There was a meeting of all Secretaries to Government of India at the Prime Minister’s residence. It was a meeting with some difference; no agenda, no work-related discussion. The Prime Minister wanted a free-wheeling interaction for everyone to unwind. You can even tell me a joke or recite a poem, he told us.
There was some disbelief at first. But then it dawned on some, that he did indeed mean it! One colleague did gather some courage and actually narrated a humorous experience. Everyone laughed. The ice was broken.
What should I narrate when my term comes, I wondered? I was in the Cabinet Secretariat then as Secretary Coordination – far removed from my past assignment as DG Shipping. But a residue of a task was still hanging heavy on me. It was now close to resolution; unfolding as we were sitting there. Should I talk about it and get it off my chest? Maybe he is already aware. But did that really matter? I took a deep sigh and decided to speak. My mind went back to the DG Shipping days.
Hijacking of MV Asphalt venture happened sometimes in September 2010. Those days, with no Government in Somalia, the pirates would happily anchor a hijacked ship near Somalian shores where they will get all logistic help from land and could pull on for months while negotiations would go on for the release and ransom and the related modalities. The concerned Governments would never negotiate with the pirates, this task was left to the Shipping Companies. But we would keep tab on what was happening, communicate with the Company officials, hostage families, our own security agencies, workers unions – national and international, even the Red Cross and the IMO. Much of this was behind closed doors. We would occasionally talk to the media but carefully since the pirates would also keep a watch on the stand Governments take.
The information network on the hijacking was quite strong. Often a Company Management would get a call, usually from a law firm in London, informing them that they ‘believe’ that one of the Company’s ships has been hijacked and is being commandeered towards Somalian shore. The concerned firm would claim to be one of the best in the domain of negotiations with the pirates, should the Shipping Company like to negotiate.
Dealing with the families of the hostages was a tough task. One had to understand their anxieties, worries, financial crises as the period of captivity prolonged. Most of the times they would like to talk directly to the DG, specially when in a group. My DDG, Captain Hatish Khatri was good in reaching out to the families on a one-on-one basis, but that had its limitations. Additional problems would get created when enthusiastic advisors and some TRP oriented reporters would egg the families on to take a particular stand. I must say though, that my even handed dealing with the media, ensured a good communication. I would even get useful ‘inputs’ from their side at times. But becoming a de facto Counsellor for so many families could take a toll on one’s piece of mind and could create a burn out. This did happen to me to a limited extent, but more about it in some other episode.
Initially, the hijacking of MV Asphalt Venture followed the regular trajectory. Negotiations by the Company, our talking to the families of the hostages, media coverage, the Company assuring us that the matter was making reasonable ‘progress’. It took about 6 months for the light at the end of the tunnel to be seen. The negotiations went well and we were informed about the imminent release of the hostages.
This is when the ordeal really began. During the negotiations themselves, the Company did notice some divergent voices among the pirates. There were two distinct groups, one being more aggressive. But this was considered more as the ‘good cop, bad cop’ strategy on their behalf and once the deal was done, everybody heaved a sigh of relief.
But that was not to be. On the day of the actual release, we were informed that the pirates have released the ship with only the Captain and seven other crews. A splinter group has held back the Chief Engineer, Mr Bahadur Singh and seven other crew as hostages. No apparent reason was given.
This was unprecedented. Never in the history of piracy, had the pirates reneged on their promise of releasing the hostages once a deal is agreed. This sent shock waves in the shipping industry, among the negotiators and the eco-system. But the splinter group which took away the hostages was not bothered. They were probably into this operation on a ‘one off’ basis and would not care about the ‘eco-system’. Before long, they took the hostages inlands in a region where the writ of the titular ‘government’ did not run.
The Shipping Company took a rather clinical view. They had done their bit. The reneging by one splinter group was something they could not help. They did keep up the appearance of negotiating though. They also initially paid the salary of the unreleased crew, but we gradually saw the payment getting sluggish. One even heard an innovative argument that all the crew had in fact been ‘released’ on the specific day and this was now a case of ‘recapture’ for which the Company was not quite responsible. Such innovation was quickly and sternly put down. The Directorate has its own ways of ‘leaning’ on the Company. In the instant case the elbow room was rather limited though. So other track-II routes were explored, some bordering on the sacrilegious; Deepak Shetty my Jt DG then and who himself became the DG Shipping later, would vouch for it. But since it was not an era of ‘credit is mine and blame is yours’, officers did take bold steps in good faith.
The hostage families were devastated. There were acrimonious exchanges between the released and the captive groups. The Captain was blamed for not standing by his crew. The traditional fault line between the ‘deck’ crew and the ‘engineering’ crew came to the fore. It was an unpleasant situation. For me it was difficult to face the families, particularly Mrs Bahadur Singh. Their son, Sameer I think, a medical student, was reasonable. He knew the efforts we were making. But he also had his ongoing medical studies which kept him preoccupied and it did also cost money. We helped him to the extent possible.
It was during one interaction in my office when Mrs Singh lost her patience, that I played the Besan Kaa Laddoo card “Mrs Singh, Aapki naraajgee sar aankhon par. Leking ek promise chaahiye. Jis din Bahadur Singh ghar aayenge, mere table par besan ke laddoo kaa dabba hona chahiye.” (Mrs Singh, your anger is completely justified. But do make me a promise. The day Mr Singh comes back home, I want a box of Besan Ke Laddo on my table.) Mrs Singh was clearly not amused, but did soften in her attitude. I had reasons to play this card. We had information that the hostages were safe – though not in the most cordial surroundings, but safe. We even succeeded in sending some medicine through the good offices of the International Red Cross with a promise that there will be no probing about the location etc and we would trust their word about the delivery of the medicine and the status of the hostages.
I demitted the office as DG shipping in June 2012, but this case did hang heavy on my conscience. I somehow felt duty bound to try and help out this case. Understandably my ‘meddling’ into this matter while I was Additional Secretary Agriculture raised some eyebrows even though people were sympathetic about it. As DG (Defence Acquisition) I was more discrete but could get some lead on the status of the hostages. As there was a new elected government in Somalia now, the captor kept shifting their base to a more interior area where the new government did not have full control. Piracy had started dwindling once the new elected Government took charge.
When I joined the Cabinet Secretariat as Secretary Coordination in March 2014, the issue was still unresolved. But now that I was handling Security related issues among other things, my concern about the case was no longer a ‘meddling’ but legitimate.
To cut a long story short, Rajendra Khanna, may God bless him, then in an important Security Agency leadership position called me to inform me that the release of the hostages was imminent. No chance will be taken for a road journey and they will straight be airlifted to Nairobi not even to Mogadishu. He thought I deserved to get this information and perhaps could also suggest how best to handle the Nairobi onwards leg. RK had a soft corner about me since the Solar Water Heating system installed in Police lines Puri in 1985, during my tenure as the founding CEO of Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency, continued to work smoothly till he had left Odisha for the Centre.
I did swing into action immediately. Emotions could wait. Handling the aftermath was crucial. I did some talking. As Secretary Coordination Cabinet Secretariat, I had the locus standi! Captain Harish Khatri, who else, was deputed to Nairobi for debriefing – an extremely important step post release. He also was to accompany all the hostages back from Nairobi to one destination in India from where they could disperse. Mumbai was the obvious destination. The drill got activated. Rest is history.
I narrated this very briefly in the meeting. “As we speak, Sir, the hostages are on their way back to Bombay. Mere man se ek bahot bada boz utar gaya hai. Piracy ke Itihaas mein yeh pahla mauka hai jab pirates apni jubaan se mukar gaye hon.”
The PM must have been briefed, particularly about the pirates having reneged on their commitment – an unprecedented case. He was appreciative of the efforts made and my sense of responsibility.
There was a momentary silence before another colleague began his narration.
As coincidence would have it the NSA happened to be sitting next to me. He held my hand and said ‘Congratulations Mr Agnihotri.’
As you would have guessed rightly, when I opened the door of my Moti Bag residence to greet Bahadur Singh and Mrs Singh, I could unmistakably notice the ‘Nathu’s Sweets’ packet. It did indeed have Besan Ke Laddoos in it.
[For those who may not have read the Part 1, the Besan Ke laddoo card had earlier been played in Sachin Pawshe’s case. It had worked and we know that ‘one good turn deserves another’. 😊😊].