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

The AFRRO, though very polite, would have none of it. I asked him: ‘Who would you like me to speak to so that you are given necessary orders to let them come with us?’ He said, ‘Either my Special Director or Joint Secretary (Foreigners) V.S. Ailawadi.’

I didn’t know the Special Director In-charge of Immigration personally but had heard of his reputation of being rather obstructive and negative. Fortunately, I had known Ailawadi, the then Joint Secretary (Foreigners) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, looking after the Immigration Department, for some time and had met him only a couple of evenings earlier at a senior colleague’s residence. I had casually asked him a hypothetical question that if people with Pakistani passports were to land at Delhi as part of a CBI operation, could I ask him for help should there be a last minute hitch? The positive and helpful man that he is, he said: ‘Of course!’

All members of the Memon family, Satish Jha, assorted immigration officials packed in that little immigration office, were watching this last minute drama unfold. It was not yet 9 am in the morning. I called up Ailawadi’s residence. His gracious wife Aarti answered. She said: ‘VS has left for office early because it is his last day as Joint Secretary (Foreigners). He has gone to wind up and hand over charge before he takes up his new assignment.’

My heart began to pound. What if he had already handed over charge? What if the news of him not being Joint Secretary (Foreigners) any longer came to the notice of the AFRRO? I called up Ailawadi’s office and luckily got to speak to him. Giving reference of our earlier conversation, I informed him that several wanted accused in the Bombay Bomb Blast Case had been brought to Delhi by the CBI against heavy odds; but the AFRRO was not letting us take them out of the Airport.

To be continued…