A 69-year-old witness described on Thursday how,during the 26/11 attack,four terrorists had held him hostage inside a room at Taj Mahal Hotel where he had checked in for a board meeting,how they had treated him and how he eventually escaped. I had three options. To be consumed by the fire (many rooms had been set ablaze),to fall and die,or to run through the corridors, said the witness,a banking professional whose identity has been withheld. Rather than climb down curtains from a window,he chose the stairs. The risk I faced was being shot by the terrorists. I thought,at least that death would be instantaneous. As he ran down the stairs,he said,he saw a bright light on the second or third floor. I ran madly towards the light,to be rescued by fire brigade personnel, he told the court. The Bangalore-based witness deposed that he had checked into room 632 of the heritage wing on November 26. Around 11.15 pm,someone knocked but he didnt open the door,having seen TV reports and heard from hotel staff that there were terrorists in the hotel. But he heard a gunshot and the door opened,he said. Two gentlemen entered the room and stripped me of my kurta and pyjama at gunpoint, said the witness,wearing a blazer and deposing in English. He later took permission from the court to call the gunmen terrorists. The terrorists tied my both hands with my clothes. One of them started kicking me on my back, he told the court. The witness said he pleaded for mercy and told them that he had high blood pressure. His head bowed,he heard one of the gunmen talk to someone on the phone very politely,he said After some time,I heard four hotel staff members being brought into my room by two more terrorists. One gunman who was limping started questioning me. It appeared that the questions were being prompted by the person on the other end of the phone, he said About 2.15 am the next day,all five hostages were taken down to the fifth floor,to room 520. They were possibly guarded by two terrorists,he said. About 3 am,they heard a blast and smoke entered the room. We were feeling suffocated. We were finding it difficult to breathe. The terrorists who were guarding us,I think,moved out, he said. The witness then somehow managed to free his hands and helped the other four. The four hotel staff members broke open the windows so that some fresh air could come in. They tied up curtains and bed linen and the hotel staff climbed down,but the witness could not. He ran down the stairs and was rescued at about 6 am.
