Teri Lakeerein

5. Her Case

MPT was going through its usual morning motion, or so it seemed.

Because the otherwise boisterous thana, was eerily silent right now. Badnaam gingerly entered SHO's cabin and placed a cup on the table, while collecting the two empty ones.

Haseena smiled in gratitude and downed her third cup, massaging her head. Sleep had escaped her after last night's findings.

The previous night that she had spent on duty, in a lane behind Vishwavidyalaya, had yielded some terrific results. The repeated thefts of footwear hadn't been some isolated incidents. It was one of the many, that had been happening, in a planned manner.

She had spotted the suspect, at around 2 am last night and had tailed after him, only to have him lead her to his hideout.

It had been an abandoned warehouse by the Gomti river, and to her surprise, he hadn't been the only thief in attendance.

There had been a severe increase in the cases of theft in Lucknow in the past two months, but as none of the incidents had happened in the area under her jurisdiction, she didn't have a valid reason to pursue the case.

But looking at the heap of clothes on one side, stacks of footwear on the other and a volley of jewellery right behind, she realized that she had struck gold.

She had overheard the men talking about a deal that was going to happen the next day and so she had decided to bust this cartel and nip it from its roots.

Moving around stealthily then, between the old machines she had slipped a tracker in one of the coat's pockets and then disappeared into the shadows.

"Maddam sir?" Haseena woke up from her reverie, to find Pushpa ji glancing at her in concern.

She smiled. "I am fine Pushpa ji. Is everything ready?"

And as Pushpa ji nodded, Haseena followed after her and into their gym-cum-strategy room.

Every MPT member huddled around the laptop, and waited with bated breath as Santosh kept an eye out for the movement of the tracker.

And as the clock struck 13:08, she nodded.

"They are on the move, madam".

"Alright team, let's do this!" Haseena encouraged and the four police personnel headed out towards their intended destination.

.

.

.

It was after 45 minutes that the team arrived at the scene, right after their suspects, who had pulled up in a white truck.

Carefully concealed from plain sight, Haseena watched as owner of Hazratganj's renowned fashion house, Rudra Kataria arrived at the scene with two men.

Correction, two armed men.

Haseena realized then that her side's manpower was lacking and immediately analyzed her surroundings, forming an impromptu plan on the spot. Conveying the same to her team then, she looked ahead. She had to deal with this mess, here and now.

Soon, the white truck's back gate was pulled open and Kataria stepped inside to inspect the goods. Once assured, he walked out and signalling his man over, had him forward a case full of money to the trio of thieves.

Pushpa ji had somehow managed to immaculately conceal herself in the closest bush, and had recorded the entire scene perfectly. And no sooner did she signal a thumbs up, Haseena jumped into action.

The truck was positioned at a dead end in the middle of a one way road, surrounded on both sides by warehouses. And blocking the truck's only way back was Kataria's SUV. Taking cover of the SUV, Haseena stealthily slipped under the truck, while he and his company were busy in their conversation, and sharply pulled at Kataria's leg who was standing nearby. Caught in confusion, the man stumbled and dropped to his knees. And before his men could react, Cheeta and Santosh quickly struck their shin from behind and as soon as they were brought to their knees, the duo brought down their sticks and hit their heads, effectively incapacitating them. By then, Haseena had rolled out from her position and pushed her prime suspect, face down onto the road, her one hand holding his hands behind his back while the other pressing her revolver's nozzle to his head.