The Fake Fishermen

When Akbar Khan saw one of his goats slipping down the hillside, he hurriedly jumped across the rocks and ran down the slope. The goat managed to save itself from falling, but Akbar Khan could not keep his balance. His foot became tangled in a bush, and he slipped down the slope toward a muddy swamp. While falling, his hand caught hold of a bent tree branch, which saved him from sinking into the mud. Holding the branch tightly, he slowly made his way back up the slope. After reaching the top, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

Fortunately, apart from a few minor scratches, he suffered no serious injuries. Standing up, he looked around to find his goats. At that moment, his eyes fell on two men carrying a wooden box as they hid among the bushes and entered a mountain cave. Both men were wearing city clothes.

“Who are these people? They don’t look like villagers,” Akbar Khan muttered in surprise.

Forgetting about his goats, he walked toward the cave and entered the dark interior. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw that the cave was empty. There was no sign of the two men or the wooden box.

“Where did they go? The cave is closed from the back,” he said to himself.

He searched every corner of the cave but found nothing. Later, as he was taking his goats home, he noticed a boat in the river. Three fishermen were pulling a boat full of fish toward the other side of the river.

The next day, Akbar Khan again saw the same two men entering the cave. He quickly came down the hill and followed them inside, but just like the previous day, the cave was empty.

“O Allah! Are these humans or ghosts? Where do they disappear?” he wondered as he returned to the village with his goats. He could not forget the incident all night and decided to uncover the secret.

The following day, he left his goats in the care of a fellow villager and hid inside the cave. Around noon, he saw the two men enter again. Akbar Khan quickly hid behind a large rock and watched through a crack. The men, holding torches, went to a corner of the cave and pressed a hidden button. With a rumbling sound, a stone in the cave floor slid aside, revealing a deep opening.

Using a rope, they lowered the wooden box into the opening. Someone below received the box and opened it. Then the two men changed their clothes. Now they looked like fishermen. After that, they too climbed down using the rope. Akbar Khan then saw the stone slide back into place, likely when someone below pressed the button.

After waiting for some time, Akbar Khan came out of hiding, confident that the men had left. He went to the corner of the cave and pressed the button. With the same rumbling sound, the stone moved aside. When he looked down through the opening, he saw the flowing river below.

Now everything was clear to Akbar Khan. These people were illegally hiding items in the box. Their third companion waited below with a boat, received the box, and then all three crossed the river disguised as fishermen.

That very afternoon, Akbar Khan was sitting at a nearby police post, explaining the entire situation to the police officers. The next day, when the two suspects entered the cave with the box, a police team was already waiting for them. After brief resistance, both criminals were arrested. Another police team arrested their third accomplice from the riverbank.

During the investigation, it was revealed that the criminals were saboteurs from a neighboring country. They were planning terrorist activities and were secretly supplying explosives and weapons to their local accomplices through the cave opening while disguised as fishermen. The country’s security agencies also arrested their local facilitators, successfully foiling a dangerous plot.

For helping the law, risking his life, and exposing the terrorists, Akbar Khan was awarded a high bravery medal along with a cash reward.