Chapter 20: Promotion is Just a Matter of Words

Parth Joshi and Sishji followed behind Pranav Sharma with extremely respectful expressions. There was nothing they could do about it—it was the gap in status. Their police ranks and positions were not as high as his. In addition, Pranav Sharma's identity as a federal police IPS was enough to prevent them from having the slightest disrespect in their hearts.

It was impossible for Deputy Director Geet to dare to provoke Director Yadav and the same applied to Pranav Sharma and Parth Joshi.

It could be said that the federal police held absolute power, at least within his jurisdiction. Unless there were special cases where subordinates had strong backgrounds and networks of connections, it was a different story.

The district police chief came to visit in person, and Rohan was naturally flattered.

Through Bharat, Rohan had already learned about the situation outside, and he had brought honor to the police system this time.

If it weren't for him, the Mumbai police system would have been criticized by various media again, and many people would have been in trouble.

People all over India had no good feelings towards the police. After all, the police spent too much time doing nothing, and they deserved to be scolded.

So, Rohan was the only bright spot that the Mumbai police system could use for publicity.

Pranav Sharma praised Rohan and told him that reporters would be arranged to interview him next. Rohan should be mindful of his words and ensure the glorious image of the Mumbai Police Department in this incident.

Of course, Rohan understood what this meant. When the time came, he would say that all of this was arranged by the higher-ups and share the credit.

There was nothing to be reluctant about. Rohan knew very well that he had made a fortune this time. Yadav would be grateful to him, Pranav Sharma would be grateful to him, and even the Chief of the Mumbai Police Department would remember his name.

So, when the reporters were allowed in for the interview, Rohan answered their questions according to Pranav Sharma's instructions, saying that all of this was arranged by his superiors and that he was just following orders.

Wouldn't the police chiefs above get credit for having prepared for a rainy day?

Pranav Sharma was very satisfied with Rohan's answers. After the interview, he left but handed over the matters here to Deputy Chief Parth Joshi.

Ten minutes after Pranav Sharma left, Parth Joshi handed the matter over to Sishji. He had mainly come here to show his face in front of the media and get some credit.

Now that the goal was achieved and the director had left, what was he still doing here?

Take care of Rohan?

Are you kidding? It was already a great honor for Rohan that a deputy director had come to check on him.

Other district bureau leaders also withdrew.

Sishji stayed behind and did not leave immediately. Although the major media reporters had just conducted interviews, many tabloid reporters and other media refused to leave.

He had to deal with these matters, and if he failed to handle them properly, it could cause considerable trouble for the police system.

Rohan's status was obviously not enough, and the deputy director had assigned him to the task, so he had to stay even if he was unwilling. After all, he was the Inspector General, and his status in the district police station was not low.

His main responsibility was to supervise the police stations under his jurisdiction, and he had a great say in the rewards and punishments of the officers, making his position quite powerful.

Rohan felt very happy. Although Pranav Sharma had not said how he would be rewarded, Rohan felt that he had made a great contribution this time and might even be promoted.

For low-level police officers, it was extremely difficult to get promoted to Sheriff, but this kind of thing depended on the person. In front of someone like Pranav Sharma, getting promoted to Sheriff was just a matter of a word.

At this time, North led a little old man in his sixties into the ward. The old man was holding a black briefcase in his hand.

"Inspector General, this is Shruti Haasan's agent…"

Before North could finish, the old man interrupted and said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Newtoo Passi, Shruti Haasan's agent. It's an honor to meet the Inspector General."

Sishji smiled and said, "Nice to meet you. I wonder what brings you here, Mr. Passi? Is Ms. Haasan okay?"

"Ms. Haasan is doing well, thanks to the protection of Officer Mahesh and the police. Ms. Haasan couldn't come due to prior commitments, so she asked me to express her gratitude to all the police officers and to give Officer Mahesh a small gift as thanks." After saying this, Newtoo took out a bulging envelope from his briefcase.

Since Sishji was right in front of Newtoo, he handed the envelope to him.

Although Sishji didn't see what was inside, he could tell from the shape that it contained a wad of rupees.

"Mr. Passi, this is our duty as police officers, so we can't accept this," Sishji said seriously.

"Officer Mahesh was injured, after all. This is just a small token from Ms. Haasan; otherwise, she would feel bad. I hope the Inspector General will accept it," Newtoo insisted.

"I really can't accept it…"

Seeing Sishji's stern refusal, Rohan cursed in his heart.

Anyone with half a brain could tell that there was money inside.

Judging by the thickness, if they were ₹1,000 bills, there were probably about ₹50,000. If they were ₹500 bills, there were about ₹20,000 to ₹30,000. Rohan often dealt with rupees in his past life and was very sensitive to this.

This was money given willingly. There was no way Sishji would refuse it. Why was he pretending to be an honest and upright policeman?

Besides, this wasn't corruption—it was a gratitude gift for his injuries.

Given Rohan's current situation, he urgently needed money to improve his life, and the upcoming civil service exam training would be a huge expense.

But Rohan could only curse in his heart. As the person involved, he couldn't interrupt.

After some back-and-forth, both Sishji and Newtoo left the ward. Geet followed Sishji like a shadow.

After about five minutes, Sishji finally compromised and let Geet accept the money.

"Then please hand over the ₹50,000 to Officer Mahesh. I won't bother you any longer." After saying this, Newtoo left.

Sishji turned to go back into the ward but noticed Geet moving to a corner, opening the envelope, and pocketing a large portion of the rupees.

Sishji frowned but said nothing and walked into the ward.

Rohan waited for the result for about ten minutes before Sishji returned alone. A while later, Geet entered with the envelope.

"Rohan, Mr. Passi was too insistent, so just accept this," Geet said as he placed the envelope on the bedside.

At this point, Sishji added, "The police station has already instructed the hospital to give you the best treatment. If you need anything, just let your superior know. Bharat, is that okay?"

"Of course, Inspector General." Bharat nodded.

After Sishji left, Rohan checked the envelope.

It only had ₹10,000. Geet had pocketed the rest.

Rohan sighed. Some things never changed.