“Devil Wears ‘Khaadi’ (The Unmasking of Romesh Sharma)” continues…

I shared the information on the helicopter with O.P. Chhatwal, my Superintendent of Police in the Special Task Force, Delhi. Between the two of us, it was decided to depute an officer to visit the farm and verify the information given by the press reporter. Inspector Hassan of the STF, who was put on the job, did well to trace the farm and peep in through a crevice in its compound-wall. To his utter dismay he did find a helicopter parked inside. However, he returned without taking note of any distinguishing mark on the helicopter. Chhatwal sent him back to complete the job, and on his second visit he came back to report that the aircraft had VT-EAP inscribed on it.

Meanwhile, by a happy co-incidence, Inspector Ishwar Singh of the Crime Branch of Delhi Police came to call on me one day. He had worked with me as a Sub-Inspector in South District where he had carried out a few extra-ordinary investigations. Later, as an Inspector in the Crime Branch, he became quite a celebrated officer when he uncovered the match-fixing scandal in international cricket involving the South African team. Since procedures for taking phones under technical surveillance were rather complicated and time consuming in the CBI, I shared Romesh Sharma’s numbers with Inspector Singh. Aware of Sharma’s criminal profile himself, he took these numbers under lawful interception, based on my ‘source’ information, and began listening to his conversations.

Around the same time, as a follow-up of our investigation into the helicopter affair, Chhatwal contacted the Airport Authority of India to ascertain the ownership details of the chopper. Records showed that it was initially registered in the name of one H. Suresh Rao, a resident of Mumbai and the sole proprietor of Pushpak Aviation Private Limited. Subsequently, the registration had been transferred to Romesh Sharma in 1996. But what raised our suspicion was the selling price of the helicopter, which was a mere Rs. 40,000/-.

To be continued…