The Zero-Cost Mission/The Wily Agent

by Amar Bhushan

  ‘Am I talking to Mrs Hossain?’ Sujal enquired.

  ‘Yes, but who are you?’ she asked.

  ‘Rehena, this is Sujal Rath. Do you remember me?’

  ‘Of course, Sujal-da. What a surprise to hear from you after such a long time! Where have you been hiding all these years? I tried your number several times but you never answered. Even our common friends in Delhi were of no help in tracing you,’ Rehena chattered on, true to her excitable nature.

  ‘I will explain everything when we meet. I am in a bit of a soup right now. Can I talk to Shariful?’

  ‘He has gone to Sylhet but should be back soon. Why don’t you give me your number? I will ask him to call you back as soon as he returns. Are you speaking from Delhi?’

  ‘I am travelling in Europe. Please tell him that I will contact him tomorrow morning at seven, Dhaka time,’ Sujal said.

  ‘I will make sure that he is available to receive your call. How is Arpita boudi doing?’

  ‘She is fine. I have a surprise for you,’ Sujal said, but the call was abruptly disconnected before he could continue. He tried calling back but gave up after a few failed attempts.

  ‘Who is Shariful?’ enquired Vijay who had overheard the conversation.

  ‘He is a Jamaat ideologue and more of a friend than a source. He teaches physics at Dhaka University. He may be of some help in your operation,’ Sujal said.

  ‘Why did you lie to his wife about travelling in Europe? She can easily call your bluff by tracing the number.’

  ‘I have my reasons,’ Sujal responded cryptically.

  ‘Why do you need to talk to a Jamaat leader for an operation that aims to destroy Jamaat facilities?’

  ‘I will explain everything in due course, but let me first talk to him,’ Sujal replied.

  ‘You shouldn’t have used the office phone to call your contact. It compromises our security.’

  ‘You have to take your chances with me,’ Sujal said.

  Early the following morning, Sujal called Shariful Hossain, a senior and respected leader of Jamaat-e-Islami of Bangladesh. He was a strange fit in his party. Though deeply religious, he was not a fundamentalist and was the main architect behind bringing Jamaat into the mainstream of political activities. Never shy of opposing Jamaat’s disruptive agenda in his typically suave and erudite manner, he was both resented and admired by the party leadership. Sujal had got to know him when he was posted in Dhaka, hitting it off with him from the day they met at a party hosted by a playwright, known for his plays that caricatured religious bigotry as well as unbridled permissiveness. In due course, they not only became good family friends but also met frequently to discuss political developments. Sujal had never revealed his intelligence background to Shariful and Shariful had never probed, perhaps assuming that there was more to his job as a diplomat than met the eye.

  ‘It’s very nice to hear from you,’ Shariful responded warmly after Sujal announced himself on the phone. ‘Rehena told me that you had something urgent to talk about.’

  ‘I need to speak to Crescent on a matter of mutual interest. Can you please set up a meeting with him?’

  Crescent, a rabid fundamentalist and the prime conspirator behind the mass killing of liberal and secular Bangladeshis during the Liberation War and an architect of the close working relationship between the Nationalist Party and Pakistan, was the de facto head of Jamaat. He had built his organization around an intense hatred for India and the establishment of the rule of Sharia in Bangladesh.

  ‘What should I tell him is the purpose of your meeting?’ Shariful enquired.

  ‘I can’t discuss that on the phone, but it is very important,’ Sujal said.

  ‘Let me see what I can do. You know how distrustful he has been of even genuine overtures from Indian officials and Indian intelligence agencies. But I will definitely try to persuade him,’ Shariful assured Sujal.

  ‘Tell him he has nothing to worry about. After all, I will be meeting him in Dhaka, in his den, unescorted, so if anyone has to be chary, it is me and not him,’ Sujal pointed out.

  ‘Give me your number,’ Shariful said.

  ‘If possible, please speak to him today to gauge his reaction. It’s better if I contact you. I will call you back at 1.30 p.m. your time—’ The line got disconnected. Sujal tried a few times to call Shariful back but finally gave up.

  With nothing to do but wait, Sujal went back to sleep. He woke up late in the morning, had a leisurely breakfast and sat down to read through Vijay’s proposal once again and note down his questions and comments. Shortly after noon, he walked to Khan Market nearby and called Shariful from a public booth.

  ‘I’m sorry to call you before the decided time. Given the network problems, I didn’t expect the call to go through on my very first attempt,’ Sujal began anxiously.

  ‘Your timing is perfect,’ Shariful assured him. ‘I have just returned after meeting Crescent. It went well—he readily agreed to see you and didn’t seem too interested in knowing the reason behind your visit. In fact, I was a little surprised at his eagerness to meet you. But you will have to be in Dhaka within a couple of days. He is leaving for Saudi Arabia early next week and may not return for two months.’

  ‘Let me see how quickly I can arrange my travel documents,’ Sujal responded and thanked Shariful profusely.

  ‘Bring Arpita along if it is possible. Rehena will be happy to see her and share with her all the gossip about Dhaka’s liberated wives and girlfriends,’ Hossain said.

  ‘She would have loved to meet Rehena but she is not yet fit to travel. I’ll bring her along the next time for sure,’ Sujal promised.

  ‘Is she not well?’

  ‘She recently underwent surgery,’ Sujal said.

  ‘Oh! I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it’s nothing serious.’

  ‘She is feeling much better and should be back on her feet in a couple of months,’ Sujal assured him and thanked him again before hanging up.

  Vijay was horrified when Sujal told him of his plan to travel to Dhaka and asked him to arrange for his passport, visa and tickets under a cover name.

  ‘Why on earth do you want to meet Crescent clandestinely when the plan is to wipe out his facilities and kill his volunteers?’ he asked.

  ‘Like the Chief, I want to avoid bloodshed. You may find this strange coming from someone who believes in executing missions ruthlessly, but it’s never too late in one’s life to approach operations differently. Crescent owes me for a variety of reasons. So I thought why not take a chance and persuade him to withdraw his staging posts, stop pushing Bangladeshis illegally and sending militants, and close down camps where terrorists are being groomed by Jamaat and the ISI,’ Sujal explained.

  ‘You really are crazy.’ Vijay shook his head. ‘We want you to mount a violent offensive and here you are, talking like a peacenik. Do you realize that your meeting will not only ruin the element of surprise in the operation but also give Crescent a reason to accuse us later of attacking their facilities inside Bangladesh?’

  ‘I am aware of these possibilities but see no harm in warning him of serious consequences if he refuses to fall in line,’ Sujal maintained.

  ‘I have nothing against your trip to Dhaka to meet your old friends, but I have grave doubts about whether anything will come of your meeting with Crescent,’ Vijay said.

  ‘I cultivated and groomed him assiduously, more as a friend, during my Dhaka days. My effort was to blunt Jamaat’s hostility against us and use him to wean his outfit away from the vice-like grip of the ISI. He seemed to have begun to appreciate our political and strategic concerns in the region, but before he could bring about a substantive change in his outfit’s policy towards India, my assignment in Dhaka ended. I didn’t keep headquarters in the loop regarding my efforts with Crescent because your predecessor was dead against the very idea of engaging with Jamaat leaders at any level.’

  ‘How can you even entertain such wild ideas that defy ground realities? Do you real
ly believe that these murderers can ever be reformed?’

  ‘Tell me, am I solely responsible for this operation or not?’

  ‘You are.’

  ‘Then let me run it my way. I am sure you were aware of my operational eccentricities before suggesting my name to Reddy.’

  Vijay laughed at that. ‘You’re right. But I don’t have the authority to approve your visit to Dhaka. We will have to speak to Reddy about it.’

  Sujal agreed and they headed to Reddy’s office.

  The latter fully endorsed Vijay’s concerns but finally ruled in favour of Sujal.

  ‘I am also convinced that the visit will not serve any purpose, but since we have put our faith in you, Sujal, we must give you a chance to do things your way,’ Reddy decided.

  ‘Sir, I think we should inform the Chief. Anything can happen, given who Sujal will be meeting,’ Vijay suggested.

  ‘If you want to scuttle my trip, please go ahead,’ Sujal interrupted. ‘But I see no point in involving the Chief in every small matter. From what I know of Crescent, it is unlikely that he will agree to my proposal. Nonetheless, I think it’s worth taking a chance, especially if it will avoid bloodshed and a costly operation. And please don’t be worried about my safety. In case I don’t survive the trip, simply inform Arpita. She is braver than you think.’

  Vishwanath Reddy pondered for a while, admiring Sujal’s courage of conviction. Hesitant to agree in spite of Sujal’s arguments and assurances, he asked Sujal whether he would like to rethink his plan before Vijay arranged for his tickets and travel documents.

  ‘Sir, the risk that I’m taking is small. Vijay can tell you how many times I tempted fate in the past and came away without a scratch,’ he said.

  ‘Fine. You can go ahead and plan your visit. Vijay will arrange for your documents and the funds to cover your travel expenses,’ Reddy finally agreed. ‘Incidentally, have you had the time to write down your thoughts on how you plan to approach the operation?’

  ‘Sir, that discussion will have to wait till I return from Dhaka. Everything depends on how Crescent reacts to my proposal,’ Sujal responded.

  Reddy nodded and wished him luck. Sujal left, followed by Vijay.

  As they walked back to his office, Vijay asked, ‘Have you told Arpita about your proposed move to Calcutta?’

  ‘Yes, we did discuss the pros and cons of the move. Initially, she was against the idea of uprooting the family again. I agreed with her; l can’t expect her and the children to suffer an unsettled life for the sake of my career. Besides, she needs me now more than ever to take care of her health. I told her that I wouldn’t accept the offer. In fact, I almost sent you a cable declining the assignment, but she changed her mind and insisted that I accept the challenge. I was adamant, but she wouldn’t let me refuse the offer. We finally agreed that we would all move to Calcutta.’

  ‘She really is a unique woman.’ Vijay smiled. ‘Did you tell her that I was the villain who plotted this conspiracy and that she should curse me and not you? I feel guilty for sucking you into this operation, but I also know that you alone can pull it off with any chance of success,’ he said.

  ‘I also accepted because I know this operation has been your pet for years. Anyway, let me know as soon as my travel documents are ready.’ Sujal paused as he spotted the Deputy Chief approaching them. He greeted Sujal warmly and asked him to join him later for a cup of tea. Sujal told him that he had a flight to catch for Hyderabad that evening, but promised to call on him when he visited headquarters next.

  ‘How is it that you know the Deputy Chief so well?’ Vijay enquired.

  ‘He is one of the few officers who values my work. The others are Jeevnathan and Vijay Shukla,’ Sujal said with a smile.

  By now both had reached Vijay’s office. Sujal collected his briefcase, bid Vijay farewell and left. In the lift, he was joined briefly by Atul Kulkarni. They exchanged perfunctory nods before Atul got off on the fourth floor. Sujal guessed that Reddy must have summoned Atul to inform him about his posting and to instruct him not to meddle in the project. He hoped Atul would take his cue from Reddy and would allow him to run the operation on his own terms.

  Vijay kept his word and dispatched Sujal’s travel documents the next day. But subsequent events did not auger well for the visit. On the day of his departure, Arpita complained of acute abdominal pain and fever. Worried, Sujal called the doctor and decided to cancel the trip, but Arpita insisted that he go as planned and made the doctor assure him that there was no need to panic. Then, a few hours before leaving, Sujal tried to contact Shariful, but no one answered the phone. Once again, he contemplated postponing the visit as he wanted to be sure that Shariful was in Dhaka, but eventually he decided to take a chance.

  He landed in Calcutta, from where he was to take a connecting flight to Dhaka. But then came another twist. While he was waiting in the lounge for the flight to Dhaka to be announced, the head of the Agency’s unit at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka entered the lounge. Sujal had no option but to greet him. He soon realized that they were both booked on the same flight to Dhaka. To maintain the secrecy of his visit, he lied to the Agency officer, telling him that he was on his way to Delhi. Then, to avoid any further questions, he excused himself saying that his flight was boarding. From the lounge, he quickly went to the Biman airline counter and bought a ticket for a flight to Dhaka that was scheduled to depart two hours later. However, the flight was delayed by hours due to bad weather in Dhaka. When it finally took off at 3.00 a.m., it was pouring and the aircraft had to circle over Dhaka airport for close to an hour before it eventually made a rough landing.

  Sujal’s problems did not end there. As he was walking towards customs, he made brief eye contact with an immigration officer whom he knew; Mizan had been of great help during his previous assignment in Bangladesh. Sujal quickly ducked out of sight and waited as Mizan craned his neck in all directions to locate him. Once he saw that Mizan had given up on finding him and was moving away, he went through customs, hopped into a taxi and headed to his hotel. By the time he checked into Hotel Sonargaon on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue under a cover name, it was 8.00 a.m.

  After a quick wash, he called Shariful, but a maid answered the phone. She informed him that the Hossains were out of town but were expected back soon. An hour later, he called again. This time, finally, Rehena answered.

  ‘Shariful has been anxiously waiting for your call since day before yesterday,’ she said and asked for Sujal’s number and the name of the hotel where he was staying.

  ‘I did try to reach him a few times yesterday, but no one answered,’ Sujal said.

  ‘We had to suddenly leave for Khulna to attend his grandmother’s funeral and returned an hour ago because we expected that you would try to contact us,’ Rehena told him.

  ‘Please ask him to call me as soon as possible. I’m staying at the Sonargaon Hotel, room number 204,’ Sujal said.

  ‘I hope you know that you are dining with us tonight. I am planning to invite a few of our common friends. They would love to see you and catch up with you after so many years.’

  Sujal thanked her and hung up. He didn’t like the idea of the dinner as it would expose him to too many people. But before he could figure out how to handle the situation tactfully, Shariful called him. He told him that the ‘event’ had been scheduled for 8.00 p.m. in his house. Discreet as ever, he said nothing further and disconnected.

  Feeling relieved for the first time since he had left Hyderabad, Sujal had lunch in his room and spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on some much-needed sleep. He woke up at 6.00 p.m., refreshed. An hour later, he took a taxi to the Hossains’ house on Road No 10A, behind Kalp Neer, arriving five minutes early.

  Shariful received him warmly and took him to his study, where Crescent was already waiting for him. Upon seeing him, he quickly stood up and stepped forward to grasp Sujal’s hands.

  ‘Brother, I cannot tell you how happy I am to see you back in Dhaka afte
r seven long years. I thought I would never see you again till Hossain came to tell me that you wanted to meet,’ he said.

  ‘I am glad you agreed to see me at such short notice,’ Sujal responded, smiling.

  ‘Where have you been all these years?’ Crescent enquired.

  ‘I was serving abroad, but I always kept abreast of events around you. I heard that you have been getting politically stronger in partnership with the Nationalists in the government. After I returned to India earlier this year, I was told that under your leadership, Jamaat had seen a phenomenal growth in the strength of its cadre and has emerged as a formidable force in most college and university campuses. When I spoke to Shariful bhai, he wasn’t sure if you would be able to find the time to see me, given your preoccupation with party work and impending visit to Saudi Arabia. And yet you agreed to meet,’ Sujal said.

  ‘This is the least I can do for a friend,’ Crescent remarked.

  ‘I gather your party has also made huge inroads into the electoral base of the League.’

  ‘We are trying. We faced very rough times due to the League’s belligerent attitude. Knowing of your proximity to the League’s leadership, I often thought of contacting you so that you could advise them not to push us too hard. But I didn’t have your number,’ Crescent said.