Yantrixa-4: Rakesh

When I came to his office some years ago, he had several people in there. There were two people that carried his "phone" - apparently that is how many people he gave his number to. I was expecting more of the same - but now there was no one. The desk was clear, except for a solitary computer and flat screen TV on the wall. He looked relaxed, there were no circles under his eyes - in fact he looked like he was finally getting a full night's sleep. Also missing was the customary line out the door of people begging favours of some kind or the other. From the chit-chat before we set up I gathered he had more time nowadays, he actually went to see a movie with his wife and kids - I was stunned, I didn't know he ever went home.

Cyrus and Pawle were obviously in awe of him. To be expected - they too wore khaki until a few years ago when they decided that they moved out to other more lucrative worlds.

I have turned down several invitations to wear pressed clothes but it is not out of a dislike for that world.

If there was anyone who awe and respect did not seem touch or make unhinged - it was Rakesh.

He knows how to get people talking...

R(akesh): So you are back in the city. I heard about your exploits in Afghanistan. You are lucky to be back in one piece.

Me: It was only a documentary.

R: Some documentary, I hear there is a price on your head. What did you do in Jalalabad?

Me: The camera took some pictures, it didn't go down well in Pindi... any way meri baat chodo, yeh Tetravaal ka kya haal hain.

R: Haal - toh theek hain. I mean you can see the improvement everywhere.

Me: People are scared.

R: But no one is saying that the department is ineffective any more.

Me: How did things change?

R: Change was going to happen after the VT station bombing. There was concern that the department was powerless to stop things. The riots made it worse. Everyone was saying bad things about it.

Me: And so you came up with this solution?

R: And what else was there to do? what was the media writing? Do you know how many books have been written about the VT station bombing? My men estimate that about 50,000 different accounts of the events have been penned and mind you no one recalls a single good thing being said about the department in any of them.

Me: It has that much impact - the bombing?

R: Yes, I recall it clearly, I have never seen so much mangled flesh in my life. I had witnessed Laskhar's handiwork before, but this was like walking into a street in Beirut. The hole was 250 feet wide - the entire front facade of the corporation building was gone and the Victoria building was on fire. All I could see was flesh - the entire crater was gradually filling up with blood and mashed flesh from the bodies that lay on the periphery. There were body parts on everything. The stench was unbelievable. We lost power here after the blast shorted the AC lines in VT. I walked there no less than twenty minutes after the truck bomb went off. Even today less than half the bodies have been identified - the blast wiped out two restaurants and the market - we could not even put the bodies together in most cases. People just assumed that their loved ones were dead. We just dug pits and dumped body parts in there and burnt them with gasoline. That is enough to shake anyone's faith - the rioting was no surprise.

Me: So the bombing's impact and the riots and the pressure on the department all came together

R: Yes - a combination - during the riots I did not sleep for a week. Two others had been on their feet continously in the control room for 90 hours at a stretch, they suffered a heart attack in the PCR and we waited for almost an hour before we could get them some medical help - they died in the hospital because the doctors were all busy dealing with riot victims. It was like being in a warzone. So yes there was a lot of pressure.

Me: all that made you decide that the Tetravaal would solve the problem.

R: Not at first, actually I didn't know what to think. I spent almost a month trying to think what the way out was. I knew the whole world was watching us, and if we didn't have a solution, people would see a weakness an strike. There was simply no way that we could be everywhere at once, and we simply could not see everything. I did the best I could, John understood what I was doing and helped - without his help none of this would have been possible.

Me: So you and John wrote this together?

R: I wrote it, John gave his ideas and then we both walked it to Delhi.

Me: What happened in Delhi?

R: I thought they would throw out us on to the street. Before the trip I told my wife and kids to thinking about packing out bags, I was expecting a transfer but oddly enough that didn't happen. As it turned out - they didn't have any answers up there either. Delhi is a fortress, but no one had a clue what to do down here.

Me: So they approved it then itself?

R: No it was rejected, the objection came from the residents of Metcalfe House, they said a foreign made system like this cannot be deployed on our soil. All that swadeshi stuff was brought out and as you know - people become uncomfortable with that thought very quickly. So at that time both John and I thought - we are dead - this is dead - nothing is going to happen. We pleaded our case with the anyone that would hear us but we didn't think anything was going to come of it. So both came back dejected, we had known each other since the Yavatmal days, so both of us thought - chalo this is it - we are going back to Yavatmal now.

Me: But..

R: But then a week later, I got a call from John, he said someone higher up had made a decision - and it was a green light. I spent the next week getting in touch with the Tetravaal representatives and discussing the details of their systems.

Me: So the objections were set aside.

R: It is best if you ask them what happened to their objections. Delhi is a mysterious place to me.
Me: Okay so then what happened?

R: Well, six months later the first shipment of the bipeds landed in Nhava. They took a week to assemble and we actually set up a main base for them in Uran. The airport offered us land. It was a small facility but it has grown quite a bit. I think we first deployed a unit in Azad Maidan for showing the flag and some testing, but a month later, Malabar Hill, Navpada, Kalachowki ... one station in each Zone had a detachment of some 20 bipeds reporting to an SI. After that a year later, we had 5 detachments of bipeds per station reporting to a head constable, 2-3 detachments of specials reporting an ASI, and a detachment of APR-113 per station reporting to an SI. Induction was quite fast.

Me: Yes - any problems.

R: No no it went smoothly. The interface was compatible with what our people were comfortable with. We can see everything from the PCR so it was a huge boost and results were visible immediately. The public response was very positive - especially to the APR-113 units. There was a genuine sense of relief in the people.

Me: What happened in March?

R:A sectarian flare up.

Me: You are referring to the Varun incident?

R: Yes, the kidnapping caused a major communal rift and violence erupted.

Me: So how did the Tetravaal perform?

R: Very well actually - we were amazed by the manner in which they handled situations. They saved many lives - a few units were damaged but mostly we have been able to repair them.

Me: And on March 13? - Qayamat ke din?

R: The events of that day are under investigation and I refuse to speculate. The experts are reviewing the records - we will know the answers soon.

I have never seen Cyrus and Pawle gush so much, but Rakesh is a born leader - he inspires respect and confidence. I think a lot of it is the way he says things - it is reassuring but still somehow accurate.

I'll talk to John next and Delhi... a city of mysteries.