"Operation Desert Safari" continues...

This was where Thekkat had been driven to on his arrival in Delhi and detained after being assaulted. Some important evidence was collected from there too.

By now the media was hounding us all over. A Press Conference was organized in the CBI
Headquarters during which Thekkat broke down. After composing himself, he gave a vivid account of the entire sequence of events. During captivity he had gradually won the confidence of the abductors who allowed him occasional strolls on the terrace of the flat in the company of one of the captors. It was during these 'outings' that he noticed clues connected with the location
of the flat, which he passed on to his family in Malayalam, whenever possible. The kidnappers
were initially opposed to his speaking in his native language on the phone. But he had cleverly convinced them that if they wanted their ransom money he should be allowed to speak in his
mother-tongue to his family members as that was the language they understood best. He had noticed the first clue about the shop with the telephone number 6683899 on a calendar hanging in the kitchen of the flat, a misleading clue which had given us a false start at the beginning of
the operation.

While addressing the media Thekkat praised the CBI and the Special Cell of the Delhi Police to the skies and said that he was alive because of us. Contrary to expectations, he returned to India to depose during the trial of the case, which led to the conviction of all surviving accused to life sentences. It is not common that victims of crime, based overseas, return to depose in courts of law in India, often resulting in the culprits going scot-free. Thekkat, fortunately, proved to be an exception.

This operation is easily one of the most thrilling and satisfying experiences of my professional
life. I headed a team that had volunteered to undertake a risky operation in which a private
citizen had to be rescued from desperate gangsters. We were racing against time and delays could be fatal.

To be continued...