‘Baitha hai, sir, baitha hai!’(‘‘‘He is sitting there, Sir, he is there!’’’)( The Netting of Punjab CM’s assassin)

The Delhi Golf Club, located in the heart of Delhi on 220 acres of prime real estate, comprises of a 18 hole Asian PGA Tour ‘A’ course and a shorter 9 hole ‘B’ course. The ‘B’ course is mostly used by beginners and executives anxious for a quick round of golf before they get to work in the morning. It was a Sunday afternoon in September, 1995—hot and humid—when I, a struggling rookie of the game (not that I am any better now!), having hacked through the first eight holes of the ‘chhota’ course, stood on the tee-box of the 9th, a par three. I noticed beyond the green and close to the clubhouse a group of three men watching me intently from the far end. I wondered what had brought them to the rather exclusive precincts of the club. As I got close to the green, I recognized one of them. He was an Inspector, who had served with me during two of my assignments in the Delhi Police, before I moved to the CBI on deputation in 1993.

My first assignment in the CBI was as Deputy Inspector General of Police in its Special Task
Force. I had offices in Mumbai and Delhi, both headed by officers of the rank of Superintendents of Police. The investigation of the serial blasts, perhaps the most horrific and audacious act of terror in India’s history, would keep me flitting between the two cities for most part of the year. Even though our prime mandate was the serial terror attacks of 1993 on Bombay, we had inexorably been drawn into various other cases, mainly connected with terror. This is the story of one such case.

I finished playing the hole and went up to the officer. He said he had an important bit of information for me.

To be continued.....