26/11 13th anniv: Mumbai pays homage to bravehearts, victims
Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 Nov, 2021 01:01 PM
Mumbai, Nov 26 (IANS) Mumbai on Friday remembered the bravehearts and victims felled by bullets and others who saved lives on the 13th anniversary of the dastardly terrror strikes by ten Pakistani terrorists who paralysed the city on November 26-29 2008.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari led the state by solemnly laying wreaths at the Martyrs' Memorial erected inside the Mumbai Police Commissionerate premises near Crawford Market in south Mumbai.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, currently convalescing, saluted those who lost their lives during the terror strikes and expressed his gratitude to those who fought the terrorists, terming the attack "a cowardly act".
He recalled the services of the police and security forces and the people of Mumbai for warding off the assault on the country's commercial capital and recovering from its effects.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Home Minsiter Dilip Walse-Patil, Tourism Minister, Director-General of Police Sanjay Pandey, Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale and other dignitaries also paid their respects at the martyrs' memorial.
A large number of police personnel turned up to pay homage to their colleagues who lost their lives while fighting the terrorists who struck at key locations in south Mumbai, with special memories for Tukaram G. Omble who sacrificed his life while pinning down Ajmal Amir Kasab, the sole terrorist nabbed alive in the early hours of November 27, 2008.
The still-grieving family members, relatives of the martyrs and several bravehearts, as also ordinary people paid homage to the departed souls with folded hands, bowed heads, lighting candles, offering flowers or wreaths, at the Martyrs' Memorial and other locations in the city.
They included the widows, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers or sisters, who stepped upto the memorial and offered their own personal tributes with flowers or tears for their departed near and beloved ones.
Similar in memoriams were held at some of the worst-hit targets like the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, Hotel Oberoi, the Chabad House, the Cama Hospital, and the Leopold Cafe, which bore the brunt of attackers leaving around 175 dead and over 300 injured.
The traditional and social media featured several remembrance ads, glowing and touching tributes and messages of the 60-hours that shook the world before the security forces won over the terrorists - eliminating 9 and taking one (Kasab) alive - to face the Indian law in an unprecedented 'open trial'.
Amarinder Singh said in a statement here that although he owed no explanation to "an out of job legislator who has been sacked as a minister in Rajasthan for being named as an accused in murder case of Kamlesh Prajapat, in Barmer, and inquiry for which has been handed over to the CBI by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Ghelot", he still wanted to set the record straight.
Hearings in the US Senate in 2009 on the lessons learnt from the 26/11 Mumbai attacks remarked that the attackers appeared to know their targets better than the responding commandos.
Party in-charge of the state Harish Chaudhary has reached out to Jakhar but sources say he was unable to pacify him and it is likely that Sonia Gandhi may have to intervene in the state's issues. Sources close to Sunil Jakhar confirmed the meeting on Tuesday evening.
Passenger air services were suspended in late March 2020 due to the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of Covid-19. While domestic flight services resumed from May 25, 2020, international flight services were only maintained via 'Bubble Agreements'.
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Had the Supreme Court not intervened, the perpetrators of Lakhmipur Kheri violence would not have even been arrested, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said during the special single-day Assembly session on Friday.
