Tuesday, 26 November 2024
Tuesday, 26 November 2024
The terrorist attacks of 26/11 attacks in Mumbai remain one of the darkest chapters in India’s contemporary history. Ten members of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, a terrorist organisation with its headquarters in Muridke, Pakistan, laid a siege on south Mumbai. They killed 174 people, including 26 foreigners and 20 security personnel.
The security forces – including commandos of the Indian Navy and the National Security Guard – gunned down nine of these terrorists. Mumbai police constable Tukaram Omble apprehended one of the terrorists, Ajmal Kasab, who was later sentenced to death.
Many survived these three days of mayhem. And among them were a few well-known personalities. Here’s a quick look back.
Four Indian MPs were trapped at Taj Hotel
Bhupendrasinh Solanki (BJP MP from Godhra, Gujarat), N.N. Krishnan Das, CPM MP from Palakkad, Kerala, Mani Tripathi, BSP MP from Uttar Pradesh, and another MP from Maharashtra were having dinner at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel when the attack started.
They were in the city as part of a delegation representing a Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation.
The MPs had checked into the Taj around 6pm and later went to the dining hall. At around 9pm, terrorists attacked the hotel. The MPs mistook the sounds for crackers. They realised the seriousness of the situation when the hotel staff urged them to move them to the pool area. They remained on the floor for about an hour, lying still.
The staff guided them through a back exit to safety. Solanki was also present inside Parliament when terrorists attacked it in December 2001.
Amrita Raichand’s birthday turned into a nightmare
Actor and chef Amrita Raichand, along with her husband, Rahul, were celebrating her birthday at the Taj Mahal Palace when the attack began. They arrived at 9pm for dinner with a friend staying at the hotel. Minutes later, gunshots started. They, too, mistook the sounds for firecrackers.
The couple soon saw bodies being removed from the scene. The hotel staff advised them to stay in their room and remain silent.
A blast later set the place on fire, and thick smoke filled their room. Wet towels placed by the door barely kept the smoke out. After a night of fear, the fire brigade saw their flashlight signals and rescued them the next morning.
Unilever executives’ close escape
Harish Manwani and Nitin Paranjpe, then-chairman and CEO respectively of Hindustan Unilever, had hosted a farewell dinner for outgoing CEO Patrick Cescau at the Taj’s second-floor banquet hall. Around 35 staff members attended the dinner. A 24-year-old banquet manager, Mallika Jagad, was in charge.
When the gunfire started, Mallika locked the doors, turned off the lights, and instructed everyone to remain quiet. For the entire night, the group stayed hidden under tables, amid grenade explosions and gunfire nearby.
A fire in the hallway forced them to attempt an escape through the windows. A fire rescue crew eventually helped them out using ladders. Mallika ensured all guests were evacuated before she left the scene.
Gautam Adani’s narrow escape at the Taj
Billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani was dining at the Taj with Dubai Port CEO Mohammed Sharaf when the attack began. After completing dinner and paying the bill, Adani was about to leave the hotel but decided to continue their meeting over coffee.
Minutes later, the terrorists struck. Adani and others were escorted by staff to the kitchen and then the basement. They spent the entire night in a hall waiting for rescue. Adani later told news channels that he saw “death at a distance of just 15 feet.”
He was rescued the next morning by security forces.
“Was I fearful that night? Of course I was,” Adani had written in The Indian Express in 2018. “I had just finished dinner…..when the attack began and thereafter began the longest and most chilling night of my life that proved once again how vulnerable we are despite the false sense of invincibility our egos tend to encapsulate us with. I remember the sheer fear in the eyes of the people around me and the pin-drop silence, disturbed only by the sound of gunshots as we all huddled in the room we had been rushed into — all of us in sheer disbelief to what was unfolding.”
