The man most wanted ever since the attack on Indian Parliament in 2001 was dead.
Shahbaz Khan who took pride in calling himself 'Gazi - the conqueror - Baba' had fallen to BSF bullets. The operation that started at 0300 AM lasted for well over 10 hours. It was August 30, 2003.
Though the entire world saw this operation live on television I desisted from confirming it.
The words of General Nirbhay Sharma - the Corps Commander - were continuously ringing in my ears.
"So many Gazi Babas have been killed by so many agencies since December 2001," he had told me the previous day so I wanted to be doubly sure before announcing it to the waiting media.
I could not have broken the news to my better half, Veena, at that stage but her thought flashed across my mind.
Soon after attending Rahul Dravid's marriage on May 5, 2003 in Bangalore she left for Dubai and I returned to Delhi. I was the IG (personnel) posted at the BSF headquarters.
Vijay Raman is an Additional Director General of Madhya Pradesh Police. He was IG BSF, Srinagar, from May 2003 to June 2004.
Everyone was taken by surprise when I opted for the Srinagar posting and Veena's silence was more eloquent than her words when I broke the news to her on May 14, while she was on her way back from Dubai.
It was at my own volition. Primarily because the network that I had built when posted as IG security J&K was flowing with information that had to be pieced together and Gazi Baba had to be neutralised.
Soon after joining Srinagar towards the end of May 2003, Salim (name changed) got in touch and information sharing started in right earnest. Shorn of all trappings of authority and identity, the hide out of Gazi Baba was surveyed.
He was reasonably clear about the lay out. Information was trickling in from other sources as well. One such input caused a little doubt about the layout.
On August 20 we decided to verify this and visited the spot along with Salim. As the vehicle turned into a narrow road, two persons were noticed coming from the opposite side. Salim whispered in my ears, "that is him, that is him".
I told the driver to stop but Salim held a vice like grip on my hand and asked the driver to rush back to the residence. It was twilight time.
The drive was of almost 25 minutes and all along Salim did not release my hand. Not a single word was uttered. The wrist area had turned blue. In the sitting room Salim finally opened his mouth. "I am sorry sir. I had no other choice. I knew you would jump out and try to catch him alive. What I had not shared with you was that whenever Gazi Baba roams around in town he and those accompanying him strap themselves with explosives".
Deadly silence followed and I did not know how to react to this act of Salim.
Today we have had the same man, the information had come to Narendra and the location was the same. After seeing the body I did not need any confirmation and now the world was told about it. Live.
What followed was a stream of congratulatory messages. The J&K governor was at my office to congratulate the entire team and there were calls from the Prime Minister and the deputy Prime minister. Such was the importance of our prized kill.
The cordon was to be completed by 0300AM and it was decided that the entry into the premises would be made just before sunrise. But it was not to be. The militants noticed the cordon laying activities and started firing.
Along with retaliatory fire Narendra accompanied by two officers and five men decided to barge into the house only to be welcomed by a volley of fire.
One boy died on the spot and others got injured. Some of the injured were retrieved and rushed to the military hospital. Two of our men ran up to the terrace of the three-storey building in a critical condition. As it was certain that non-militants that included women and children were present in the house instructions were issued to control the fire in order to minimize civilian casualties and wait till sunrise for further offensive action.
Just before sunrise the non-militant elements were exhorted to come out of the house. A temporary unilateral cease fire was effected to facilitate this activity.
Slowly people started coming out of the house. There were women among them. The first confirmatory indication that Gazi Baba was inside came at this time. A young woman with a baby in her arms walked out.
It was known that Gazi Baba after entering India had married thrice. The latest was a young girl from Tral of Anantnag district. I had first seen her during one of my visits to Tral where two BSF Bns had their headquarters.
After the evacuation of the non-militant component the time for action had arrived. But there was a big handicap. The two brave men who had climbed to the terrace were still there.
An all-out attack was not possible till these officers were rescued. General Sharma offered helicopter assistance but it had to be declined as it was a built up area with a large number of buildings in the vicinity and since helicopter evacuation would involve low flying , it was possible that that the militants took a shot at the helicopter itself and claim moral victory.
It was in the midst of such uncertainty that a humble constable suggested that why not put mattresses adjacent to the wall up to a height of 10 feet and ask the officers to jump.
I knew that the suggestion was innovative but some thought it was stupid. But come to think of it now, is history not replete with instances where ideas initially dubbed as worthless were chiseled into useful practical formulations by gifted master craftsmen.
The two officers were rescued like this even as firing from the house continued. The two could have fallen at the wrong place but the risk was worth taking and went of well in the end.
The mopping up operations were thereafter carried. The next day when a detailed thorough search was under taken we discovered a small TV camera attached to the outside of the main door frame and connected to the monitor placed inside the house.
This is how they kept a watch on the activities outside. And also the precise nature of the intercept confirming the death of Gazi Baba as early as 11.00 hrs still continues to disturb me.
The final inspirational moment came late in the evening when some one from NDTV asked me "Sir is this the end?"
And I quoted to him what Winston Churchill had to say to a similar query after the successful completion of the Egypt operation - This is not the end nor is it the beginning of the end. It is perhaps only the end of the beginning.
(As told to CNN-IBN correspondent Hemender Sharma) About the AuthorHemender Sharma A chance reporter, reporting for CNN-IBN from Bhopal. Has reported for the Sun Magazine, Delhi MidDay, Hindustan Times, Asian Age and Sahara Samay in ...Read Morefirst published:May 08, 2007, 15:52 ISTlast updated:May 08, 2007, 15:52 IST
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The intercepted message read "V-2 Allah ko pyare ho gaye. Allah unhe jannat nasib kare." The usual Jaish bombast was missing and the voice was subdued.
The man most wanted ever since the attack on Indian Parliament in 2001 was dead.
Shahbaz Khan who took pride in calling himself 'Gazi - the conqueror - Baba' had fallen to BSF bullets. The operation that started at 0300 AM lasted for well over 10 hours. It was August 30, 2003.
Though the entire world saw this operation live on television I desisted from confirming it.
The words of General Nirbhay Sharma - the Corps Commander - were continuously ringing in my ears.
"So many Gazi Babas have been killed by so many agencies since December 2001," he had told me the previous day so I wanted to be doubly sure before announcing it to the waiting media.
I could not have broken the news to my better half, Veena, at that stage but her thought flashed across my mind.
Soon after attending Rahul Dravid's marriage on May 5, 2003 in Bangalore she left for Dubai and I returned to Delhi. I was the IG (personnel) posted at the BSF headquarters.
Vijay Raman is an Additional Director General of Madhya Pradesh Police. He was IG BSF, Srinagar, from May 2003 to June 2004.
Everyone was taken by surprise when I opted for the Srinagar posting and Veena's silence was more eloquent than her words when I broke the news to her on May 14, while she was on her way back from Dubai.
It was at my own volition. Primarily because the network that I had built when posted as IG security J&K was flowing with information that had to be pieced together and Gazi Baba had to be neutralised.
Soon after joining Srinagar towards the end of May 2003, Salim (name changed) got in touch and information sharing started in right earnest. Shorn of all trappings of authority and identity, the hide out of Gazi Baba was surveyed.
He was reasonably clear about the lay out. Information was trickling in from other sources as well. One such input caused a little doubt about the layout.
On August 20 we decided to verify this and visited the spot along with Salim. As the vehicle turned into a narrow road, two persons were noticed coming from the opposite side. Salim whispered in my ears, "that is him, that is him".
I told the driver to stop but Salim held a vice like grip on my hand and asked the driver to rush back to the residence. It was twilight time.
The drive was of almost 25 minutes and all along Salim did not release my hand. Not a single word was uttered. The wrist area had turned blue. In the sitting room Salim finally opened his mouth. "I am sorry sir. I had no other choice. I knew you would jump out and try to catch him alive. What I had not shared with you was that whenever Gazi Baba roams around in town he and those accompanying him strap themselves with explosives".
Deadly silence followed and I did not know how to react to this act of Salim.
Today we have had the same man, the information had come to Narendra and the location was the same. After seeing the body I did not need any confirmation and now the world was told about it. Live.
What followed was a stream of congratulatory messages. The J&K governor was at my office to congratulate the entire team and there were calls from the Prime Minister and the deputy Prime minister. Such was the importance of our prized kill.
The cordon was to be completed by 0300AM and it was decided that the entry into the premises would be made just before sunrise. But it was not to be. The militants noticed the cordon laying activities and started firing.
Along with retaliatory fire Narendra accompanied by two officers and five men decided to barge into the house only to be welcomed by a volley of fire.
One boy died on the spot and others got injured. Some of the injured were retrieved and rushed to the military hospital. Two of our men ran up to the terrace of the three-storey building in a critical condition. As it was certain that non-militants that included women and children were present in the house instructions were issued to control the fire in order to minimize civilian casualties and wait till sunrise for further offensive action.
Just before sunrise the non-militant elements were exhorted to come out of the house. A temporary unilateral cease fire was effected to facilitate this activity.
Slowly people started coming out of the house. There were women among them. The first confirmatory indication that Gazi Baba was inside came at this time. A young woman with a baby in her arms walked out.
It was known that Gazi Baba after entering India had married thrice. The latest was a young girl from Tral of Anantnag district. I had first seen her during one of my visits to Tral where two BSF Bns had their headquarters.
After the evacuation of the non-militant component the time for action had arrived. But there was a big handicap. The two brave men who had climbed to the terrace were still there.
An all-out attack was not possible till these officers were rescued. General Sharma offered helicopter assistance but it had to be declined as it was a built up area with a large number of buildings in the vicinity and since helicopter evacuation would involve low flying , it was possible that that the militants took a shot at the helicopter itself and claim moral victory.
It was in the midst of such uncertainty that a humble constable suggested that why not put mattresses adjacent to the wall up to a height of 10 feet and ask the officers to jump.
I knew that the suggestion was innovative but some thought it was stupid. But come to think of it now, is history not replete with instances where ideas initially dubbed as worthless were chiseled into useful practical formulations by gifted master craftsmen.
The two officers were rescued like this even as firing from the house continued. The two could have fallen at the wrong place but the risk was worth taking and went of well in the end.
The mopping up operations were thereafter carried. The next day when a detailed thorough search was under taken we discovered a small TV camera attached to the outside of the main door frame and connected to the monitor placed inside the house.
This is how they kept a watch on the activities outside. And also the precise nature of the intercept confirming the death of Gazi Baba as early as 11.00 hrs still continues to disturb me.
The final inspirational moment came late in the evening when some one from NDTV asked me "Sir is this the end?"
And I quoted to him what Winston Churchill had to say to a similar query after the successful completion of the Egypt operation - This is not the end nor is it the beginning of the end. It is perhaps only the end of the beginning.
(As told to CNN-IBN correspondent Hemender Sharma)
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