“The Return Gift (Arrest and Deportation of Roshan Ansari)”…

I was then Joint Director of EOW-II with Branches in all four metropolitan cities. An Indian Revenue Service officer of the 1985 batch, Virendra came on deputation to the CBI as a Superintendent of Police. His initial years in the CBI were rather rough for him as he couldn’t get along with his boss then. When I took charge of EOW-II, I found in him a sincere, clear-headed, upright and hardworking officer. Having worked as his supervisory officer, I can say with confidence that he has far superior police instincts and investigative acumen than most Indian Police Service officers I have come across in my long career in the police. Today, back in the Income-Tax Department, he continues to do excellent work and holds an important assignment.

I forwarded the e-mail I had received from Dubai on Roshan Ansari to Virendra and asked him to contact Maj. M of the Dubai Police if any further details were required. Virendra set out on the task immediately by forming a dedicated team under Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) DS Shukla. The team commenced the mission first with the verification of the address of Roshan’s parents at Ghatkopar (West), mentioned in the mail sent by Dubai. The obvious thing to do was to ascertain if she was in hiding with her parents. This required keeping the given address under surveillance and making local enquiries in the neighbourhood. But that was easier said than done.

Maru Miyan Chawl, near Pankhe Shah Baba Dargah on Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, Ghatkopar (W), the address sent by the Dubai Police, where Roshan’s parents reportedly resided, is a communally sensitive area predominantly inhabited by a minority community. It is thickly populated with shanties and houses built cheek-by-jowl, each eager to devour the other, set in a labyrinth of narrow lanes and by-lanes.

The Dubai Police had provided a landline number +91-22-5002xxx, installed at the residence of Roshan’s parents. The location of the house, the landline number etc had to be verified and confirmed.

To be continued…