Goan rhapsody continues…..

From his possession were recovered a kilogram of explosive material, two Russian-made hand grenades, electronic detonators and the like. We decided to keep his detention under wraps and make him communicate with his handlers over email. The idea was that when he reported to his bosses that he had reached his destination and all was well with him, they would send more men and weapons. Thus, we hoped, we would catch more terrorists and recover more arms and explosives.

On the afternoon of 12 March, the day after Tariq Ahmed Batlo of LeT was picked up, a group of journalists walked into my office. They began to congratulate me on making the arrest. I was taken aback because we had not made the news public. I feigned ignorance and asked them which terrorist they were talking about. Some of them laughed and one reporter, with a mischievous smile on his face, disclosed that the CM himself had made an announcement to that effect in Margaon, only half an hour earlier. I called up the SP of south Goa based in Margaon and inquired if the CM had made such an announcement. The young officer confirmed that indeed the CM had triumphantly declared the ‘good news’ to the public. But, I wondered how the CM knew of the arrest, as neither my officers nor I had shared the information with him. I found out later that an armed police constable, who was on guard duty with the terrorist, had informed the CM of the arrest. On further inquiry, it was learnt that the constable hailed from the same constituency as the CM and clearly was more loyal to him than to his police chief.

As DGP of Goa, I met several local people and made lasting friendships. Most of them were chance encounters, but the relationships forged through them have stood the test of time.

To be continued….