Floral tributes paid to martyrs on 10th anniversary of 26/11 attack

Mumbai: Floral tributes were paid Monday to those who laid down their lives while fighting Pakistani terrorists who had attacked the metropolis on this day 10 years ago.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was among the dignitaries who paid homage at the 26/11 police memorial site at the Mumbai Police Gymkhana in south Mumbai.

"I pay homage to the brave policemen who fought for Mumbai's safety and laid down their lives for us on 26/11. We are proud of them and we will strive hard for the safety and security of our state," Fadnavis said. Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Maharashtra Police Chief Datta Padsalgikar and Mumbai Commissioner of Police Subodh Kumar Jaiswal also attended the ceremony.

Family members of the policemen who lost their lives during the attacks were also present during the ceremony.

On November 26, 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorists arrived by sea route and opened fire indiscriminately at people killing 166, including 18 security personnel, and injuring several others, besides damaging property worth crores. The then Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, Army Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Mumbai's Additional Police Commissioner Ashok Kamte and Senior Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar were among those killed in the attack.

The attacks had begun on November 26 and lasted till November 29. 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.

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