"Operation Desert Safari" continues...

Anything going wrong would have attracted severe criticism with disappointment and regret at a personal level. Constant in-flow of clues about the location of the kidnappers’ hideout, and that too from the victim himself, added to the uniqueness of the operation. That eventually we succeeded in rescuing the hostage from the jaws of certain death and, in the process, eliminated two of the most wanted criminals of the country, added another dimension to our sense of professional and personal achievement. We had also succeeded in pre-empting an unnecessary fear psychosis in the minds of the Non Resident Indian community that visiting India for business was unsafe. Incidentally, a list of 25 NRIs was found during the search of the Sarvapriya Vihar house along with a satellite phone and four mobiles. Thekkat had been told that more NRIs would be abducted in the future in a similar fashion by the gang.

The case was unique in several other ways too. The first information had been lodged overseas: with our Ambassador in Abu Dhabi. The victim, though of Indian origin, was settled abroad and had travelled home to India in search of greener pastures. While kidnapped and held hostage in his home country, his next of kin were to pay the ransom in Dubai. As subsequent investigations were to reveal, the entire conspiracy was the handiwork of criminals based abroad. All told, it was a classic case of trans-national organized crime tackled with the urgency and the finesse it required.

The response to the challenge posed by this case was equally noteworthy.
Our Ambassador knew exactly how to respond to the first information report of the crime lodged
with him. Rather than send the complaint through the customary bureaucratic maze, as is usually
the practice in diplomatic circles, he cut the procedure short by informing the CBI directly. We were equally quick to get our act together and involve the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, who
have the requisite expertise and capability to handle such operations.

To be continued...