PM Modi remembers 15 years of 26/11 Mumbai attacks, says India crushing terrorism
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday remembered the martyrs of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai on the 15th anniversary of the incident during his 107th edition of ‘Mann ki Baat’.
Calling the incident the “most dastardly terror attack”, the Prime Minister said, “We can never forget this day, November 26. It was on this very day that the country had come under the most dastardly terror attack.”
He paid tribute to all those individuals who lost their lives in the attacks, and said that the entire country today is “remembering our brave men who were martyred”.
“Mumbai and the entire country were shaken up due to the terror attacks (on 26/11). However, India used its ability to recover from the incident and is now using the same courage to crush terrorism,” PM Modi said during the ‘Mann ki Baat’ session.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also remembered the terror attacks by taking to X to highlight the “horrific acts” of the incident. He said that India’s “quest” to bring those responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks to justice remains.
“It is 15 years today since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Our quest to bring those responsible for planning and executing these horrific acts to justice continues,” his post on the microblogging site read.
The 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai were committed by a group of 10 terrorists in various popular places in the financial capital of India. These terrorists belonged to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, and had entered the city on the night of November 26, 2008. Over the course of four days, they killed as many as 166 people and injured 300, with the target sites of the attacks chosen after being surveyed for maximum impact.
The iconic Taj and Oberoi Hotels, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Jewish centre at Nariman House, and the Leopold Cafe were the targets since these places were frequented by Europeans, Jews and Indians.
Nine LeT terrorists were killed while Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, the lone surviving Pakistani terrorist from the attack at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, was arrested. In May 2010, Qasab was given the death penalty, and two years later, he was executed at a maximum security prison in Pune.
Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday paid floral tribute to the martyrs who laid down their lives while fighting the 26/11 terrorists. They paid tributes at the martyrs’ memorial at the premises of the Police Commissioner’s Office in south Mumbai, where senior police officials were also in attendance.
Family members of the police officers who lost their lives during the November 2008 attacks also paid tribute to the martyrs.