Relief in grief

One NSG commando, Joginder Singh, was killed in the operation while two were injured.

After having failed on Thursday in pushing through 20 of its commandos inside the five-storied house through the ground floor, the country8217;s elite commando force chose a 8220;top-to-bottom8221; operation. By Friday morning, Black Cats were already landing at the roof-top form an Air Force helicopter.

The first half of the day saw sporadic gunfire between the two sides and some grenade explosions. After 1 pm, there was a lull till 3.00 pm.

Around 3.30 pm, the firing broke out again at the end of which NSG commando hung a red towel on a window at the fifth floor perhaps to signal the seniors that the final assault was about to begin.

Meanwhile, militants intensified their firing and even exploded two grenades on the fourth floor, shattering window panes. Every gunshot by the commandos was matched by a volley of shots from the terrorists.

The standoff continued till around 5.45 pm, when a loud explosion partially blew up the fourth floor, clearing the stair case that led to the top floor.

The NSG guards, who had taken over the fifth floor, then moved down to the fourth floor. About 15 minutes later, the NSG guards went to the roof-top and gave a thumbs-up.

It was at this point that the anxious crowd, which had gathered below, started cheering, clapping and whistling. However, explosions and firing continued till 8.00 pm as part of the mopping up operation.

Through out the operation, the terrorists hurled a total of 16 grenades.

The Nariman House, where the Rabi and his family stayed on the third-floor, is surrounded by residential buildings and shops. The entrance to the building was through a narrow alley, making the entire operation more difficult.

By Thursday afternoon, the terrorists had stormed the house and taken up their positions, besides taking as hostages a few Israelis who were visitors.

A commando said terrorists did not fire randomly to save on ammunition for the final fight. Also, the Taj and Trident-Oberoi hotels, this building was small and they could have given away their location had they fired too frequently.

All through Thursday night and Friday morning, NSG men kept making recces into the alley, using nigh-vision binoculars and noting down details of the alley and the building8217;s structure.

By Friday morning, NSG commandos had taken up position on an adjacent under-construction building. The terrorists, on the other hand, had anticipated it well and would toss a hand-grenade every now and then to warn the security forces.

The area was cordoned off and everyone was ordered to not raise any voice or make surprise or quick movements in the area.

Around 10.30 pm on Thursday evening, NSG men had managed to pull out about a dozen people, including two foreigners and two women, from a neighboring building.

When this reporter was spotted peering from a bylane, a commando lying very low on the ground and who could hardly could be seen in the dark, whispered, 8220;He has laser guns and can shoot precisely in the dark also if you don8217;t stop peeping8221;.

At around 6 am on Friday, army trucks packed with soldiers sped through the Colaba Causeway road. Everyone present there thought they were going to storm into the building just when an NSG chopper Z-3382 stopped appeared in sight and started hovering meters away from the rooftop of the Nariman House. NSG snipers at the building nearby gave a cover fire to the 25-30 commandos who jumped on to the roof-top of the Nariman House in batches.

The terrorists were swift to respond with rapid firing and hurling grenades. As the commandos broke into the building from the roof, the commandos stationed at the adjacent building since Thursday evening started firing at the windows, forcing the terrorists to move and reveal their positions.

It was only at 9.15 pm when the firing stopped and a commando came out to grab something from their goods depot which was a best bus. 8220;They terrorists had come well prepared,8221; he said.