In loving memory of
the 2008 Mumbai Attacks victims and survivors, I will post quotes from them,
after learning that Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman was executed by hanging in the high-security Yerwada Jail in Pune, India on Wednesday 21 November at 7:30am.
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Ashok
Kamte
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QUOTE
1: "Like
everyone else, I also expected the Bombay high court to confirm the death
sentence to Kasab. I welcome the judgement and expect that the punishment would
be executed at the earliest," Vineeta Kamte said. “It was the rarest of rare case and everyone could see Kasab
firing at people, killing them mercilessly, Kamte said adding, "the terrorist always deserved the toughest
punishment."
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Vinita
Kamte
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QUOTE
2: Vinita, widow of late police
officer Ashok Kamte, who died fighting terrorists during the 26/11 attack, on
Wednesday 21 November 2012, expressed satisfaction over the hanging of Pakistani
gunman Kasab saying though belated, the government had done justice to the
families of the martyrs.
"Though it
took a long time, justice has been done to us. The authorities maintained
extreme secrecy to carry out the execution and we are satisfied," she said
reacting to the news of Kasab's hanging at Yerwada jail in Pune.
AUTHOR: Vinita Kamte is the widow of Ashok Kamte (23 February 1965 - 26 November
2008) was the Additional Commissioner of Mumbai Police for the East Region. He
was killed in terrorist action during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. His bravery was
honoured with the Ashoka Chakra on 26 January 2009. Ashok Kamte was killed in
action by terrorists during the Mumbai attacks, on 26 November 2008 in a narrow
lane between St. Xavier's College and the Rang Bhavan opposite Corporation Bank
ATM just a stone away from Crime Branch office. As Mr. Kamte was known for his
cool temperament and negotiation skills he was summoned when attack began. He
was the Additional Commissioner of East zone, an area not under attack. When he
reached CST area, he met ATS Chief Hemant Karkare and others. They took a
Qualis from the Azad Maidan Police Station (AMPS), with Kamte taking taking
AK47 himself. When they reached rear entrance of the Cama and Albless Hospital
( Cama ) which is next to AMPS, Kamte fired at terrorists, to which the
terrorists retaliated with handgranade so Kamte suggested to take on terrorists
from front entrance of Cama. By then the terrorists had left Cama sensing
trouble. As the cops were moving they received wireless message that terrorists
were hiding behind a red car in the same lane. At that time they spotted a
terrorist running, Kamte fired, injuring him. He was Kasab lone terrorist
captured alive later that night. As they were about to get down another
Pakistani terrorist, Ibrahim Khan fired volley of bullets killing all but Asst.
Police Inspector Arun Jadhav. Kamte was hit in the head although he was wearing
helmet ( but no bulletproof jacket ) ( Times of India 19 December 2008 ) India
Express quotes statements by API Arun Jadhav, who was with the officers Ashok
Kamte, Vijay Salaskar and Hemant Karkare when they died. The three officers and
four constables had received information that Sadanand Date had been injured in
the gunfire at the Cama and Albless Hospital for women and children. Currently
located at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), a ten-minute drive from the
hospital, they took a Toyota Qualis and proceeded in that direction. Kamte was
in the passenger seat, Salaskar driving, Karkare in the second row, and the
four Constables, including Jadhav, were in the back row of seating. According
to Jadhav, five minutes later two terrorists stepped out from behind a tree and
opened fire with AK-47 automatic rifles. Kamte was the sole officer who managed
to retaliate,wounding terrorist Ajmal in the arm. The six policemen, other than
Jadhav, were all killed quickly in the gunfire. The wounded Jadhav had no
opportunity to render assistance. The two terrorists approached the vehicle,
dumped the bodies of the three officers on the road and, leaving the constables
for dead, proceeded to Metro Junction. Upon arrival, they aimed three bursts of
automatic fire at police and journalist vehicles drawn up at that location,
then drove off towards the government offices (Vidhan Bhawan) in South Mumbai.
Here again they fired several times. While attempting to leave the area, one of
the tyres of the vehicle burst, so the terrorists departed to obtain another.
At this point, Jadhav was able to contact headquarters. The bodies of the dead
were promptly recovered and taken to St George Hospital. The body of Additional
Police Commissioner Ashok Kamte, was cremated with State honours at the
Vaikunth cremotorium on 27 November 2008. A large number of high-ranking police
officers participated in the funeral procession, including: Police Commissioner
Satyapal Singh, Joint Commissioner of Police Rajendra Sonawane and district
collector Chandrakant Dalvi. Around 3,000 people were present.
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| Kaizad Bhamgara |
QUOTE: Wednesday 21 November 2012 - The 23-year-old began that day
by having drinks with friends at one of the city's most famous bars, Cafe
Leopold.
"Suddenly
intense firing began, so we ran to the nearby Taj Hotel. There we saw blood
everywhere and people dying, so we got out, and ran to the train station to go
home, only to find people being killed there too. We lay down at the station
pretending to be dead on the ground. Only two in our group of nine
survived."
Mr Bhamgara, who plans to
celebrate Qasab's hanging with friends, says it has finally provided some
closure on what happened.
He supports the use of the
death penalty: "Something like this acts as a
deterrent and as an example for people to know not to do things. I'm very happy
with the death sentence, if one man kills another man, this works effectively
to give justice," he says.
AUTHOR:
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Vijay Salaskar
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QUOTE
1:
Mrs Smita Salaskar, wife of slain encounter specialist
Vijay Salaskar who fell victim to the bullets of terrorists during
the carnage, said, “Though the execution was delayed, Kasab was
finally hanged. With this hanging, homage has been paid to my husband.”
QUOTE
2: Thanking
President Pranab Mukherjee for rejecting the mercy plea of the Pakistani
gunman, Smita said, "Late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray had also
demanded Kasab's hanging. His wish and our wish have been finally
fulfilled."
"The
entire family is happy to hear the news that Kasab was hanged, ahead of fourth
anniversary of the attack," Smita said.
The hanging would
surely send a message across the globe that India would not tolerate any terror
attack, Smita said, adding, "I hope death sentence
of Parliament House attack convict Afzal Guru would also be executed
soon."
AUTHOR: Mrs
Smita Salaskar is the wife of Vijay Salaskar (Marathi: विजय साळसकर), he was
a Senior Police Inspector and encounter specialist serving with the Mumbai
police. He was widely credited with killing 75–80 criminals in encounters —
most of these were members of the Arun Gawli gang. Salaskar was killed while
fighting terrorists in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. Captured terrorist Ajmal
Amir Kasab claimed responsibility for the killing. Before his death Salaskar
was head of the Anti-Extortion Cell, Mumbai. His patriotism and bravery was
honoured with the Ashoka Chakra on 26 January 2009.
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Sandeep Unnikrishnan
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QUOTE:
Relatives
of victims and survivors of the Mumbai 26/11 strike today felt that
justice has been done with the hanging of Pakistani terrorist
Ajmal Kasab, saying it will serve as a lesson to terrorists that
India is determined to act firmly against them.
Kasab was hanged to
death at 7.30 a.m. at Yerawada jail in Pune after President
Pranab Mukherjee rejected his mercy plea earlier this month.
Dr
K Unnikrishnan, father of NSG commando
K Unnikrishnan, who was killed in the Taj Hotel strike, said, “The way in which the execution has been done, it is a model
way. Before anybody could react to the rejection of the mercy petition (of
Kasab), everything is over. That is the thing which I cherish.”
Dr Unnikrishnan, a
retired Isro official, said, “Definitely there was
a long way to go for the sense of closure...Kasab's execution is only one
chapter. The perpetrators are still moving around in Pakistan and the
anti-India thinking in Pakistan is too much now, it should come down.”
AUTHOR: Dr K Unnikrishnan is the father of Sandeep Unnikrishnan (15 March 1977 – 28
November 2008). He was a Major in the Indian Army serving in the elite Special
Action Group of the National Security Guards (NSG). He was killed in action
while fighting terrorists in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. His bravery was
honoured with the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peace time gallantry award, on
26 January 2009.
“Do not come up, I
will handle them”, were the last words which Major Unnikrishnan told his men as
he was hit by bullets while engaging terrorists inside the Taj Mahal Palace
& Tower during Operation Black Tornado, according to NSG officials.
Later, NSG sources
clarified that when a Guardsman got injured during the operation, Major
Unnikrishnan arranged for his evacuation and started chasing the terrorists
himself. The terrorists escaped to another floor of the hotel and during the
chase Major Unnikrishnan was seriously injured and succumbed to his injuries.
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Tukaram
Omble
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QUOTE
1: Mr
Eknath Omble, brother of assistant police sub-inspector
Tukaram Omble who died while capturing the terrorist, said, “I am proud and very happy that my brother's efforts have
paid off.”
“We are very
happy and satisfied. Ajmal Kasab should have been hanged in public,
but I know our law does not permit this,” he said.
QUOTE
2: Eknath
Omble, brother of police officer Tukaram Omble, who was also killed in the
attacks, also welcomed the execution. “We are glad he
met his end. He deserved to be hanged in public to set an example for others
who intend to attack us,” he said.
AUTHOR:
Eknath Omble, brother
of assistant police sub-inspector Tukaram Omble who died while capturing
the terrorist. Tukaram Omble was an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), and a
retired army man who had entered the Mumbai police. He was killed during the 2008
Mumbai attacks while fighting terrorists at Girgaum Chowpatty. The Indian
government honored him with the Ashoka Chakra – for the most conspicuous
bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice – on 26 January
2009.
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Solomon Sopher
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QUOTE:
"He showed no mercy on anyone, so why should we show mercy on
him,"
asks Solomon Sopher, president of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Mumbai, who
agrees with the punishment.
AUTHOR:
Solomon
F. Sopher is the president of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Mumbai, India.
He also serves as the Trustee of the David Sassoon Fund, and as the chairman
and managing director of Sir Jacob Sassoon Trust, which manages the Knesset
Eliyahoo synagogues in Mumbai, as well as the Magen David and the Ohel David
synagogues at Pune, India.
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Relatives of victims of the July 26, 2008
bomb blasts in Ahmedabad burn a picture of Ajmal Amir Kasab during a
demonstration welcoming his death sentence.
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QUOTE:
Mrs
Ragini Sharma, whose railway ticket collector husband S K Sharma was
killed in the strike, said, “The first thing that comes
to my mind is what happened is good. We are happy that we have got justice.”
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Activists of Shiva
Sena shout slogans as they celebrate after India's Supreme Court upheld the
death sentence of Mohammed Ajmal Kasab Kasab, the only surviving gunman of the
deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks in Mumbai, India, Aug. 29, 2012.
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QUOTE:
Ragini
Sharma, whose husband S K Sharma was killed in the 2008 terror strike, said she
would like to thank the President for rejecting Kasab's mercy plea.
"I would like to thank the
President. However, it got delayed but we did get justice. I am happy that it
(the hanging) was done secretly, otherwide some human rights people would have
opposed it," she
said.
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Sam
Panthanky/AFP/Getty Images - The execution of Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, which
Indians celebrated, is not expected to affect relations with Pakistan.
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QUOTE: Mr Vishnu Zende, an
announcer at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the railway station
here which was one of the targets of the attack, said, “I had never thought that I would get to hear this news like this."
“I am very happy that he has been hanged.
All the people who died in the terror attack have been given tribute by hanging
him,” Mr
Zende, who had helped save many lives by making announcements over the
public address system in the station about the strike, said.
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| Some in India have been celebrating the hanging of Qasab. |
QUOTE: Thirteen-year-old
Devika Rotwan, who was shot in the right leg in the terror attack,
said, “I am very much happy that Kasab has been
hanged. But I would have been happier if this would have been done in public.
It is a good news that a terrorist has been hanged... Wish this should have
been done on the anniversary of the attack this year.”
Devika, who studies in Class IX now, had gone
to the CST with her family members and was waiting for a train, when two
terrorists opened fire.
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| People hold flares and wave India's national flag as they celebrate after India hanged Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, in Ahmedabad November 21, 2012. REUTERS/Amit Dave |
QUOTE:
Kuresh Zorabi, whose
bakery opposite Chabad House (Nariman House) in south
Mumbai, was splattered with bullet holes in the 26/11 attack, said, “It is surprising and shocking, but at the same time I am
little disappointed that all this was kept secret. This is difficult to digest
for a second. I am thrilled that Kasab has been hanged. This will serve as
a lesson to terrorists that India can take strict action against them.”
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People hold a placard and pictures of
Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, as they celebrate in Ahmedabad November 21, 2012.
REUTERS/Amit Dave |
QUOTE: For terror attack victim
Sarika Uphadyay, “It is definitely a time for
celebration...it is like Diwali! We have been waiting for this since
the past four years and finally it has happened. Feeling sad that this was kept
as a secret.”
Sarika was at the Leopold Caf for a
dinner with her friend Anamika Gupta, where Kasab and his other
accomplice opened fire. “I am finding it hard to digest
that he has been hanged to death. He and his accomplices had brought the city
of Mumbai to a halt, killed so many innocent people...I think he
should have been hanged in Mumbai and not in Pune,” she said.
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An activist of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi
Parishad holds an effigy of Mohammed Ajmal Kasab before it was burnt to
celebrate the news that he was executed, in Bangalore on Wednesday. Kasab, a
Pakistani citizen, was one of 10 gunmen who rampaged through the streets of
India’s financial capital for three days in November 2008, killing 166 people.
The placard refers to Afzal Guru, the man who has been sentenced for death
penalty and currently in prison for the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament.
(AP Photo byy Aijaz Rahi)
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QUOTE: Mukesh
Agrawal stays well away from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train
station these days. Four years ago, he was working at his newly-opened
restaurant in the food plaza when he came face-to-face with death.
"It was around 9:45pm [1615 GMT] and I was about to shut shop.
I was near my cash counter when all of a sudden I saw people throwing grenades.
I saw a man coming towards me holding something long in his hand. After that I
didn't see anything."
Mr
Agrawal was shot in the stomach and lost consciousness seconds later. In a coma
for 15 days, he had to have parts of his intestine removed, and fragments of
shrapnel remain in his armpit.
Closed-circuit
TV camera footage revealed the man who pulled the trigger on him was Qasab.
At
0730 on Wednesday morning, after months of appeals, Qasab was hanged. The news
has been a cause of celebration for Mr Agrawal, coming at the start of the
Hindu New Year, which began last week.
"This is the best possible New Year gift one can get. It's a
beautiful thing," he
said.
"They caught him red handed, yet it took them this long to do
this," he says,
adding that the money which was spent on keeping Qasab in jail would have been
better spent on providing support and assistance to victims like him.
AUTHORS: Survivors
& Victims’ Families of the 2008 Mumbai Attacks -