Nine years on, the scars of 26/11 terror attacks are yet to heal

Nine years on, the scars of 26/11 terror attacks are yet to heal


HIGHLIGHTS

Nine years after the 26/11 terror attacks, survivors recount their experiencesThe attack left 166 people dead and over 300 injuredOn November 23 this year, Pakistan government released the mastermind of the attack Hafiz Saeed from house arrest

MUMBAI: Nine years ago, ten Pakistani men took Mumbai hostage for three days as they launched a series of coordinated attacks at several high profile locations in the city.

The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks left 166 people dead and over 300 people injured.


Upon realising that Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) was under attack, Vishnu Dattaram Zende, an announcer then with the suburban division, started making fervent pleas to hundreds of commuters to avoid the Main Line exit gate and take the rear gate instead. He kept announcing the whereabouts of the terrorists for 25 minutes, both in Hindi and Marathi.

Nine years, one promotion, prize money from the then railway minister and also, a meeting with former US President Barack Obama later, Zende still avoids the topic that changed his life. He froze the moment we mentioned 26/11 terror attacks. "Just the mere mention of it irks me to the core. I feel bad, very bad. You do not wish this upon your greatest enemy... I am an honest and dedicated employee of the government and will continue being one. No matter what happens tomorrow, I will carry out my duties without an ounce of fear or self-doubt," reaffirms the suburban guard.



Rahim Ansari lost six members of his family in the attack.

"I went into depression after the incident, my relatives had no chance to escape. Happy that perpetrators were either killed or punished. Hafiz Saeed is in Pakistan, would be ideal if Indian government gets him here and punishes him," he recalled.


Devika, then nine-year-old, was shot in the back. She survived to tell her tale.

"When I saw Kasab in the courtroom, I was livid. I wished I had a gun in my hand, would have shot him there. Anyway Kasab was a mosquito, hope someday the big terrorists are brought to book," she said.


For Devika's father it was a traumatic experience; and like others he too is waiting for the perpetrators of the attack to be brought to justice.

"My daughter was just nine years old when she got shot, it was traumatic. Yes we are happy that Kasab was hanged but we will not be satisfied till the real mastermind sitting in Pakistan is punished," he said.



Mohd Taufeeq was working as a tea seller at CST when the attacks happened.

"I still get disturbed whenever I think of that moment (26/11 attacks). I rescued many injured people, situation was devastating. I am just waiting for the day the real mastermind sitting in Pakistan is caught," he recounted.

A year after the attacks, Saeed was put under house arrest by Pakistan but he was freed by court in 2009.

India has repeatedly asked Pakistan to re-investigate the Mumbai terror attack case and also demanded trial of Saeed and Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi in the light of evidence it had provided to Islamabad.
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