Amid the shock, rage, mourning, and terror that took over Mumbai, there were also incredible stories of courage from the Maximum City.
The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks left a stain on the city's psyche, one of which has struggled to come to terms with. As many as 10 Pakistani terrorists from the sea targeted Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station, Nariman House Complex, Leopold Cafe, Taj Hotel and Tower, Oberoi-Trident Hotel, and Cama Hospital, among the prominent locations in South Mumbai. When the catastrophe ended after three days, 190 people were killed, and hundreds were injured.
1. 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack was Pakistan sponsored
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Grief, shock, anger, and horror came with the tragic incident in Mumbai 13 years ago, that came on November 26, 2008. While trying to save others, they faced the bullets of the terrorists, who fought back against terror. Some of these braves made the ultimate sacrifice. As we remember 26/11, let us also pause and remember some of these heroes.
2. Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar
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Hemant Karkare, head of the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad, was at his home in Dadar on 26 November at 9.45 pm to call about the terror attack. He immediately left for the CST station with his driver and bodyguard. There he came to know that the terrorists were now near Cama Hospital. Along with police officers Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar, Karkare believed the two terrorists to be hiding behind a red car. Eventually, he saw one of the terrorists and managed to injure the only terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, who was caught alive. Still, in exchange for fire with another terrorist in a narrow lane close to the crime branch office, all three police officers were killed.
3. Tukaram Omble
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The Mumbai Police, an army ex-soldier, Tukaram Omblay, and his fellow policemen were involved in a shootout in the hijacked car along with two terrorists, one of whom was killed. In the act of incredible courage, Omble grabs the barrel of Kasab's gun and takes dozens of bullets at point-blank range. Gave time to other police to defeat Kasab. For his supreme sacrifice, Omble was awarded the Ashoka Chakra, the country's highest peacetime gallantry award.
4. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan
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A member of the elite Special Forces, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, made the supreme sacrifice, defending fellow NSG commandos of 51 Special Action Groups and guests and combating terrorists inside the Taj Hotel. He was killed while fighting a terrorist armed with grenades and an AK-47 after being charged alone in a corridor. The 'Black Cat' managed to arrest a terrorist and take all the jihadists down to the restaurant, from which no one escaped the security forces' closure. Major Unnikrishnan was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra.
5. Karambir Singh Kang
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Not all heroes wear uniforms. Karambir Singh Kang was the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel's general manager in 2008 when the terrorist attack took place. He helped hundreds of guests and staff escape when the world around them fell drastically, keeping them calm. Although Kang himself survived the attack, his wife and two children did not make it and were killed in a fire going through the sixth floor.
