26/11 Fighters: Remembering Tukaram Omble
It was 26/11/2008. Mumbai CityHavaldar Tukaram Omble was on the night shift at a police station off Chowpatty in South Mumbai when a message was received that two terrorists were speeding towards Malabar Hill after hijacking a vehicle near Marine Drive. The message came after reports of shooting at the Chhatrapati Shivaji rail terminus and hotels like Oberoi and Taj.
Omble along with his colleagues took up positions near Girgaum Chowpatty to stop the Skoda car. Omble was armed with just a baton and a radio.
The car approached at a high speed but stopped 50 feet from the barricade. Suddenly, the beam lights went on, and the car swerved towards the barricades.
There were two terrorists in the car. Tukaram Omble was the first to rush out from behind the barricades and attempted to grab Ajmal Kasab who had jumped out of the vehicle.
With the terrorists momentarily distracted due to crash, Omble sprang towards Kasab and gripped the barrel of the AK47 rifle with both hands. With the barrel pointing towards Omble, Kasab pulled the trigger. A spray of bullets entered his stomach and intestine. Tukaram Omble collapsed but held on to the gun till he breathed his last, stopping Kasab from shooting anyone else.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead by doctors there.
However, thanks to Omble's bravery, Kasab was caught alive and confessed to his crime revealing the masterminds who had plotted the attacks from across the border. It also forced Pakistan to initiate a trial against accused like Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed.
Tukaram Omble was awarded the nation's highest peace-time gallantry award, the Ashok Chakra.
If Kasab had not been caught alive, Pakistan would never have accepted the crime.
We will never forget our martyrs.
