"Return of the Memons- A Pyrrhic Victory" continues...

He was beginning to crack under the pressure of being constantly followed and having to run from one hotel to the other. It took me considerable effort to keep him calm and
pacify him over the phone. He requested me to arrange a car for him with a trust-worthy driver. I turned to an old friend who had an office in Dubai. He directed his Indian driver Shafi (now no more) to report to Suresh. Shafi had attended on me on a few of my earlier visits to Dubai and knew that I work for the Indian Police. Before being deputed with Suresh, he had been briefed by my friend that Suresh was in Dubai on my behalf. That had charged Shafi up and he could sense that he was part of an important mission. Availability of a chauffeur-driven car bolstered Suresh’s
confidence. He, meanwhile, made a tentative booking on an Air India flight for himself and the family from Dubai to Delhi for the 24th evening.

But the worst was yet to come. Suresh went to the Consulate to collect money for the return tickets (Pakistani passport holders coming to India must have return tickets) he had booked. Suitable instructions to Prabhu had by then been given by Salman Haider on my request to provide monetary support to Suresh. Suresh had become a familiar figure in the Consulate and most, including Prabhu, took him to be a senior CBI officer deputed for a special covert mission. He was always accorded due respect and deference by the Consulate staff. After completing his work he walked to the consulate parking, where Shafi was waiting for him in my friend’s car. As they drove out of the parking lot they noticed a car trailing them. At the next crossing, two more cars came from the side roads and began to follow Shafi’s car. Shafi had spent over twenty five years in Dubai and knew the city like the back of his palm.

To be continued...