The Hindu : International / India & World : The receptionist's call saved him

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 01, 2004

International

International - India & World

The receptionist's call saved him

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA, MAY 31. Saudi commandos dropping out from three helicopters on the rooftop, fanned out into the building that had been taken over by the Al-Qaeda militants and broke open doors using special explosives to rescue hostages who were lodged inside.

Venkataramani Baskar, the Indian who was rescued from the second floor of the six-storey building in Saudi Arabia's eastern oil city of Al Khobar, said the controlled explosion completely smashed the door of his room before the commandos whisked him away to safety.

Mr. Baskar, who spoke to The Hindu over telephone from Dubai, said that shortly before Sunday's morning raid, the Saudi security forces had communicated to him through his cellphone about the rescue attempt.

Two out of a team of 10 fully armed elite troops, dressed in black, then escorted him to the sixth floor terrace of the building, where all the rescued hostages from different floors were being assembled. "I was scared because I could still hear a lot of shooting around. One of the commandos, who was wearing a bullet proof jacket, sensing my fears shielded me all the way up to the terrace."

Mr. Baskar, a senior executive with Hewlett Packard, said he was all set to start for his local office on Saturday morning, when the receptionist at the building, a Filipino, called and advised him to stay indoors. "He told me to stay in the room, lock up the door from inside and switch off all lights as there was a security problem. I did not realise it then, but this man saved my life." Soon after, the militants struck. "They exploded grenades and gunfire could be heard all over." After a brief lull, they began knocking on doors, to take hostages, Mr. Baskar said.

"I virtually froze for the ten minutes when they knocked on my door before going away." Once hostages had been taken, they were bundled into groups and taken to rooms on separate floors, while the militants moved back and forth the staircase to keep a watch.

"Some of them would fire from their automatic weapons, explode grenades and occasionally chant religious slogans. It was all very frightening."

Mr. Baskar said that it was his impression that four militants had taken over the building. One of them — the ringleader — did not wear a mask, had a long beard and a prominent scar running across his cheek. The three others were in the age group of 15 to 20, who were masked and dressed in black. Their leader was concentrating only on Westerners while the other three, who ultimately escaped, kept a watch over the rest.

By Saturday evening, as the call for prayer that reverberated through the compound, word was out that either a rescue or surrender by militants was in the offing.

"Hostages saw on television inside their rooms that five Lebanese citizens had been released. The impression was that at least the non-Westerners were being set free. "It was at that moment that five Indians out of a group of 12 hostages, anticipating an early end to their captivity, made the fatal mistake of venturing out to seek their immediate release. Three of them were shot dead. "It is not my impression at all that Indian nationals were being deliberately targeted. It was an ill-fated move by a group that backfired." The much-awaited rescue also did not materialise.

Amid loud explosions soon after daybreak on Sunday, Saudi commandos rescued 47 hostages, including 10 Indians. All of them were taken to an area surrounding an artificial ice-skating rink, and released shortly after questioning.

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