‘From now on, you will be Mohammed Imran Syed, a lawyer. The file has the complete history and particulars of your assumed family. Your “father”, Tahir, was a cloth trader with business ties in the Gulf. He was burnt alive by a mob comprising the followers of a right-wing organization. The tragedy occurred days after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. The incident left you bitter and angry, and you have been looking for answers to questions such as who killed your father and why. Now, years on, you want to avenge the slaughter of your sixty-eight-year-old father by zealots.

‘You believe that with the right-wing Rashtriya Pragati Paksha ruling at the Centre, Muslim youth like you must terrorize the government and the state’s coercive machinery to create a situation wherein the Muslim community will rise to get what is due to it.’

Atharv nodded.

‘Read the file, memorize it. Then burn it. I have a copy. Call me on the number given in the file.’

‘Yes, sir. Wish us luck,’ Atharv said.

He was nervous, but excited. The time for preparations was over; it was time to act. Atharv loved action. Mere words did not interest him.

‘Feliz viaje – that means happy journey in Spanish,’ Shekhar said.

‘Thank you, sir.’

It was 5 January 2002.

‘The training of the five recruits is complete. We have to activate these new operatives,’ Shekhar texted his boss after Atharv had left.

‘How long will it take for them to sneak into LeT’s Pakistani apparatus?’ his boss asked.

‘The five are divided into two groups. One has three boys from south India, the other has two boys from western India. The challenge for them now lies in being in a position – say, within two years, by September 2003 – to be interviewed by LeT’s senior commander and top recruiter Al-Wali, in Karachi or Islamabad.’

‘Best of luck!’

‘Thanks. I will keep you posted.’

31. FIRST CONTACT WITH THE ENEMY

31

FIRST CONTACT WITH THE ENEMY

‘All praise is due to the Almighty, we laud Him. We seek help from Him and ask for His protection. We trust Him alone and we request His protection against evils and the mischief of our souls and from the adverse results of our actions. Whomsoever He guides on the right path, none can misguide him, and whosoever He declares misled, none can guide him on to the right path,’ intoned Hashim Qasmi.

It was Friday, some time in the afternoon of 23 August 2003, and Qasmi had just begun the first part of his sermon, having led an impressive congregation of the faithful in offering the Salatul-Jumu’ah, or the Friday prayers.

‘The Friday prayers, preferably offered in a congregation, are obligatory, barring a few exceptions such as those who are sick, blind, disabled or are on a journey. The prayer fosters a sense of oneness and equality in the community,’ Qasmi said.