“Return of the Memons: A Pyrrhic Victory” continues…

Our job was yet not over. The Memons had to be got through the maze of arrival formalities at the Delhi Airport. The challenge was to prevent any word of their arrest from spreading, lest the media went on an over-drive.

I called up the Delhi Airport Police and informed them that a friend and I were coming to receive a few family friends arriving from Sharjah. Inspector Gyan Chand, who had once served with me in Delhi Traffic Police, was on duty and was deputed to stay with me. Satish Jha and I waited anxiously at the Arrival Lounge, right next to the aerobridge. When the flight landed, the first to emerge from the aerobridge were the Memons as they had been upgraded by Indian Airlines staff at Sharjah. They were led by Suresh who rushed and hugged me howling like a child. Behind him were all the Memons in their traditional dress of starched kurta–pajama, ladies in burqa and the men sporting long beard. Inspector Gyan Chand, who held me in high esteem, found it all very queer. Why would his Sahib come with a friend in tow to receive such odd-looking people? Nonetheless, we were all escorted to the office of the Assistant Foreigner Regional Registration Officer (AFRRO) and the passports of the arriving passengers taken to the Immigration Counter. As we waited for the passports to be returned, a Junior Immigration Officer came in and whispered something in the AFRRO’s ears. The AFRRO scanned the Memons with piercing eyes. He then said to me ‘Sorry Sir, we can not let them go. They are on our wanted list and there are look out notices against them.’

I realised that the time had come to call off the charade and tell the Immigration Officer the truth. I said: ‘These are members of the Memon family wanted in the Bombay Blast Case. They have arrived in Delhi at the culmination of a CBI operation which has the approval and blessings of the Government of India.’

To be continued…