Thus an operation was planned at around 8 pm on the night of 2nd September, 2008. To retain the surprise, I called for a contingent of the Special Task Force to report at my Residence in Dehri-on-Sone at midnight and also asked the Sub Divisional Police Officers of Dehri and Sasaram for the same. Mithilesh Kumar Singh, then SDPO, Dehri, was a seasoned officer having led many successful anti-Maoist operations and was always confident and ready for more. P Kannan, then SDPO cum ASP of Sasaram was new into the service and was very enthusiastic and sincerely always ready for the next operation. The operation as planned began with a small briefing around midnight. The aim was to reach Dhansa before light in order to maintain the surprise till we reached uphill. For the Maoists, it was difficult to distinguish police vehicles from a distance in the night when their scouts were normally asleep, and we had often used this time. The rain God was also in our favour as he blessed us with slight rain which made our move till Dhansa almost unnoticed by anyone. 

As we reached Dhansa from Rohtas, we could meet some tractors going both uphill and downhill who were looking at us with surprise since they had not seen the police indulging in such risks frequently. As planned we reached Dhansa around 4.30 am and after counting the heads advanced ahead. I along with the DFO and ASP, Sasaram were seated in a civilian Tavera vehicle often used as a tactical mislead for the Maoists in such areas, while SDPO, Dehri moving in the front was seated in a regular police jeep. The forest road we were moving upon was seen like a patch of red between lush green forests with routes into villages quite clearly marked by the absence of patches of vegetation and tire marks. The school of Soli was about a km from the main Rohtas-Adhaura forest road. As we approached Soli, Mithileshji, SDPO, Dehri, having visited the village much earlier got confused and turned into the wrong road.

To be continued.....