26/11 attack | Most challenging event of my career, to stay with me life-long: Sadanand Date

Date first got to know about the firing in south Mumbai at around 9.30 pm through the TV news channel, when he was at his Malabar Hill house. He contacted his superior, K L Prasad, then joint commissioner of police (law & order), who directed him to reach the firing spot at CST.

Wearing a bulletproof jacket and armed with a carbine, Date reached the Cama and Albless hospitals along with six policemen. On reaching the hospital, Date’s team found two bodies at the entrance.

Recalling his experience, Date said, “Till the time we reached Cama Hospital, there was no clear and confirmed information about the nature of attackers and their weapons.”

After hospital staff informed Date’s team that the attackers were on the fourth floor, his team moved to the spot.

On reaching up, the police team learned that the attackers had gone to the terrace of the building and also kept some hostages as their shield.

“Before entering the terrace from the sixth floor, we threw a metal object to check if any attacker was guarding the gate. Our technique worked, as the moment we threw the object, the terrorist fired a burst of bullets. This was the time when we first got to know that the attackers are equipped with highly sophisticated automated assault weapons,” Date said.

“Since we only had weapons like carbines and our side-arms, we decided to not engage with them but instead block the only exit of the terrace. We took our positions accordingly. Some moments later, a person was seen coming downstairs from the terrace. The hospital staff member who was with us told us that he was his colleague. The person, through some gestures, told us that two persons were behind him. I then fired a warning shot, forcing Kasab and Ismail to go back to the terrace,” the senior officer added.

Later, it was found out that the two were taking the person down as a shield to escape, but the warning shot by Date deterred them. “A while later, they threw a hand grenade, which was exploded just around three feet away from us. In the blast, PSI Prakash More died at the spot, and the rest of the team members got injured, including myself, the IPS officer said.

Understanding the status of injured team members and the status of arms and ammunition, Date asked three of them to leave the post and get themselves treated, as well as get back-up.

Date and another injured constable were the last persons on the sixth floor, guarding the terrace exit for nearly 40 minutes and not allowing Kasab and Ismail to leave.

At around 11.55 pm, a grenade exploded right in front of Date’s feet, injuring him badly. “There was a blackout for a while, and later I sensed that two persons were going down stairs. I shoot bullets using my revolver. They threw grenades at me and fled. While fleeing, they had discarded their arms and ammunition and, most importantly, left the hostages,” said Date.

Later, during the course of the investigation, it was revealed that it was Date’s bullet that punched a hole into their leader Abu Ismail’s torso. Date’s thoughtful retaliation to Kasab and Ismail’s attack forced them to stay on the terrace for a long time.

Date’s bravery and presence of mind led to the rescue of hostages, as well as seriously wounding their group leader. The senior police officer was later awarded the President’s police medal for gallantry.

Date said, “The 26/11 attack remains the most challenging event of my career, and it will stay with me life-long. I tried to do whatever was best to my ability.”

“We are committed to giving our best,” added Date, who is now chief of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).