Mumbai

The National Security Guard commemorated the 17th anniversary of the Mumbai 26/11 terror attack on Wednesday with a memorial event at the Gateway of India, honouring the victims and security personnel who died confronting the attackers.

Colonel Abhishek Singh, Group Commander of NSG Mumbai’s Special Composite Group 26, said families of those affected came together and participants took a “Neverever” pledge during the remembrance ceremony. “The 51 Special Action Group, which fought the terrorists in Mumbai, paid tribute to the NSG martyrs, Mumbai Police personnel and the many innocent people who lost their lives. We invited survivors and their families, and around 21,000 people took the pledge,” he told ANI.

Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan of the 51 SAG, who lost his life while battling terrorists at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, was among the fallen heroes remembered.

Divya Vijay Salaskar, daughter of encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar, recalled her father’s final hours. She said he left home suddenly on the night of November 26, believing he would return the next morning, but never came back. Salaskar, former ATS chief Hemant Karkare and Additional Commissioner Ashok Kamte were among the senior officers killed in action.

The attacks, carried out by ten Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists who entered Mumbai by sea on November 26, 2008, lasted four days and left 166 people dead and 300 injured. Landmarks like Leopold Cafe and Nariman House still bear visible reminders of the violence, while memorials honour the bravery of officers such as ASI Tukaram Omble, who sacrificed his life to capture the lone surviving terrorist, Ajmal Kasab.

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Nine of the attackers were killed, and Kasab was captured alive. He was sentenced to death in 2010 and executed in Pune in 2012.