"Operation Desert Safari" continues...

And, of course, the marriage venue and
the dome shaped monuments were all there.

As I walked down this lane, I was seized by a sensation that is hard to describe. Whether it arose out of too much fatigue and stress or over-obsession with one thought, I don’t know. I have felt a similar sensation on earlier occasions too while nearing the successful culmination of difficult and complicated operations. Sometimes I have wondered whether it is something supernatural or some kind of a message from above. Countless thoughts reverberated
in my mind. Was it going to be the same again? Was it the turning point?

I saw Sub Inspector Mehtab Singh, a young officer of the Special Cell, walk down the lane from the other side and the two of us met almost halfway, close to the house with the green net on its terrace. We exchanged looks and I showed him all that I had observed.
Rajbir, almost simultaneously, emerged at the far end of the lane. On being shown all the telltale
signs, he began to shake me by my hand complimenting me that the mission had been
accomplished. I told him to remain focused on the job at hand.till it was done with.

At this moment, I noticed a ‘dhobi’ (washer-man) engrossed in ironing clothes, a common sight in residential colonies of Delhi. He had been watching us all that while but behaved as if he was oblivious of us. Police instinct guided me to him and I asked him if he knew of any abnormal activity in the house with the green net, but he feigned complete ignorance. Judging by his speech, I could tell he was from Bihar. I was quick to take advantage of that and told him that I was a police officer hailing from Bihar and was trying to rescue someone who was being held hostage. A bit reassured, he reluctantly told us that the house we should look at is not the one with the green net but the one next to it.

To be continued...