Cops weren’t prepared to tackle terrorists at CST

Six days after the deadly terrorist attack, Ranjit Jagannath Jadhav, 34, is still battling for his life at Bombay Hospital. The constable, who rushed to help his colleagues, was shot outside Cama Hospital, a few yards from where ATS chief Hemant Karkare was gunned down.

While 16 policemen lost their lives, the list of injured is no less long. Ironically the casualties could have been far less, at least at CST and outside Cama Hospital where the terrorists first struck, had there been better communication in the police force.

The first attack was reported merely as a ‘firing incident’. Hence, none of the policemen rushing to the spot wore bullet proof jackets. They didn’t carry weapons that could fight the mighty Ak-47s and hand grenades that the terrorists used.

Vijay Shinde, 45, constable from the Quick Response Team (QRT), also recuperating at Bombay Hospital, was at the receiving end of the terrorists’ bullets twice. “I received a call informing us about a firing incident at CST and rushed to the spot with a couple of other policemen,” recalled Shinde. By then the terrorists had moved to Cama Hospital. “We saw a police van and didn’t fire at it as we thought it had policemen. However, terrorists caught us by surprise when they fired at us,” he added.

BB More, 40, constable from Byculla Police station, was at DN Road, on his way to investigate “an incident” at CST. “We were six policemen in all. They came straight at us and open fired at us,” he said.

Three other constables, Arun Kumar Mane, 38, Amit Khetle, 27 and Ashok Pawar, 42, are recuperating at Bombay Hospital.