Tributes paid to 26/11 martyrs on 13th anniversary

Floral tributes were paid on Friday to the martyrs who laid down their lives while fighting terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and state Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil paid their respects at the memorial at the police headquarters in south Mumbai.

The martyrs' memorial has been relocated from the original site at Police Gymkhana in Marine Drive to the police headquarters at Crawford Market because of the ongoing work on the Coastal Road project, an official said.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is recuperating in a Mumbai hospital after spine surgery, also remembered the 26/11 martyrs.

In a tweet, Thackeray said the terror attack was a clear example of the 'cowardly mindset' of terrorists.

The 13th anniversary of the deadly terror attack was attended by a limited number of people in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Family members of some of the martyred police personnel also paid tributes at the memorial.

Tributes were also paid at Cama and Albless Hospital, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and near the Gateway of India, some of the places in south Mumbai that were targeted by the terrorists during the 26/11 attack.

Homage was also paid at Girgaum Chowpatty.

Banners and hoardings of martyrs were put up at various locations in south Mumbai, where floral tribute was paid by common citizens.

As a mark gratitude, people were seen offering flowers to the on-duty security personnel at the Gateway of India.

Police were deployed at various key locations in the city as a precautionary measure.

'Thirteen years have passed yet their courage in face of extreme adversities still inspires us. Remembering Mumbai's saviours on the anniversary of 26/11,' tweeted Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale, who along with Maharashtra Director General of Police Sanjay Pandey paid floral tributes at the memorial.

'We will forever carry their unyielding spirits in our hearts. Their sacrifice will always be remembered,' tweeted Mumbai Police.

President Ram Nath Kovind paid tributes to the martyrs and homage to the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and said the nation will always be grateful to the security personnel who laid down their lives in the line of duty.

Union home minister Amit Shah saluted the daring of the security personnel who fought the terrorists and made the supreme sacrifice.

'The entire country is proud of your bravery and will always remember your sacrifice,' Shah tweeted.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi remembered the martyrs of the 26/11 attacks and paid them rich tributes. He shared a two-minute video of the pictures of all the martyrs who gave the supreme sacrifice in the attacks.

On November 26, 2008, 10 Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists from Pakistan arrived by sea route and opened fire, killing 166 people, including 18 security personnel, and injuring several others during the 60-hour siege in Mumbai.

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 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 some of the places targeted by terrorists.

Nine terrorists were later killed by the security forces, including the NSG, the country's elite commando force.

Ajmal Kasab was the only terrorist who was captured alive. He was hanged four years later on November 21, 2012.