Neeraj Kumar - 24 Oct

When the author scoped me out to write the foreword to his second book, Khaki Files , I agreed without hesitation, though the word that came to my mind was dj vu. But I was so impressed with his earlier work, Dial D for Don , that I welcomed his proposal most willingly. And what a delightful experience it has been. Khaki Files is written so stylishly. What he has now produced is a thrilling work, not of fiction but real-life experiences that called for acutely skillful leadership, which he has displayed all along.

More than anything else, what fascinated me were the elements of autobiography (at times somewhat poignant), especially when it comes to the unpleasant personal experiences he has had with some of his seniors and colleagues. Neeraj has shown grace and large-heartedness in not naming them. He has also avoided naming his political masters who meant him harm.

While each chapter is a fascinating experience, the first one on the lottery scam, A Matter of Chance, made a huge impression. Apart from an occasional purchase of lottery ticketswhat is called lotto in New YorkI had no experience of lotteries. So Neerajs narration was a shocking eye-opener. It shows that lotteries were never a matter of chance, but an organized racket by habitual cheats to dupe the common man. Those who repeatedly keep on trying their luck in lotteries are unaware that they are putting themselves at the receiving end of a game of fraud. In this story, a common man, Pritam Kumar Razak, in December 1991, wins Rs 51 lakh in a lottery. Naturally, he is overjoyed not knowing that what awaits him is not Rs 51 lakh, but an unending period of tension, disappointment and the denial of what are his legitimate dues, all on account of a fraud perpetrated on him by a network of crooks. Had the author and his team not unearthed the scam run by these frauds, perhaps the racket of lotteries would have continued to hoodwink people for a long time. To the immense credit of Neeraj and his Delhi Police team, lotteries by private persons and bodies are thereafter banned by an order of the Supreme Court, sparing the people of perpetual fraud.

Another most fascinating account is of the Da Lakhvi Code (like Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown). It is about a terror attack plot by the ISI, to organize a well-orchestrated and diabolical bomb blast on the hallowed portal of India Gate in Delhi on 25 February 2003, not too long after the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001. The terrorists expected to kill maybe several hundred Indians gathered to relax and enjoy Delhis amazingly mild weather at that time of the year, hoping to replicate the horrendous serial Bombay blasts of 1993. Thankfully for Pakistan, the plot failed! Had it succeeded, they would have had hell to pay at Indias hands.

The decisionmakers of the ISI should by now realize that transborder terror attacks will not help them grab Kashmir or weaken or destroy India in any way. India is too big a country, with huge resources at its command, and has the wherewithal to withstand such dastardly strikes and retaliate appropriately. In any case, neither side can afford to let their long-standing dispute blow up into a nuclear conflagration.

Another chapter Devils Advocate brings to the fore the noble side of the authors personality. During the postMandal Commission riots in 1990, the media showed the police lifting the bullet-ridden body of an agitator at INA Market in New Delhi in a crude, graceless way. The visuals caused a public uproar and led to a lot of adverse criticism. A public interest litigation was filed in the Delhi High Court against the police authorities of the district in which Neeraj was the deputy commissioner of police (DCP), and where the riots took place.