hashtag erupted across Omnilink, spreading to mainstream platforms within minutes.
March 29, 2010 – 10:30 AMLocation: UPF State Headquarters – Emergency Strategy Meeting
Arun Mehra's hands shook as he gripped the printed transcript of his own conversations. The room reeked of sweat, stale coffee, and panic.
"This… this has to be fake," he muttered.
But no one in the room believed it.
"The timing's too perfect," one aide whispered. "It's him. It has to be."
Everyone knew who him meant — the man whose name no one dared say aloud. The ghost behind BVM. The invisible architect.
"We need to shift the narrative," Mehra barked. "Blame… blame the foreigners. Say these leaks came from corporate spies trying to ruin Indian democracy!"
"Sir," the aide said weakly, "Omnilink already released the full call logs. They've cross-verified the transactions through independent auditors."
Mehra slumped into his chair.
There was nothing left to fight.
March 29, 2010 – 11:00 AMLocation: Wankhede Protest Site
The crowd, still chanting, started to notice something strange. Reporters who had been interviewing protesters suddenly shifted their cameras away — not toward the stadium, but to their own smartphones.
Live feeds were filled not with chants for cricket, but with clips of their supposed leaders — drunk, corrupt, and exposed.
Confusion spread like wildfire.
"Did you see this?""Is this real?""Vikram was paid to be here?"
Within the hour, the protest crowd thinned by half.
March 29, 2010 – 1:00 PMLocation: Aritra's Villa – Jadavpur
Aritra sat on the balcony, phone in hand, watching the chaos unfold.
Katherine sat beside him, cross-legged, scrolling through the same trending headlines. "Wow," she said, "I thought this would be way harder for them to win."
Aritra's smile was faint, almost absent. "People want to believe in heroes," he said softly. "But it only takes one crack to shatter the whole statue."
The fight for Wankhede wasn't over. But the opposition had just lost its sword and shield — and all Aritra had to do now was step over the wreckage.