Posted as a vigilance officer with the Maharashtra State Electricity Board on deputation, Hemant Nagrale, an inspector general of the state police, was not to wear his uniform.
Posted as a vigilance officer with the Maharashtra State Electricity Board on deputation, Hemant Nagrale, an inspector general of the state police, was not to wear his uniform. That, however, did not stop him from reaching Leopold Cafe and Hotel Taj in the thick of action on the night of 26/11.
Nagrale said that on hearing some shots, he picked up his pistol and rushed out. “The shots came from the direction of Leopold’s. With sub-inspector Kakde and constable Sonawane, I rushed towards the cafe. We took the injured to hospitals in police vans and taxis. We learnt that the attackers had gone towards the Taj. I reached Taj around 10pm,” Nagrale said.
“In the hotel, the dead lay there on the floor and injured crying in pain. I wanted to get in touch with senior Mumbai cops but I had forgotten my mobile phone,” he explained.
“At that moment one of the directors of the hotel arrived and he called Dutta Padsalgikar, the then chief of Intelligence Bureau in Mumbai. I explained the situation and requested him for additional forces. Around midnight, I spoke to police commissioner Hasan Gafoor who requested me to trace and rescue Chitkala Zutshi, additional chief secretary (home) who was also trapped in the hotel. I managed to trace her mobile number but numerous calls to her went unanswered,” he said.
“Around 1pm, I saw special branch chief S Rajvardhan standing outside the hotel. I briefed him and requested him to man the hotel’s CCTV control room for better counter offensive against the terrorists. Later I saw DCP Nagre Patil who said that he entered the hotel from the pool side. By that time more policemen had arrived and I guided them to take fortified positions outside the hotel. I didn’t want any terrorist to escape.”
As to why he did not fight the terrorists, Nagrale said: “I was not in uniform and my clothes were covered with blood. I could have been misunderstood to be a terrorists.”
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