The day we will never forget or forgive. It's the day our nation fought against a few Pakistani intruders who terrorised the country's economic capital - Mumbai. The memories are still fresh even after a decade... Onmanorama tracks how it all happened and finally ended.
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8 am
A 10-member Lashkar terror group begins their journey from Lahore to Karachi in a train. As they reach the Karachi port, MV Alpha, a trawling vessel was waiting for them. They had no weapons then. They begin their journey to Mumbai coast.
Midway, Lashkar supporters hand over weapons and explosives to the group at sea.
They intercept MV Kuber, an Indian fishing vessel, off Porbandar coast and kill four fishermen except the vessel's captain, Amar Singh Solanki.
4 pm
Terrorists, disguised as fishermen, reach near the Mumbai coast along with Amar Singh Solanki. Solanki was killed nearly 10 nautical mile away from Mumbai coast.
8.30 - 9 pm
Terrorists reach Colaba jetty on dinghies and enter Mumbai city in 'buddy pairs'.
The attacks commenced at multiple locations after about 9 pm on November 26 and the counter-attacks by Indian security agencies lasted for three days at the Nariman House and the Oberoi Trident Hotel and for four days at the Taj Mahal Hotel.
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9 pm
The first attack was at Leopold Cafe, a tourist favourite in south Mumbai. Terrorists also open fire at public on the streets and throw grenades.
9.40 pm
Terrorists enter the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and open fire at guests. They set off explosions on the fifth and sixth floors of the building. Indian Army and Navy's commandoes called in later. Subsequently, the National Security Guards took over the operation to flush out the terrorists. The gunfight lasted 59 hours, which ended when all the four terrorists were killed. 450 people trapped inside the hotel were saved.
9.45 pm
Apartments near Nariman House came under attack. The terrorists entered the Nariman House and took a Jewish family as hostage. The operation ended after 48 hours when commandoes were fast-roped on the roof of Nariman House and they killed 2 terrorists. 14 lives were saved.
9.50 pm
Heavily-armed terrorists open fire at guests. Set-off an explosion inside the restaurant. The fight between security forces and terrorists last 42 hours. 35 people were rescued, while 2 terrorists were killed.
9.50 pm
The attackers, including Ajmal Kasab, terrorised the area by firing indiscriminately at people and security officials for about 90 minutes. They used AK47s and grenades. They attacked people near the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation building and the subway to the railway station. Kasab was later nabbed by policeman Tukaram Ombale near Girgaon Chowpatty, about 4 km away, as he and an accomplice tried to flee in a car.
10 pm
Two attackers seize a police vehicle and takes an inspector hostage. They fired at people on the streets.
10.20 pm
Terrorists fire at everything they see. They attacked people on the streets near GT Hospital.
10.45 pm
A taxi car explodes.
10.50 pm
Another vehicle explodes near Santa Cruz Airport.
12.30 am, November 27
A terrorist opens fire. He was shot down by police.
Total Dead
166
Total Injured
304
Anti-terror ops at all areas, except Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, ended.
Last of the terrorists were killed at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel following NSG's operation code named 'Black Tornado.'
Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan
Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, a commando of the elite Special Action Group of the National Security Guards, died on November 26, while fighting terrorists at the Taj Palace Hotel. Unnikrishnan, who hails from Kozhikode district in Kerala, joined the 7th Bihar Regiment of the Indian Army on 12 June, 1999. He joined the NSG on January 20, 2007.
Havildar Gajender Singh Bisht
NSG commando
Hemant Karkare IPS
Chief of the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad
Ashok Kamte
Additional Commissioner of Police
Vijay Salaskar
Senior Inspector and encounter specialist
Shashank Shinde
Senior Inspector
Prakash More
Sub-Inspector
Bapusaheb Durugade
Sub-Inspector
Tukaram Omble
Assistant Sub-Inspector
Balasaheb Bhosale
Assistant Sub Inspector
M C Chowdhary
Head Constable, RPF
Jaywant Patil
Constable
Vijay Khandekar
Constable
Arun Chitte
Constable
Yogesh Patil
Constable
Ambadas Pawar
Constable
Rahul S Shinde
Constable, SRPF
Mukesh B Jadhav
Home Guard Constable
May 6, 2010
Special Court set up inside the Arthur Road Jail pronounced death penalty to Ajmal Kasab.
February 21, 2011
Mumbai High Court upheld death penalty.
October 21, 2011
Supreme Court upheld lower court orders.
August 29, 2012
Supreme Court rejected review petition.
November 5, 2012
President Pranab Mukherjee rejected Kasab's mercy petition.
November 21, 2012
Finally, Ajmal Kasab was hanged to death in secret inside the Yerawada Central Jail.
His body was buried inside Pune Jail as Pakistan refused to receive it. All the other 9 bodies of terrorists were buried at undisclosed locations.
Mounting evidence of Pakistan's role behind the Mumbai terror attack prompted India to pull out of bilateral talks with the neighbouring country. The two countries have not officially talked to each other since November 2008, except for brief interactions on the sidelines of international summits. Even the cricket series between the two countries have been called off. The Board of Cricket Control in India has said that it would not initiate cricket relations with Pakistan.
India has handed over reams of documents to pin the blame of the attack on Jama’at-ud-Da’wah leader Hafiz Saeed. With the international community piling pressure on Pakistan to crack down on the terrorists operating from its soil, the administration filed cases against seven persons including Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. However, the high court found that Lakhvi was detained illegally and ordered his release on March 13, 2015. He walked out on bail next month.
Saeed was put under house arrest in 2017 January but he was released in November after a court ruled that there was not enough evidence to indict him. Saeed has been declared an international terrorist by the United States. The political party he found - Milli Muslim League - has been blacklisted by both the US and the United Nations. The party wanted to field its candidates in the national election this year but its terror links prevented it from doing so. Facebook even scrapped the party’s official account.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif kicked a hornets nest when he flayed Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Maulana Masood Azhar without naming them. "Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill over 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can't we complete the trial," he said while referring to the almost-dead trial in a Rawalpindi court. He later backtracked on the statement. Not a single terrorist has been brought to book in Pakistan in relation to the Mumbai attack.
