Chapter # 2 (Arjun & Raju)

[Please Read CHAPTER 1 before reading this.]

Location: Jaffna[6°54′N 79°54′E]
Status: Disputed
Time: 0205Hrs Date: SEP-9-1994

The 'A' team of the guerilla unit of the indian peace keeping force (IPKF) moved quietly into the sleeping town of jaffna. In total silence the 15 men, covered in dark camouflage clothing advanced towards the town centre. 6 similar teams were laying seige to the town from other directions. None of them had encountered resistance yet. It was deadly silent.

Captain Vijay crounched behind the palms and waited. They would now have to make a run into the open in order to capture the Jaffna university - the strong hold of the LTTE leadership. Intelligence reports had suggested that the LTTE leadership were meeting there. Vijay, along with 14 others waited for the signal. His radio crackled, "Team Alpha, Proceed to step 4"The Alpha team spread out into the open town centre towards the Jaffna university. They approached it in a sweeping semi circle. Vijay ran towards its west wall. Quickly he scaled the wall and dropped down silently on the other side. On either side of him other commandos materialised. They were in. They waited. Radio crackled again, "Alpha, No reistance detected. Proceed towards Building Z".Building Z was the main academic building. They expected to lay seige to it with the least resistance. The dorms would be a different matter though. The targets would be there. They expected some resistance there but that was Charlie's problem. The dark silhoutte of the Main academic building loomed before them like a dark monster. Total silence.

Vijay had a bad feeling about this. Ever since they had arrived at the beach quiet and easy, he had been queasy. At each step, he expected someone to break this comfort; open fire, but none had come so far. It had been too easy, too quiet - almost as if that had been the intention. His eyes surveyed the dark university windows that fronted the face of the building they were approaching. He slowed down. On either side other members of Alpha swept past him quickly gaining on the still building. Vijay stopped. Something just wasnt right. He surveyed the dark rows of closed windows and thought he saw a one of them open up slightly. That was when it all happened - a lot of things; simultaneously and rapidly. The lights came on with the force of a mid day sun.

Vijay saw team alpha caught in the middle of the open ground before the building. They started to scamper but were totally trapped. Almost simulatenously the sound of the deadly Automatics started. It was a bloody trap. They had been compromised. It was like being in hell. Bullets whizzed past Vijay as he ran back towards the west wall. His face was set in a permanent mask of terror. He had just seen all his team mates fall down to the ground like nine pins. He had never been more terrified before. Several minutes later, as Vijay sat with the wounded and bruised survivors, on the hovercraft back to the base, he realised that he was the only member team alpha to make it back. They had been sitting ducks. 60 soldiers killed in under 3 minutes. The whole operation had been a set up. There had been a leak. Terror slowly became anger.

Over the course of the 15 minute ride to the base, anger bacame hatred. Hatred for one particular man - the man who sold his country and killed his team. Several hours later as the town of jaffna came to grips with the reality, a street tramp, dressed in tattered and soiled clothes sat outside the Jaffna university. He was munching on some dry bread he had bought at the local bakery. No one paid attention to him nor did they notice his bleeding left leg.....