Tributes paid to martyrs on 12th anniversary of 26/11 attack

Floral tributes were paid on Thursday to the martyrs who laid down their lives while fighting terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008.

"Their sacrifice will never be erased from the memory of time and history. Today, we pay tribute to our saviours #2611Attack #2611Martyrs," Mumbai Police tweeted.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray paid their respects at the newly-built memorial at the police headquarters in south Mumbai.

The martyrs' memorial has been relocated from the site at Police Gymkhana in Marine Drive to the police headquarters at Crawford Market because of the ongoing work on the Coastal Road project, an official earlier said.

The 12th anniversary of the deadly terror attack was attended by a limited number of people in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Family members of some of the martyred police personnel also paid tributes at the memorial.

During the ceremony, the governor, chief minister and the home minister met family members of some martyrs.

Remebering their personnel killed in the attack, the Maharashtra Police in a tweet said, "A tribute to the ones who sacrificed their lives to safeguard the rest!"

"Saluting the bravehearts whose sacrifice still ignites the spirits of millions #2611Attack #2611Martyrs #SalutingMartyrs," Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh tweeted.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar also paid tributes to the policemen and other security personnel who laid their lives during the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, and called for a resolve to intensify the fight against terrorism.

"Tributes to martyrs from the police and other security forces who laid their lives in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. As we condole with the families who lost their near ones in the attack, we should (also) resolve to intensify our fight against terrorism," the former Union minister tweeted.

On November 26, 2008, 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists from Pakistan arrived by sea route and opened fire, killing 166 people, including 18 security personnel, and injuring several others during the 60-hour siege in Mumbai.

The then Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, Army Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Mumbai's Additional Police Commissioner Ashok Kamte, Senior Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar and Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Tukaram Omble were among those killed in the attack.

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.

Nine terrorists were later killed by the security forces, including the NSG, the country's elite commando force.

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