Tags:
Journalism of Courage
When Mumbai came under attack once again last week,it brought back painful memories for P V Manesh. Almost three years after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai,his right side is still semi-paralysed. As a commando with the NSGs elite 51 Special Action Group,Manesh,35,was a part of the team that took on the terrorists at Oberoi Hotel.
Injured in a grenade blast,he still has a piece of shrapnel lodged in the left side of his head.
A small part of my skull was blown away in the blast and three shrapnel pieces got stuck in my head. While two could be removed,I am still carrying an 11-mm piece in the head. Doctors have warned that attempting to remove this could be risky,with the chances of relapsing into coma not ruled being out, says Manesh,who was awarded the Shaurya Chakra.
After the attack,Manesh lay unconscious for a month. A Naik with the Madras regiment,Manesh finally rejoined duty at the NSG Garrison at Manesar in November last year.
But his injuries have forced him to take a six-month medical leave now. He is undergoing medical treatment and physiotherapy,with the hope of regaining a little more mobility on his right side.
I cannot even button a shirt. I try to walk with the help of a stick,but its difficult to walk more than 100 metres, he says. I cannot recollect everything as I am tormented by bouts of migraine accompanied by short spells of total blankness.
The lone earning member in a family that includes his parents,wife and four-year-old son,Manesh says he is the only NSG commando of 26/11 who is still grappling with serious ailments. He adds that hero has become zero after the initial public interest has died down.
