26/11 attack: Ex-Marine commando who took four bullets fighting terrorists recalls the fateful night

Praveen’s duty was over early that Wednesday and he had gone to Churchgate (Mumbai) to book a ticket for his hometown in Bulandshahr. After returning around 8 pm and watching Sehwag take apart Stuart Broad, he was resting for some time when a slight disturbance near the guardroom caught his attention. “A lot of commotion was going on near our guardroom. Phone calls were incoming in one after the other. A few minutes later, the Officer of the Day (OD) called me and said I should get ready because there has been a terrorist attack in Mumbai. Post-midnight, we started assembling as teams and soon we were on our way towards the Taj.”

“We always look for such opportunities to serve our nation,” Praveen was quick to remind before adding, “Two teams had already left before us and the other two squads (including mine) left later around 2 am.” However, after reaching the Taj Hotel around 2.45 am, Praveen and his company were on the backfoot. “There was no blueprint of the hotel, our team was sub-equipped and we were low on strength as well. Upon that we had a blind entry to the hotel. But there was only one way forward — that is to neutralise the enemy,” Praveen recalled.

“When I entered the lobby of the Taj, all I could see was blood splattered everywhere and dead bodies strewn across the hall. Those who were injured lost blood profusely. Some were in hiding while a few others kept crying. The environment was one full of fear and agony and the only thought which kept crossing my mind at that moment was — why target the innocent civilians? What wrong could they have done?” he said.

Smoke is seen billowing out of the ground and first floor of the Taj Hotel in south Mumbai during security personnel’s “Operation Cyclone” following the 26/11 terror attacks in 2008. (Source: PTI)

“After sanitising the lobby, we moved to the second floor as firing was heard upstairs. The hotel’s security manager, Sunil Kudyadi, showed us the way and taking the help of the staircase, we reached the chamber-hall above. In the meantime, four more personnel joined our team and from the chamber-hall, we went into another dining room (adjacent to it) which was quite dark. Being the pointman, I was the first to enter the area. I had barely taken eight steps forward when from my right-hand side, I heard the sound of two safety catches go off. The noise of an AK-47’s safety catch is distinct and I figured out that two terrorists were available in the same room.”

Seizing his position, Praveen had his gun aimed towards the area from which the sound had come. A flash! and the terrorists had fired a ‘burst’ at Praveen. In retaliation, Praveen also fired three-four rounds before falling down. “I was hit, blood was trickling down my neck from the ear. I was alive but the bullet had blown off my left ear”.

If you survive the first round of attack from the enemy, then the chances of getting hit once again diminish considerably. This is because the first shot is always fired after taking an aim but the ones shot thereafter do not have the same level of accuracy. Keeping this in mind, Praveen got down to cover his position.

“From the position I had taken, I fired a single shot but the return was again in few more bursts. This time I understood that there were not two but four terrorists in the room. I took out a grenade (which I was carrying) and lobbed it towards them. To my utter disappointment, it did not detonate. I was upset and was wondering what to do next. Once again I fired a few shots which were reciprocated by a few more bursts. This entire episode went on for approximately 25 minutes.”

One of the bullets which hit Praveen’s bulletproof jacket.

Meanwhile, the other members of Praveen’s team, who were behind their ‘pointman’, had moved out of the room after the initial burst of fire. There was no way Praveen could communicate with them as he was not carrying a communication set with him. But what happened thereafter changed the complexion of the entire scenario. Recollecting the chain of events that followed, Praveen said, “Thinking that I had not survived the initial spray of bullets, my team lobbed a teargas into the room. This, in turn, started suffocating me. Slowly, my options were getting limited. I kept thinking that it is impossible to get out alive from this position. On one hand are the terrorists waiting to gun me down whenever I make a movement and on the other hand, if I don’t relocate, then I might suffocate to death. Leaving everything in the hands of fate, I decided to give my 100 percent and face the consequences.”

“Taking aim towards the area where the enemy was hiding, I swept the entire zone with bullets and attempted to move out of the room. The gunmen launched an attack immediately and I was hit by two bullets on my bulletproof jacket. Another one scraped my collar. Somehow, I reached the door but due to the impact of the bullets fell down. Thankfully, my team pulled me out. I was rushed to INHS Ashwini (Naval hospital)…” A few days later, on Saturday, Praveen was informed that ‘Operation Tornado’ was successful and the enemy was neutralised. “I was a relieved man and slept peacefully that night,” he said.

Praveen was discharged from hospital in March after five surgeries. He was left with a gunshot wound to the right chest and a damaged left ear. As a result, his hearing was partially impaired. Later on, despite recovering from his wounds, his impairments did not allow him to return to the field and the combat-diver was assigned a desk job. Determined to prove himself, Praveen took the call of participating in marathons. Nine years down the line, he has completed more than a dozen of them.

Partially hearing impaired now, ex-Marine Commando Praveen Teotia has become an expert marathoner.

For now, Praveen has completed more than a dozen marathons and is a two-time IRONMAN (South Africa, Malaysia). But the 33-year-old wants to keep pushing his boundaries and put in the hard work to fight against the odds.  After completing the Iron Man challenge he is also aiming at climbing Mount Everest. “I belong to a simple family. I believe hard work pays. After my injuries, I struggled a lot with infections and surgeries. But running helped me get back in the groove. I felt stronger and mature than before. Those who get injured while fighting for the country should not feel demoralised, and should believe that the sky is the limit. All you need to do is listen to your heart and believe,” he concluded.