‘I rescued my husband from dacoits’ Jul 11, 2011 - 01:39 PM
Sarjana Singh didn't think twice before venturing alone into the Chambal Valley to rescue her husband, Professor Ajit Singh, from dacoits who were holding him captive. She tells Anindita Ghosh her story
Sarjana Singh didn't think twice before venturing alone into the Chambal Valley to rescue her husband, Professor Ajit Singh, from dacoits who were holding him captive. She tells Anindita Ghosh her story
"My husband Ajit Singh is a professor at Dehradun College and he often has to travel for work. In August 2010 he had gone to a local college in Agra to check answer sheets. On August 5, he called me just before he left Agra for Dehradun, as was his habit, and said that he would be back soon. He was coming home after almost 11 days and I was excited about his return.""However, my husband did not return that day or the day after. I tried calling him on his cellphone but it was switched off. I started to feel anxious. After all, Ajit was not the sort of person who would change his plans suddenly without informing me or switch off his cellphone without reason. My mind was filled with misgiving and I began to wonder if he had met with an accident or whether he was in some sort of trouble. I didn't know what to do, so I informed the local police, and kept vigil, hoping that he would walk through the front door at any moment and end this nightmare."
The ransom call
"After a sleepless night, at about 7.30 am the next day (August 7), the phone rang. It was Ajit. Relief washed over me when I heard his voice. But not for long, because Ajit wasn't telling me that he had been delayed. He was saying that he had been kidnapped and that I should arrange for money immediately. At first, I thought he was joking. This was unbelievable. Why on earth would anybody kidnap Ajit? We were not from a rich business family with tons of money to cough up as ransom."
"Almost immediately, however, the phone was snatched away from Ajit and I heard an alien voice asking me to arrange '50 lakh. The sum was absurd. I told the voice on the phone that we were middle-class people and there was no way that I would ever be able to arrange so much money. Then the man reduced the amount to '10 lakh. Even this was too much, but I didn't want Ajit to be harmed so I told him I would get what I could. He then instructed me to come to Dhaulpur in Rajasthan, which is about 55 km from Agra, and said that further instructions would be given once I reached the spot."
"I was numb with shock, but I knew that I had to act fast. So I collected my senses, arranged for about '50,000 in cash, took whatever little jewellery I had and left Dehradun with my kids."
"My first stop was a relative's house in Greater Noida. I dropped off my kids there, convinced my brother to come along with me and left for Dhaulpur on Sunday morning (August 8), not knowing whether I would see my babies again. Once we reached Dhaulpur, I was instructed by the kidnappers, with whom I was in touch over the phone, to wait for a car to pick me up to take me to an undisclosed destination."
Into dangerous country,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
