Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai (SHP)
Mumbai, Nov 26: On Tuesday floral tribute was paid to the brave hearts who laid down their lives while fighting Pakistani terrorists who had attacked Mumbai on this day 11 years ago.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was among the dignitaries who paid homage at the 26/11 police memorial site at Mumbai Police Gymkhana in south Mumbai.
"I pay homage to the brave policemen who fought for Mumbai's safety and laid down their lives for us on 26/11. We are proud of them and we will strive hard for the safety and security of our state," Fadnavis said.
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari also paid tributes to the martyrs. State chief secretary Ajoy Mehta, Director General of Police Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Barve, and family members of the policemen who lost their lives during the attacks were present during the ceremony.
On November 26, 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorists arrived Mumbai through sea route and opened fire at people. The shootings claimed lives of 166 people, including 18 security personnel, and injured several others, besides damaging property worth crores.
The then Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, Army Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Mumbai's Additional Police Commissioner Ashok Kamte, Senior Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar and Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Tukaram Omble, were among those killed in the attack.
The attacks began on November 26 and continued till November 29, 2008.
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Hotel, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital and the Nariman House Jewish community centre, now renamed Nariman Light House, were among the places targeted by the terrorists.
Ajmal Kasab who was the only terrorist captured alive was sentenced to death by hanging on November 21, 2012.
Railway officials also laid wreaths at the 26/11 memorial at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, one of the targets of the terror attack.