(From left) Antaryami, Sukhdev Singh and Tilak Raj on arrival in Delhi on Friday. (PTI)

New Delhi, Sept. 3: Maninderjit Singh Bitta almost stole Edappakath Ahmed’s thunder.

Armed with massive garlands, anti-terrorist front chief Bitta landed up at the airport early today to receive the three Indian truckers freed by their Iraqi kidnappers after 42 days in captivity.

But the minister of state for external affairs had anticipated that the arrival of Antaryami, Sukhdev Singh and Tilak Raj would generate a lot of hype. Determined not to share the spotlight, Ahmed told Bitta this was an official function and no garlanding would be allowed.

Having made his point, the minister returned to the VIP lounge, leaving a sulking Bitta behind.

The Kuwait Airways flight KU 831 arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport two hours late, at 6.35 am. But this did not dampen the spirits of Ahmed, the Punjab and Himachal Pradesh government representatives and the truckers’ relatives and friends.

In a gesture reserved for important visitors from abroad, Ahmed, accompanied by a member of his crisis management group, walked up the aero-bridge to the aircraft door to receive the trio. Hugging each one of them, he warmly asked: “Kya, sab theek hai na (Is everything okay)?” The truckers were taken aback momentarily but then touched Ahmed’s feet in gratitude.

The minister emerged in front of the media in a few minutes, his arms wrapped around the freed hostages. “The collective prayers of the countrymen have been answered by God. This is a happy and joyous occasion for all of us,” he said.

Antaryami spoke for the truckers: “I would like to thank Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other officials who worked overtime to secure our release.” The interaction was over as soon as it began.

But before Ahmed could leave, Bitta moved in lightning fast to garland the trio.

Antaryami, Tilak Raj and Sukhdev Singh, accompanied by relatives and friends, were then ushered into state government vehicles and left for the Punjab and Himachal government guesthouses en route to their respective villages.

“Initially, we thought they (the hostage-takers) would release us in five to seven days’ time. But as the days dragged on, we started getting anxious,” Tilak Raj said at a news conference. He said the scariest moment for them was when Antaryami was made to wear an orange jumpsuit and led off for the video shot that showed a hostage-taker holding a gun to his head as he kneeled frightened. “Hame to laga bas ho gaya (We thought this is it),” Tilak Raj said.

But all along the kidnappers kept assuring them they would be released. They were shown clips of protests in Una, Himachal Pradesh, over the central government’s failure to secure their release. “We felt a little reassured after watching that,” Sukhdev said.

The truckers were kept in a closed room. Their captors spoke mostly in Arabic and occasionally in broken English. But the hostages, who knew neither language, were not allowed to talk to each other.

The hideout was changed several times, but it was always in a closed room, which did have a TV but most of the programmes were in Arabic. “We saw the sun only on Wednesday, after 42 days, when we were released,” Tilak Raj said.