PM salutes Marytrs ATS chief and NSG commando

Mumbai/Bangalore: Bangalore bid a tearful farewell to National Security Guard commando Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan while in Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare has been cremated.

Major Unnikrishnan was martyred on Friday morning while trying to save one of his colleagues at the Taj.

The 31-year-old Major, born on March 15, 1977 and the only son of retired ISRO officer K Unnikrishnan, joined the National Defence Academy and was commissioned in the 7th Battalion of Bihar Regiment in 1999.

Major Unnikrishnan was with the 51 Special Action Group of the NSG.

The officer had joined the NSG on deputation in January 2007 after having served two tenures with his battalion in counter insurgency and counter terrorism roles.

He led a commando team to clear Taj Hotel on November 27. The operation was code named Operation Cyclone.

When one of the commando of his team was injured, Major Unnikrishnan went in to evacuate him and spotted one of the terrorists.

Major Unnikrishnan engaged the terrorist in a gunbattle and had overpowered him but another terrorist who was hiding in the room fired at him seriously injuring the brave officer. Major Unnikrishnan succumbed to his injuries soon.

Another NSG commando Havaldar Gajendra Singh was killed during the operations at the Jewish centre, Nariman House.

The operation at Nariman House was code named Black Tornado.

Karkare was killed along with two other top policemen, Additional Commissioner of police Ashok Kamte and police inspector Vijay Salaskar at Cama Hospital near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal when they came under fire from terrorists on Wednesday night

Commandos recieve Rousing Welcome

Commandos of the National Security Guards received a rousing welcome from the locals when they came out of the Nariman House after killing two dreaded terrorists, who had holed themselves in the building along with five hostages.

When the commandos came out after the successful mission, they were greeted with cheers, claps, pats on shoulders and patriotic slogans.

Bharat Mata ki Jai, Vande Mataram reverberated the narrow lanes of the area after the unit came out, after a grueling 12-hour-long final assault on the terrorists.

The crowd, which had gathered outside the building, came running towards the unit as they came out, drawing smiles on the battle-weary commandos' faces.

The roofs and balconies were full as men and women waited with bated breath for the soldiers to come out after finishing the ordeal.

The tiredness along with the sorrow of losing two of their men was palpable on their faces, but more than that it was the joy of achieving their target and accomplishing what was termed the most watched anti-terror action of the country.

Carrying their sophisticated weapons, some of them with their gear in hands tried to keep themselves calm, amidst the cheering crowd. Following the NSG were troupes of Army, Mumbai police and RAF, who were also welcomed by the crowd.

Some enthusiasts were seen approaching the force and getting a picture clicked with them. More than 500 people surrounded the bus which was carrying the team of commandos and raised anti-Pakistan slogans till it moved away.

source:rediff news