It was quite a task, interviewing Rahul for hours at a stretch. And for that, I would like to thank Velly, who is a great listener and got the best out of Rahul.
My special thanks are reserved for my publisher, V.K. Karthika, an acquaintance since my Black Friday days, who eventually became a very special friend. Karthika showed understanding and patience in giving me a reasonable time frame to finish the project. She was immensely helpful and her support was very reassuring. Thank you, Karthika, you are amazing. I would also like to thank her other colleagues at HarperCollins, especially Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri, Bidisha Srivastava, Shuka Jain and Arijit Ganguly.
Members of the Bhatt family showed immense courage and brutal honesty, which contributed to the story becoming poignant and interesting. Mrs Kiran Bhatt opened her heart and house to me at all hours; Rahul has always maintained that she instilled a strong sense of humanity in him and kept him on the right path in life. Pooja Bhatt didn’t mince words and was extremely straightforward. They love Rahul and stood by him during his worst times, but didn’t spare his shortcomings. Rahul’s girlfriend Deepti Sethi too stayed up sleepless nights with him, helping him with his dyslexia and articulating his thoughts.
Mahesh Bhatt or Bhatt saab is the most forthright man I have met on this planet. I was apprehensive that the story would open up some wounds and that he might not like his dirty linen washed in public, to use an old cliché. But Mr Bhatt told me his side of the story without any fuss. The master storyteller that he is, Bhatt saab gave me his take on Rahul and also on how the controversy provided right-wing elements the fodder to whip up a frenzy against the Bhatt clan. But he took them on, knocking on the doors of no less a person than the prime minister of the country in the process.
Headley and Rahul’s trainer friend Vilas Warak may be a man of Hanuman-like quadriceps and Sylvester Stallone-like biceps, but he is tender of heart and a simple man. He was treated shabbily by the investigating agencies because of his humble background. The Headley controversy pushed him to the brink and at one point, he was on the verge of ending his life. I found him very cooperative and affable in the course of my interactions with him for this book.
Among the law enforcers, my gratitude goes to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief, Special Inspector General of Police Loknath Behera. Mr Behera’s cooperation and helpfulness are beyond description. Despite the deluge of work and his professional compulsions, Mr Behera helped me understand the Headley saga and other peripheral aspects of the story. For putting me on to Mr Behera, I must thank my film-maker friend Kabir Kaushik.
No story of mine is complete without a contribution from Mr Rakesh Maria, the chief of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). From Black Friday to Headley and I, the man has been a constant benefactor. I shall never tire of thanking him; I think after Velly, it is him that I owe most.
Former Crime Branch officer of the Mumbai Police and encounter specialist Sachin Waze too helped me with information, as he himself was in the middle of writing a book on Headley. Sachin graciously shared his notes and exclusive photographs, and also postponed the release of his own book. Thank you, Mr Waze.
My journalist friends who chipped in were a class apart. Harinder Shammy Baweja of Hindustan Times is one of the top investigative journalists in the country today. She has incredible spunk and resourcefulness and is a very large-hearted person. Journos like Shammy are a rarity. She willingly shared most of her work on Headley, including the preliminary statements and her interviews with Headley’s wife, Faiza Outalha. Few journalists are so generous with their colleagues. Shukriya, Shammy.
British journalist Adrian Levy of The Guardian was another friend who plied me with heaps of documents and scores of emails full of information, all of which left me with a surfeit of data on Headley. Adrian went beyond the call of duty and provided me with several top-class international contacts as well, who brought in fresh insights on the international ramifications of the Headley incident. Thanks to Adrian’s research and investigation, which he shared with me, at one stage it almost seemed like we would have to do a multi-volume edition of the book! I am proud to know you, Adrian, and shall remain indebted to you for adding so much muscle and steel to the book in your inimitable manner.
I would like to extend my gratitude to Adrian’s American friend, writer, psychiatrist and former CIA officer, who has long studied terrorism networks. He refused to be named for obvious reasons. These are men who operate in the shadows, anonymous and unsung.
If you find this book informative, it is due to the help of these friends and associates who selflessly contributed to the book. To them goes the credit of the positive attributes of Headley and I; the errors and inaccuracies, if any, are solely mine.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
S. HUSSAIN ZAIDI is a veteran of investigative, crime and terror reporting. He has worked for The Asian Age, Mumbai Mirror, Mid-Day and The Indian Express. His previous books include bestsellers like Black Friday, Mafia Queens of Mumbai and the more recent Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia. Zaidi is also associate producer for the HBO movie, Terror in Mumbai, based on the 26/11 terror strikes. He lives with his family in Mumbai.
First published in India in 2012 by
HarperCollins Publishers India
a joint venture with
The India Today Group
Copyright © S. Hussain Zaidi 2012
ISBN: 978-93-5029-572-4
Epub Edition © June 2012 ISBN: 978-93-5029-573-1
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S. Hussain Zaidi asserts the moral right to be identified
as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Cover design: Arijit Ganguly
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