13 years since 26/11 attack— Never forget, Never forgive! Remembering the heroes who laid down their lives for protecting our Motherland.
Ten Pakistani men associated with the terror group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba stormed buildings in Mumbai, killing 164 people. Nine of the gunmen were killed during the attacks, one survived. Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman, was executed in November 2012. They travelled from Karachi, Pakistan, to Mumbai via boat. Along the way, they hijacked a fishing trawler and killed four crew members, throwing their bodies overboard. They also slit the captain’s throat. The terrorists docked at the Mumbai waterfront near the Gateway of India monument. They hijacked cars, including a police van, and split into at least three groups to carry out the attacks, according to police. The attackers used automatic weapons and grenades.
HEARTFELT TRIBUTE TO THE BRAVE HERO WHO LOST HIS LIFE ON THE TRAGIC DAY OF 26/11!
Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan
Major Sandeep , the only child of his parents, was an officer in the Indian Army serving in the elite Special Action Group of the National Security Guards ( NSG). He was martyred in action during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Operation Black Tornado:
Nov 2008 on the night of 26 November 2008, several iconic buildings in South Mumbai were attacked. One of the targets was the 100-year-old Taj Mahal Palace Hotel near the Gateway of India. Major Unnikrishnan was the team commander of 51 Special Action Group (51 SAG) deployed in the operation at the hotel to rescue the hostages. He entered the hotel with a group of 10 commandos and reached the sixth floor through the staircase. As the team descended the stairs, they suspected perpetrators on the third floor. A few women were held as hostages in a room that was locked from inside. The team decided to break open the door and when it was done the team faced a barrage of fire from the terrorists. The rounds of fire by the terrorists hit Commando Sunil Yadav, who was Major Unnikrishnan’s colleague. Major Unnikrishnan engaged the perpetrators in a firefight and arranged for Yadav’s evacuation. Later Major Unnikrishnan gave a chase to the terrorists who had escaped to another floor of the hotel. In the encounter that followed, he was shot from the back which proved fatal. It was definitely close combat.His last words, according to NSG officials were, “Do not come up, I will handle them,”. His exceptional courage and leadership motivated his comrades to eliminate all the terrorists and complete the assigned mission successfully.
Major Sandeep also participated in Operation Vijay in July 1999 and was76 deployed at the forward posts in the face of heavy artillery firing and small arms fire by Pakistani troops. On the evening of 31 Dec 1999, Major Unnikrishnan led a team of six soldiers and managed to establish a post 200 meters from the opposing side against heavy firing. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan was given the nation’s highest peacetime gallantry award “Ashok Chakra” (posthumous) for his outstanding courage, unyielding fighting spirit and supreme sacrifice.
EVEN AFTER BEING HIT WITH 23 BULLETS, HE CAPTURED TERRORIST AZMAL KASAB ALIVE.
A salute to this warrior Tukaram Omble
Tukaram Gopal Omble AC was a Mumbai police officer and ex Army soldier, who served as assistant sub-inspector of the Mumbai Police. He was martyred in action while fighting terrorists during the 2008 Mumbai attacks, at Girgaum Chowpatty Mumbai, and was instrumental in apprehending Ajmal Kasab alive.
The Indian government posthumously honoured Omble, on 26 January 2009, with the Ashoka Chakra – the country’s highest peace-time gallantry award for extraordinary bravery and valour in the line of duty.
( writer Pratyusha Mukherjee, a renowned Journalist from Kolkata )
