Salim the Disposable (Tracing the absconder Salim Kurla) continues...

They spotted a three-wheeler autorickshaw approach the area and stop at a distance. After a few minutes, the headlight was switched off and a tall figure emerged from the passenger seat of the three-wheeler. He stood tentatively, silhouetted against the faint light in the area, looked around a bit, and began to walk towards the building under cover of darkness. The police officers hid behind bushes on the side of the ‘kachcha’ road leading up to the house. As the tall figure came within their reach, the cops emerged from their hiding and surrounded him. They frisked him to make sure he wasn’t armed. On being asked who he was, he first said he was Firoze Ahmed Pasha. But when shown his photograph, he admitted that he was indeed Salim Kurla. As we had anticipated intuitively, he had come that late to pick up his scooter. When asked about the whereabouts of his family, he refused to reveal any details. The officers slowly walked him to the auto-rickshaw that had ferried him to the place. The driver Syed Yusuf, when questioned, informed that he had picked up Salim from near Hotel Heritage, Sindhi Colony, Secunderabad.

Our happiness knew no bounds. An operation gone awry had worked out successfully at the end only because we had kept control over our senses and responded to police instinct when it mattered most. Often times, some police actions, seemingly mindless and defying rationality, bear fruit and bring results. Had Satish and I not thought of visiting the Chikoti Gardens premises when all seemed lost; had we not left Raman and Pardesi behind to cater to the outside chance of Salim returning to pick up his scooter; had the two CBI Inspectors and the Andhra Pradesh Sub-Inspector not acted as able policemen; the operation was a goner. That we salvaged it from the brink of failure was part luck and part professional acumen in the face of adversity. More importantly, we had not failed to respond to our gut-feel, intuition and police instinct.

To be continued.....