Salim the Disposable (Tracing the absconder Salim Kurla) continues...

By the time I reached the rendezvous point, Raman and Pardesi had ascertained from the
Telephone Department the address of the premises where the phone number provided by his informer was installed. The official records showed it was the ground floor flat of RK Rathi, Vijay Shree Apartments, Chikoti Gardens, Secunderabad. The CBI Inspectors discreetly saw for themselves the location of the premises. Raman also informed his mole of his senior officers’ and his (Raman’s) arrival in Hyderabad. He had conveyed the phone number of the .ACP’s office, our makeshift base-camp located strategically, not far from Chikoti Gardens, where our quarry was expected to be in hiding. The team headed by Satish Jha had done everything that was required to be done as part of the plan that his informer had hatched. We all waited anxiously in the office of ACP, Begumpet for the go-ahead from the mole.

To our complete horror, after a brief hiatus, Raman appeared with a long face before Satish Jha and me. He reported: ‘‘‘Sir, my informer called. There was a change of heart amongst the big bosses in the gang. They tipped off Salim Kurla saying ‘Doctor Saab (their code for cops) aa rahen hain. Nikal lo’ (A police team is on its way. Leave quickly)’’’. The mole was not answering his phone thereafter.

Raman stood before us, dejected and embarrassed. I lost my cool and upbraided him for the poor quality of information he had gathered. What did he mean by change of heart? Raman offered an explanation: Apparently, Dawood and his younger brother Anees had gotten tired of Salim Kurla’s frequent demands for money to sustain his family and himself. Occasionally, they had hinted to him that he should rather be on his own. But, since Salim was on the run it was difficult for him to generate any income

In the cruel world of the Mafiosi, someone close today can become disposable the next day,
particularly when a gang member becomes a liability.

To be continued.....