26/11 TERRORIST ATTACK

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Devika Rotawan was then only 10 years old and the youngest witness in the 26/11 trial to testify against kasab. But even she endured years of her name being associated with that of  kasab. In school, some of their class mates made fun of her calling her 'kasab ki beti' , 26/11 waali' 



Mirror photographer sathish Malavade remembers seeing ashok kamte near the Times of india office . As he was all set to follow him into the lane behind cama hospital, he remembers kamte telling him, "we dont know how many (terrorists) there are, but we are armed. you dont have any weapons. please dont follow us for your own safety." Moments later, Ajmal kasab and ismail killed three of mumbai top cops- Hemant karkare, vijay salaskar and ashok kamte.

As some of us stood outside CST station, (where we had seen Ashok kamte just a few minutes earlier) still unsure of the extent of what was unfolding, and would continue to unfold over the next 60 hours, there was a collective sign when the news of the death of the three officers came in. It was not just hard to believe, it was everything you didnt want to believe for your own sanity. But it was one of the many blows that mumbai would receive that night.

Many of us hadnt even heard of Nariman House, forget figuring where it was located. The assumption was the Nariman House would be near Nariman Point, till we eventually found out that it was somewhere in Colaba.

When i left from office towards south Mumbai, all we knew was that it was some 'gang-war'.
By the time we were on JJ flyover, it was apparent it was anything but.

The victims, the witnesses, the first responders, the bravehearts - its their stories of courage, loss, hope and pain that make 26/11 still a vivid memory.

Mumbai, for all her famed stories of resilience, fell to her knees that night. And ten years on, you still see the same questions on safety being asked today. sure there are more CCTC cameras, police are better equipped (than the chair one home-quard threw towards kasab and ismail khan who were using automatic weapons), armoured cars , and we can all hope some lessons have been learnt.

But then, you also know that David Headley cut a deal with the US and will never stand trial for they he was responsible for. The masterminds are still at large, some even free to continue making hate speeches against india.

So is it easy to move on? Forgive? I know Kia Scherr forgave the terrorists - for what they did to her. she lost her husband and daughter in the Trident attack. yet, she bears no ill-will towards them. i dont know many others who have.

Even through 26/11 is now ten years behind us , that night in Mumbai, many of us lost a part of our hearts and that invisible hole is hard to describe, even harder to fill.


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