For them duty came first

If last week he hadn8217;t been called to fill in the post of a police reader at the office of Assistant Commissioner of Police, then perhaps 24-year-old Constable Yogesh Patil would have been alive today. Patil, who was posted at the Local Arms Unit 8212; 3, Worli, had been sent to the ACP8217;s office last Monday as the police reader there had gone on leave. He was in the car with ATS chief Hemant Karkare, Additional Commissioner Ashok Kamte and Inspector Vijay Salaskar.

8220;He was excited about his new assignment and cheerfully bid us goodbye when he left for the ACP8217;s office last Monday. On Wednesday, when we heard about the firing, we weren8217;t even aware that he was present at the scene of action. It was a rude shock when I received a call at 11.35 pm that he had been shot dead,8221; said Surendra Shivsaran, Patil8217;s senior and officer-in charge of the Worli LA unit.

The youngest police personnel to be killed during the terror attacks, Patil had initially been posted for bandobast at the electronic firing range, and had even served as an operator at the Vikhroli ACP8217;s office. nbsp;

According to his colleagues, it was Patil8217;s cheerful and polite nature that made him popular. 8220;He used to call me dada. He had told me that he has a brother and that his father had also been in the police force and had been posted at the Nerul police station,8221; said Shivsaran.nbsp;

8220;A few months back, I needed staff for some bandobast and Patil had just completed his night shift. Hesitantly I asked him whether he would be willing to stay back for an additional shift. And he replied, 8216;Dada, don8217;t worry, I8217;ll be there8217;,8221; said an emotional Shivsaran.

Aiswarya A

8216;We will prepare for exams, father would have liked us to do well8217;

PSI Bapusaheb Durugade

The only regret that 49-year-old Sub-Inspector Bapusaheb Durugade might have had is that he didn8217;t die in his police uniform. Durugade, who was with the Local Arms Unit, Naigaon, and was attached to the Anti-Terrorists Squad8217;s assault van, had reached home after a day8217;s work when he received a call about the firing. He had no time to wear his uniform and immediately rushed to Cama Hospital with his service revolver. A few minutes later he was shot dead.

8220;Initially, we weren8217;t able to trace his body, as the police had kept it among other bodies, mistaking him to be a civilian,8221; said Durugade8217;s eldest daughter Poonam.

8220;He was a simple man,8221; said his daughters, 8220;who liked to watch old Marathi movies and cricket match during his free time. We were probably one of the few families in the city who weren8217;t glued to the television during the terror attacks, as we don8217;t have cable television.8221;

The family wasn8217;t even informed about Durugade8217;s death till the next afternoon. Since then the family8217;s home, located above the Sewri police station, has been flooded with visitors.

His daughters, Poonam, a third-year computer engineering student, Neelam, a second-year engineering student, and son Vishal, a first-year engineering student, all have exams scheduled in the next few days. 8220;We will prepare for the exams. Father would have liked us to do well,8221; they said.

Aiswarya A

He wanted to name his son Shaurya

Constable Jaywant Patil

Police constable Jaywant Patil wanted to name his four-month-old son Shaurya meaning courage 8212; an apt name and a reminder of Patil8217;s sacrifice during the terror attacks. Unfortunately, he died a few days before the naming ceremony of his son. The 35-year-old bodyguard had accompanied Additional Commissioner of Police, East Region Ashok Kamte and was gunned down on the first night of terror.

That night Patil8217;s wife Pratibha made frantic calls on his mobile phone after watching television reports on terror attacks. The next day upon receiving confirmation of his death, a heartbroken Pratibha left for her parents8217; house.

Patil was the youngest sibling among three sisters and the only son of the family. He grew up in a chawl at Bhandup.

8220;I have seen him grow up and become a policeman. Everytime he would leave home, he would tell his wife, 8216;take care of my aaji8217;. His daughter Eesha has inherited his jovial personality,8221; said 60-year-old Vanita Krishna Lad, Patil8217;s neighbour.

According to his neighbours, Patil8217;s mother used to make a living by making papads. When his uncle, an inspector, told him to take up a job with the police department, Patil agreed. His colleague Manohar Krishna Nyayaneed broke down while remembering their last meeting. 8220;I had known him for over four years. Last Wednesday, he had come to office and shared his lunch with me.8221;

Aiswarya A

The trusted driver

Constable Arun Chitte

The plight of his brothers who worked as farm labourers in a village in Nashik prompted Arun Raghunath Chitte 36 to enroll in the police force in 1995. However, after his death, life seems to have come a full circle for his family. His wife and children have gone back to their native village.

Both the MHADA flats owned by the family at Dharavi are locked as Chitte8217;s wife Manisha has taken their three daughters, Komal 10, Snehal 8 and Khushi 5, to her parents8217; house at Satana tehsil in Nashik.

8220;He was a humble man, who never raised his voice. He had been Salaskar8217;s trusted driver for over 10 years and Salaskar8217;s mother would sometimes call him and ask him to keep her son safe,8221; said Zakir Gulab Tamboli, Chitte8217;s neighbour, a policeman himself. 8220;Chitte always carried a service pistol with him,8221; said Tamboli.

Hearing the news of his death, the neighbours had told Manisha that he had been injured. It was only after his body was brought home that she learnt that he had died on duty.

Aiswarya A

A bridge between the police and the public

PSI Prakash More

He was like 8216;a bridge between the police and the public8217; is how colleagues of 46-year-old Sub-Inspector Prakash More, who was killed battling terrorists at Cama Hospital, describe him.

8220;His work as an SHO required him to interact with the public. Usually, fights between the police and the complainants in the station-house lead many to knock on my door, complaining about the SHO. However in his tenure, there wasn8217;t even a single complaint and that shows how efficient he was,8221; said Senior Police Inspector J R Sarmokaddam of L T Marg police station.

Recalling More8217;s humane and sensitive nature, his brother Chandrakant says that while More was posted at the Yellow Gate police station, some Sri Lankan fishermen were detained by the police. 8220;They were petrified as they didn8217;t know the language nor did they have any documents. He sponsored their meals and took care of them till the Sri Lankan authorities claimed their custody. He also got a letter of appreciation from them,8221; said Chandrakant.

More8217;s father and elder brother were both in the police force. 8220;Since his childhood, he wanted to become a policeman seeing our father don his uniform,8221; added Chandrakant. More joined as a police writer, worked in the Yellow Gate and Powai police stations, got postings at the fingerprint bureau and the Special Branch. Six months ago, he had undergone training to become an inspector.

While fighting terrorists inside the Cama Hospital, More took eight bullets. He was accompanying Additional Commissioner of Police Sadanand Date. More is survived by his wife Madhvi, son Pratik a first-year computer engineering student, and 13-year-old daughter Anushka.

Aiswarya A

Family was looking forward to when he would retire

RPF jawan Murlidhar Choudhary

On Wednesday night, Ambernath resident Snehalata Choudhary had not switched on her television and was unaware of the terror drama that was unfolding in Mumbai where her husband Murlidhar Choudhary 53 was on duty. Choudhary was a jawan with the Railway Protection Force RPF and on that fateful night he was on duty on platform number seven.

He was just a couple of hours from completing his shift at 11 pm and after completing other formalities should have been home by 1.30 am. When it was past the time he should have been home, she called on his mobile phone. Unaware of what had happened, she expected to hear the familiar voice of her husband on the other end.

8220;I am your husband8217;s colleague. Your husband has been killed in the terrorist attack on the CST railway station,8221; the voice at the other end said.

Soon Choudhary8217;s residence at Lotus Apartment at Wadavli section was brimming with helpful neighbours and sympathetic relatives.

A vehicle was arranged to rush to a hospital in Mumbai to claim his body. They could only reach till Mulund check-post at Thane where they were turned away by the police as the road had been blocked for security reasons. They continued their journey by the suburban train from Thane to Mumbai. Meanwhile, their daughter Priyanka, who works for a private firm in Mumbai, also headed for the hospitals in search of father.

The slain RPF cop has two children. His son Devesh 14 studies in standard nine at Bhausaheb Paranjpe Vidyalaya at Ambernath. Choudhary was to retire in another five years. His family members were looking forward to his retirement as he could spend more time with them.

N Ganesh

His last call to family: don8217;t go out

Deepak Bhosale, the eldest son of slain ASI Balasaheb Bhosale, is a cop himself and claims that he fears nothing 8212; just like his father. Yet, the 30-year-old couldn8217;t muster enough courage to tell his mother that his father was no more. He had been shot dead by terrorists near Cama Hospital on Wednesday.

8220;My mother, Sharda, is still in shock and refuses to believe that father is dead. When my younger brother went to tell her about his death, she slapped him and pushed him away. She has been telling my daughter that her grandfather will come back and get chocolates for her,8221; says Deepak.

A former soldier of the Indian Army, Balasaheb Bhosale, who had seen action as an infantryman during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, was driving the vehicle that also had ATS chief Hemant Karkare, Addl CP Ashok Kamte, encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar. 8220;My father was driving the jeep. At the turning of the Cama Hospital lane, Salaskar asked father to hand over the wheel. My father, who would have never handed over the wheel to anyone else, had to allow Salaskar to drive,8221; says Deepak.

The Bhosale family, which resides at the Naigaon police quarters, got to know about the incident late Wednesday night. 8220;Father had called us at 11.15 pm, informed us about the terrorist attack, and warned us against venturing out of the house,8221; says younger son, Sachin 27, who wishes to follow his father8217;s footsteps by joining the police force as a driver with the Motor Transport Division of the police department.

At 2 am, Deepak got a call from the police asking him to come to St George hospital. 8220;Even at that time, I thought father must be only injured. He was more agile than any one of us,8221; says Deepak.

As per his sons, Balasaheb was a strict disciplinarian, who would scold Deepak if he was late on duty. 8220;For him, duty was of paramount importance,8221; adds Deepak.

Jaidev Hemmady