New Delhi:
26/11 Tahwur Hussain Rana, who was jailed in the US for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has been extradited to India and in 2008 the nation will be kept for testing for his role in its original attacks.
Sixteen years after the attacks, the remaining people recalled the terror experienced on the night of 26 November. Ajay Bagga, a startup mentor and a long -term investor, recalled what happened inside the Taj Hotel when he and his wife, Rajita kukarniWere caught in the line of fire.
“Rajita and I were at the Taj at the Masala Craft Restaurant. One of our friends, a German member of the European Parliament, was visiting with a large parliamentary delegation.”
“We were starting dinner at around 9:30 pm, the first firing started, and I just looked out and I saw someone shoot at the Golden Dragon restaurant, which is about 30 meters from where we are about 30 meters.
Read more: “Bring back memories”: The survivor spot himself in NDTV’s 26/11 footage
Mr. Bagga told NDTV that her friend was in one Terrorist condition First in Sri Lanka. So she was well trained and told him that “it is now a hostage situation.”
‘People were killed on both sides’
Mr. Bagga and his wife were seen in NDTV footage 16 years ago, which was taken shortly after the firing started.
“On both sides, people were killed. Shamiana was a 24/7 coffee shop on the right, and there was a golden dragon on the left. There was no one who survived. Everyone was killed there,” Mr. Bagga told NDTV.
“We were potentially safe in spice crafts. And then after two hours, the hotel transferred us to the chambers through the basement area of the entrance of the employees. We were taken to the chambers, and we were there. Nearly 200 people were there. A politician gave a media interview, and he said that 200 CEOs and many senior people of Mumbai were trapped in chambers.
“Just then, our withdrawal started from escaping from the fire. An old woman fell down. I bent down to pick her up, and I told my wife that we would not push. People were pushing and running down. I said, we will not push. We will not push. We will wait for our turn, and suddenly, in front of us, no one was alive.”
‘Taj employee saved our lives’
Mr. Bagga, who was trapped in chambers and waiting for his turn to save them, said that a staff member of the Taj saved his and his wife’s life. Mr. Bagga said, the employee “took bullets in his back and we hid in a conference room, lying on the ground for the next seven hours. During the night, he (employee) was crying. We were Aspirin and whoever were people, but we had two doctors.
“We also tied his wounds and at the same time we took it to the hospital, but he did not survive.”
“We were all lying in rooms and other conference rooms.
“The National Security Guard (NSG) came at the age of 10,” Mr. Bagga said, saying that the gun fight between commandos and terrorists continued, and “somehow God was kind” and he was out of danger till 10 pm.
‘We hugged Taj employees, who survived’
Mr. Bagga said that he had to go back to the Taj Hotel after a month as he was a member of the chambers and gave relief to the death experience with him inside the hotel.
“I passed through the entire route, which we took through the spice craft, through the basement, through the entrances and chambers of the staff. And we left and hugged all the employees who survived. Many Taj employees gave their lives to save us.”
He recalled that when the NSG came to his rescue, he did not know if it is a terrorist “Black Cat Commandos or it is actually NSG, but then he said, we are standing behind. We are breaking.”
He said, “He (NSG) had to break the door because we tied it with all the tablesters. There was no latch in any door,” he said.
Shri Bagga’s wife, Ranjita Kulkarni also spoke to NDTV and said, Rana’s extradition is “a monumental achievement for our country”. He gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, US President Donald Trump and the US Supreme Court thanked it for making it possible. “I am sure it will bring justice. It is a very big day for all the martyrs who sacrificed their lives, the remaining people and their families,” she said.
Role of Tawavaur Rana in 26/11 attacks
A former Pakistan Army doctor provided logistic, financial and other assistance to David Headley – a major conspirator in the terrorist attack. Rana is charged under classes related to criminal conspiracy, war against the Government of India, the war against the relevant sections under the murder and illegal activities (prevention) Act. He traveled to various places in India, as he identified goals to strike, calling the charge sheet.
