MUMBAI PAID TRIBUTE TO 26-11 VICTIMS

MUMBAI PAID TRIBUTE TO 26-11 VICTIMS

               Sachin Singh was only four when a bullet pierced his left hand at the Chhatrapaji Shivaji railway station, where he was waiting with his mother for a train, five years ago. Another bullet grazed his stomach and yet another , his thighs. His mother was shot in the stomach.“My hand hurts at times, especially when I play cricket. I can’t do anything but wait for the pain to disappear ,” said the nine-year-old, who was at the station with his parents to pay tribute to those who died in the terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008. “I still remember seeing Kasab. He passed by with his friend and started shooting. After that I remember being taken to hospital. That’s it. Then I spent three months in the hospital with my mother,” Sachin recollects.

              His mother Poonam said that the revisit to the station was like reliving the nightmare. “Our family is in U.P. , so we go there by train very often. Every time we come here, my fears return and I start remembering that helpless night,” she said.Meanwhile, various dignitaries paid homage to the martyrs throughout the day. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Home Minister R.R. Patil and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar paid their tributes to the 26/11 memorial site at the Police Gymkhana. Representatives from various consulates were present as well.Relatives of the victims gathered at different terror sites. Top Maharashtra police officers were present at the memorial service.Private memorials were also held at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and the Trident hotel. Kirit Somaiya from the BJP led the delegation, comprising of the Singhs and other victims, to meet Home Minister R.R. Patil.

Prof. John Kurakar