Chapter 11.
Next morning at Friend’s Nest, maredpalli, Kamalkant woke up fairly early and got ready for his usual morning walk. He was surprised to see James already up and rounding up the dogs for their morning walk. The dogs ,Two ferocious beasts, very well trained by the local police trainer. They were very sharp and eager for their walk, straining at the leash held by an aging but yet strong James. The friends took turns taking the dogs out I n the morning and this week it was James turn. He was already out of the compound. Kamalkant caught up with him.’ Which way are you heading?’ he asked James
‘I will take the Bolaram road, less crowd at this time of day and dogs can have a free run with out people stopping them at every step.’ Said james, ,’would you like to join us, ?
NO, I will head for Mahendra hills. The steep climb will do lot of good for my aging heart”, he said laughing.
‘Good idea’, said James, ’but do not go too long. There are bikers hitting the roads to test their vehicles and they don’t care too much about who else is using the road. stay on the side lines. Too many hit and run cases are being reported these days, victims always old men who could n’t dodge fast enough. please be careful’. There was concern in every word.
Kamalkant promised he would be careful.
He liked to walk alone. That helped him to think and deal with the devils that dogged him. His pebble was always there for company. He took it out of his coat pocket. He started talking to it
‘see Krishna.It is a week since we landed at Friend’s nest.We are overstaying our welcome. We should move out.”
Hold on. There is still time.
“why are you holding me here”
Some thing nasty is going to happen. you should be here to help matters
‘what help can an old man give. The friends are all professional, an amazing collection of skills. They can run an army.”
. They can always use a doctor. But why are you so impatient?
“I have to catch up with Shankar Reddy,. you know it”
Yes, yes. All in good time.
It was still dark. Street lights were not on. Head lights of a jeep speeding down the hill road hit his eyes blinding him for a moment. The road was turning towards him ahead.
He walked ahead keeping to the edge of road. .Jeep was in the middle of road, no way he will swerve toward him. There was no pavement.
The driver half asleep, having driven for long in the night, suddenly woke up, he saw a dog making a dash across the road in front of the jeep. He turned to avoid running over the dog, Then he saw the old man with a long beard, in the light and cried no, no and turned the wheel violently. He lost control, he missed hitting the old man but landed his jeep into a ditch dug by telephone dept carrying out a major work of laying fibre cables for improved communication.
The old man lurched, avoided being hit by the jeep and fell on the road , twisting his ankle.. He saw the jeep still on its wheel but buried in the ditch at an awkward angle.. He peered through the glass in the pale light of early morning, the driver was slumped on the wheel, nasty gash on the forehead and his arm twisted below the steering wheel.
‘My God,’he said in a sense of shock, “he sure looks in bad situation.”
He looked up and down the road. There was no one in sight.
He remembered the cell phone given to him by Dickey.
He called up friend’s nest
Hello said a sleepy Dickey.
Dickey, kamal kant here, up on the mahendra hill road. just escaped being run over by a jeep that is presently buried in the ditch on the side of road. The driver is stuck inside the jeep in poor way. I want to help, but my leg is twisted and I can not do much , it is hurting. can you do some thing?’
Rapid fire talk with out wasting time but clear on details .
Dickey was wide awake, he said promptly,’ got it .just stay put there do not move. I will send somebody to help with jeep and I will be there as soon as possible.’
Dickey then called his friend Jamshed who ran the biggest garage and service centre in hyderabad and conveyed the information. Jamshed cursed him and was annoyed at being woken up at ungodly hours. But you do not say no to Dickey. he called up his men and instructed them as to what they had to do. He cursed the Indian army for allowing its officers to harrass poor citizens early in the mornings.
Jamshed and his men came with police close on their heels. They extracted the driver in one piece from the jeep. jamshed drove the jeep over to his garage. The police took the driver to the police station, where a police doctor had a look at the still unconscious driver. In time , the driver regained his senses and was shocked to see himself in police custody charged with reckless driving.
The police dropped kamalkant at Friend’s nest and briefed Dickey about jamshed and work done by him.
Dickey helped Kamalkant to walk up to the house and settle on a chair. Kaddu had woken up by now. She was ready with tea and biscuits She looked at swamiji’s leg injury and remarked, ‘you have been extremely lucky, Swamiji. not much damage’
Yes, dear. krishna saved me. He told me to step back when the jeep veered towards me to avoid running over the dog. But I am not young , you know. I was a bit slow. The ankle still hurts
What would you like, ice pack, hot water bottle ?
Can you get me crepe bandage? asked swamiji. you have wait till James comes in. he maintains the medicine chest.
Dickey finished his breakfast and dressed up in his military uniform to go to Military academy at Bolaram camp where his unit was located. While he was waiting for his transport to arrive, his friend Jamshed called up, ‘Dickey, I thought I will tell you this before I tell the police’
What is it?
Your friend on the jeep was carrying 4 baskets of vegetables. Buried in each basket were 4 country made revolvers with ammunition. what do I do?
‘tell Mouli all about it. and keep my name out of all your talks with police or anybody else.
Anything else’
Yes, there is one important thing.
What is it ?
There was a Xerox copy of Army Academy paper with a typed text.
And you read it?
Yes.
What is it about?
It is an agenda of a meeting at the academy. ShalI I give that note also to Mouli?
Yes, you do that and Jamshed;
Yes Dickey
Hand over all the revolvers to Mouli. Don’t you try to pinch one
‘Dickey’ , jamshed almost shouted
Yes, jamshed.be careful. Don’t get into trouble with police.AS I SEE YOU ARE ALREADY IN TROUBLE. The jeep driver looks like trouble for all of us.
Tel me how many people know about you and your men going out to get the jeep. Bury the jeep some place and keep the police informed.
OKAY, I GET THE MESSAGE. I will tell my boys not to talk too much about it.
That would be better. you can expect a bomb thrown at you very soon
Dickey---
Do not worry, I will be with you.
The army jeep turned up to take Dickey away to academy. A corporal stepped out and saluted smartly. His face then broke into a wide smile of genuine happiness on meeting his hero. He said, ‘it is nice to see you again, major’
Dickey returned the smile and said, ’same here, Vickey, all well?”
Yes, Major. Boys are sure happy , you are here. They wish to plan some thing for the evening, if you are free.
No time, Vickey.I see some serious troubled times ahead of us. I have a tip off that says your commandant is going to bumped off.
Pl don’t joke about it major. We expect that to happen every day.
You all are alert?
All the time.
Good, shall we leave now?
Sure,major.
They walked towards the jeep. Dickey allowed Vickey to take the wheel. Dickey always drove himself and he trusted only two people to drive well.one was vickey and the other young DPC Mouli of Andhra Police.
The jeep made good speed towards the vast grounds that housed the Academy complex. Vickey kept a continuous chatter on the status of academy and recent problems faced by it because political interference in matters relating to postings and promotion. Vickey trusted Dickey to do what was required to restore the academy to its glorious tradition and place of honour among similar institutions across the country
Col stood up to receive Dickey. Dickey saluted Bajpai before reaching out to grab his extended hand in a firm handshake. The col pulled Dickey in a bear hug and remarked , ‘Dickey, you are a sight for sore eyes’,. Once the formalities were completed Dickey said, ‘Col, we need to talk.”
Anything wrong? asked the col.
Police found a xerox copy of Army Academy memo sheet with typed text relating to agenda of secret meeting with civilian officials on Army civilian co ordination. It was found used for wrapping a country revolver buried in a basket containing vegetables. Should we take it as serious or not?
Dickey never believed sugar coating any thing. He gave it straight up.
‘What are you trying to say, Dickey?’
“Information is going out of your office. you need to check it out. look for a mole. Government is putting lot of efforts to make Army civilian co operation more effective. There may be some elements who may not like it .These elements are quite capable of stopping such a cooperation.”
‘Point noted. ‘Dickey.
Have to do more than that col. If I am expected to speak on the occasion, I should be briefed properly .
‘you can meet with the team.’
There was a call on Dickey’s cell. It was Mouli
‘Dickey , we must meet. tell your col to invite me for lunch at your officers mess. There are some developments about which your col must know.
Okay, Mouli. you are welcome. Did you speak to jamshed?
We spoke. I have collected the goods. That is what I want to talk about
At the officer’s mess, the col, Dickey and young PC sat around a lunch table to discuss possible threats to the officers of the army and government officials participating in the conference. The accidental discovery of the country made pistols and the copy of printed agenda sheet were grave matters that needed to be analysed. Should they treat the issues as local brew maoist related or is it some thing to do with terrorists activity supported by inimical foreign countries operating with in the country. If the matter is assumed as related to Maoists, then local police can handle it. if it is other way, then central government will have to be called in. some decision has to be taken.
Maoists never believed in mass destruction of men and material. They had certain beliefs and operated strictly as per that. They attacked police and killed only when provoked.where as the terrorists wanted to create a fear complex and did not mind killing people without reason.
Next question was related to arrest of Maoists cadre at the recently held mahasadas in the outskirts of Warangal city. How is it connected to the conference at the army academy?
.Are the Maoists moving to spring their friends from jail?
The Maoists will resort to a risky operation of jail break only when some of their top leaders are arrested and put in jail. If so who is that person among the arrested lot, who is worth an attack on police premises Police can not keep the people for long if there is no evidence, so police usually released the people after holding them for a month or so.
Dickey suggested that the police should handle these two matters as separate problems but conduct interrogation in a coordinated way. Providing security for the conference was more important than wasting time on unrelated issues.
They examined the movements of participating officials to and out of conference. The IAS officers had to be fetched from the state secretariat and after conference, they had to be taken back. If there is an attack on them, it would be out on the roads and not on a confined place. So secured transport and well monitored movement were required.
It was decided that the army will provide an armoured plated air conditioned bus with driver and commandos. Radio surveilence enroute with strategically positioned snipers will monitor the movement of the bus and two batallions of troops will be stationed to move fast to tackle any threat on the road. Mouli took notes on army stationery and folded the papers carefully in his tunic pocket. They had a relaxed lunch.
Mouli shook hands with the colonel and took leave. Dickey walked with Mouli up to the police car. he asked, ”Mouli did you talk to the driver? did you trace the jeep and check its ownership?”
Mouli said , yes. they had traced the registration and identified the owner as one of the rich farmers in the district. The owner was being brought to Hyderabad to identify the car and the driver. The driver had made a statement that he was car mechanic and the jeep had come up for repairs. He wanted to test the vehicle on a long drive, so brought the vehicle to Hyderabad. he was helping a local farmer to reach the vegetable baskets to the monda market in secunderabad. It is a standard practice. He did not know anything about the basket, guns or printed paper. A PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE STATEMENT.
There was one more point. The driver had in his possession a costly smart cell phone. Mouli checked the calls made on that phone and recent down loads. The latest download in the phone was related to biography of major Dickey. information related to awards and international postings
So someone was very interested in Dickey. Why should a car mechanic carry information about Dickey in his smart phone. Answer me Dickey. you are getting unwarranted attention at some place.
Dickey became very alert.
‘Did you examine the man.? was he really a mechanic? .did you check his finger tips ? usually they smell of grease and petrol. Their finger tips would be dirty’.
Mouli said, “yes, I have checked all that. This man is as neat as dude in tuxedo. I think he will be a big hit in Tollywood. HE TALKS WELL. I think he is a well read man. Dickey , why do well read men with guns take interest in you. That beats me.”
Well you don’t have to sweat about it, now that you have the man with you. work on him. Find out from his log who all were called by him and who all called. you may strike it rich.
I would like to know him too. Make some arrangement, I should see him and he should not know about it. did you get it. Also talk to the old man at the nest. he has uncanny knack of smelling trouble from a distance.
They laughed, shook hands. Mouli held on to the hand a little longer like a child. Dickey was his hero. Dickey patted him on the back, ‘do not worry kid. It will take more than a mechanic to take me out.’
Mouli smiled .he nodded his head and started his car.
Back in his office he called his team and briefed them about his meeting with the col of Army academy and Major Dickey. He told them that there may be some attempt to take Dickey out before the conference.’
He stopped for effect. His team was one of the best. They all were obligated To Dickey in some way or other. If Dickey was having trouble it was nothing new. But what Mouli had to say was different. He was talking about a protection ring around Dickey.
Ashok Reddy was the first to react. If there is a move against Dickey, Iam taking position outside the nest from this moment on and I will take my men with me. Mouli laughed out. ”There is time for all that. But priority to break the driver and make him talk. Next some one has to go Warangal and talk to maoists held up there. We have a cell phone and hundred telephone numbers. we have to see if these numbers appear in the call list of cell phones seized by Warangal police.so talk to concerned inspectors and get list of cell phone numbers. Then sit with cellphone service provider and obtain logs of all phones and recordings made in the last month. If there is mention of academy or dickey mark it and tie it with the cell phone owner. Find out if there are any numbers from the called list that is appearing in all phones we have to work fast. conference is exactly two weeks away.
All the inspectors went their ways to carry on with the investigation.
Very soon, they identified a common number called by most of the cell phones taken from the arrested people from the maoist cadre. They also found that cellphone that had received a call from cell now held by Mouli. mouli told the Warangal police inspector to bring that person to the inspector’s room to receive the call from the jeep driver .They kept the voice recorder in the cell on.
Mouli handed over the cellphone to the jeep driver and told him that there was call for him from Warangal.AT THE OTHER END, WARANGAL Inspector did the same with one of his prisoners. The man at Warangal end saw the number and got excited and air was filled with rapid fire talk in a strange language. At hyderabd , man held the phone a little away from the ear to reduce the blast of foul language streaming in. he remained silent glaring at Mouli. not receiving any response, the Warangal man became silent, realising the trick played by the police to make him reveal his identity .Warangal police have now established that he was not an Indian and things were going to become more uncomfortable for him. he dropped the cell phone and screamed at the inspector, who did not hesitate to kick the fellow where it hurts. The man fell down and was treated to brutal beating.
Mouli told the Warangal inspector to transfer that prisoner to Hyderabad under armed escort
Mouli had scored his first point. He knew the name of prisoner held by him and name of the Warangal contact.. His foreign language expert told him that the language was Sinhalese used in eastern lanka.
Mouli wanted Dickey to know about this development. He called dickey and told him how he had established the identities of two prisoners. Do you know Where these gents are from?
Sri Lanka?
How the hell did you know that?
It was a long shot. I am very popular among Sri Lankans
Okay okay .stop bragging
The name of jeep Driver is Ravi and one exposed at Warangal is samaraweera.
Ravi is incidentally a tamil sri lankan. Now we have some thing to work on.
Dickey said harshly, ”you have not found any thing useful yet. Don’t be led away from the basic objective. Find out what the Sri lankan was doing in Warangal. what is Ravi up to driving a jeep in Hyderabad. Son, start working.”
Dickey was happy that Mouli had opened up the investigation.
He and Colonel sat through the afternoon reviewing the security arrangements at the venue. The transport arrangements to bring the delegates to the venue, electronic surveillance , communication, requirement of arms light and heavy, and selection of combat groups to handle frontal attack.
Dickey explained to the groups what to expect and how to respond to suddenly changing situation and decision making. He briefed the drivers that they should not venture into civilian areas alone,to avoid being kidnapped at the last minute. He repeated that these guys are very good at infiltration, so the moment you see an un familiar person in uniform you must challenge them
He spoke to the commanding officer of Armoured corp located inside academy to spare a couple of tanks and armoured vehicle with machine gun mounted on roof,
There were questions. Dickey and the Colonel took turns to answer .It was important that every was clear about his role.
Dickey knew very well that every well made plan can come unstuck at time of actual action. But we must plan and have well thought options .To be properly equipped is very essential for success of all plans
They concluded the meeting and all personnel dispersed fully knowing their role.
At the end of day, Dickey headed back to the nest in the Army jeep driving it himself.