DedicatedtothepeopleofmycityMumbaiandallthoseworkingtomakeitsafer

‘KalRooskobikhartedekhatha,AbIndiatoottadekhenge,Humbarq-e-jehadkesholonmein,Americakojaltedekhenge.’

(WesawRussiadisintegrate,NowwewillseeIndiafallapart,Intheflamesofjehad,WewillseeAmericaablaze)

‘WarcryoftheMujahideen’.UrdusloganinthenotebookofaPakistaniterroristtraineeinaterroristtrainingcampinRishkhor,Afghanistan.December2001.

ContentsPreface

AWednesday

TargetMumbai

MumbaiUnderAttack

MARCOStotheRescue

TheDenofBlackCats

AssaultontheTaj

ActionattheOberoi

TaskForceNarimanHouse

Epilogue

AuthorBio

Acknowledgements

Copyright

Photos

Preface

Six years ago, ten heavily armed terrorists from the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)nearly set India and Pakistan on the brink of war. Using a stealthy, seaborneinsertiontacticpioneeredbyPalestinianterroristsdecadesago,themilitary-styleassault onMumbai achieved its initial objective: complete surprise. Itwas theworld’s firsthybrid terroristattack–adeadlywitches’brewofcarbombsandwell-trained gunmen swarming across multiple locations to achieve what themilitary calls the penetration of an adversary’s OODA cycle: a sequence ofObserve,Orient,DecideandAct.The two landing sites and the targets – two iconic five star hotels, a Jewish

centreandaprominentrailwaystationcomplex–hadbeenmeticulouslyreccedby anLeT ferret planted inMumbai.These facts are sowell known that theybarelyneedrepetition.The attacks possibly had dual tactical objectives. To extract a video-game-

counter like tollofcivilian livesand later, to layprolonged,multiplesieges inIndia’s commercial capital. The strategic objectives also appeared to be two-fold. To strike at the booming Indian economy and heighten border tensionswhich could jeopardize Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s peace outreachtowardsIndia.ThefeeblereceptionthatawaitedthegunmeninMumbaiwasinexplicable.For

atleasttwoyearspriortotheattacks,Indianintelligenceagenciesissuedatleasttwenty-six alerts warning of possible Fedayeen strikes, seaborne attacks andmulti-target raids. Yet this spreading bloom of alerts, did not cause even amurmur and were instead, lazily passed down from the Central intelligenceagenciesdownthebureaucraticchainintheMumbaipolice.Hotelsonthetargetlist didnot even install basicmeasures likedoorframemetaldetectorsorblast

protecteddoorsorevenrehearseemergencies.TheMumbaicitypolice,steepedinitsmythologyofganglandwars,fumbled

at first to identify the unfolding threat.When they had established it to be anoverwhelmingterrorattack,theyunaccountablywithdrewfromallthelocations.Theylackedthecapabilitytorespond.When the armed forces were called in, it resulted in India’s first counter-

terrorist operation involving all three armed forces – the first responders, thenaval commandos, infantry units of the army that laid cordons around thelocationsandtheairforcepilotswhoflewintheNSG.This book is named after the operation launched by the National Security

Guard,specificallyits51SpecialActionGroup,torescuethecivilianswhoweretrapped in the threesiegesand toneutralizeeight terrorists.Therehasbeennodetailedanalysisoraccountofthisjointbutlooselycoordinatedmilitaryaction.This book attempts to put themilitary aspect of this response into perspectivethroughinterviewswiththemarinecommandos,personnelfromtheinfantryunitbased in the city and theNSG’s strike element, the 51SpecialActionGroup.ThenarrativeisfocusedontheSAGthathandled,inpublicglare,forty-eightofthesixtyhoursoftheoperations.The Black Cats were to be a repository of specialized counter-terrorist

knowledge. Like its symbol, Lord Vishnu’s 108-edged discus, the SudarshanChakra, theywere to flyout,dispatchevil and return tobase.Thediscushad,however, turnedintoaslowbludgeonasearlyas2002.SAGcommandostookfivehours to reachGandhinagar, thecapitalofGujaraton24September2002after two LeT terrorists massacred 33 visitors to the Swaminarayan temple.Inadequatepersonalprotectiongearledtothedeathsoftwocommandosastheymovedagainstthetwoterroristslaterthatevening.Asweshallsee,variouseventsandprocessesbluntedtheiredge.

AWednesday

At11.30p.m.onWednesday,4March1975,eightPalestinianterroristsintwoinflatable rubber crafts with outboardmotors landed on a beach in Tel Aviv.Theyhadset sail from theirbase insouthernLebanonand intended tocaptureeither the Manshia Youth Club or the Tel Aviv Opera House. They had,however, lost theirway.Theywalked into thefour-storeySavoyHotel located100metres away fromJerusalembeach. Itwas theonlybuildingon the streetthat was brightly lit. The terrorists took ten hostages. They wanted Israel toreleasetwentyPalestinianterroristsheldcaptivebytheIsraelis,andanaircrafttofly them toDamascus.At4.20a.m.nextday, Israeli forces stormed thehotel.The terrorists were barricaded on the top floor with all the hostages. In theensuingfirefight,eighthostageslosttheirlives.ThreeIsraelisoldiers,includingthe commanding officer Uzi Yairi, were killed. Seven of the terrorists blewthemselvesup,destroyingthetopfloorof thebuilding.Onlyonewascapturedalive.

TargetMumbai

Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, was one of themost frequently bombedcities in the world in 2008. Between March 1993 and July 2006, the citywitnessed a dozen bomb attacks of varying intensity which used improvisedexplosivedevices(IEDs),somefashionedoutofsophisticatedplasticexplosiveswith timer switches, others pressure cookers modified with locally procuredammonium nitrate. These bomb attacks had killed 516 citizens and injured1,952.UnlikeKabulandBaghdad, thestatewasnot in thegripofcivilwar.Itwas, however, on the front lines of a new and dangerous kind of terrorism: aproxywaragainstIndia’shinterlandthathadspilledoutofJammuandKashmir.Thetwelvesequentialbombattacksof12March1993accountedforthecity’s

largestbodycount:257.TheplasticexplosiveswerepackedinvehiclesparkedneartheBombayStockExchange;theAirIndiabuilding;insideadouble-deckercitybusthatpassedneartheregionalpassportoffice;atapetrolpumpneartheShiv Sena Bhavan, the cream-coloured, four-storey headquarters of the right-wingpoliticalparty,atthreefive-starhotels;acinemaincentralMumbai;andattheZaveriBazaarincentralMumbai.HandgrenadeswereflungatthetarmacoftheSaharInternationalAirportandthefishermen’scolonyinMahim,suburbanMumbai. Jeeps,carsandscooterswere turned intobombsusinga shipmentofnearly1.5 tonnesofRDX.ThedeadlyplasticexplosivecamefromKarachi. Itwas landed using boats on a deserted coastline on themainland south-east ofMumbai.Theshipment,stillincardboardcartonswiththemarking‘WahNobel(Pvt) Ltd.Wah Cant’, was traced to the state-owned public limited companylocated in theWah cantonment, 30 km north-west ofRawalpindi, Pakistan. Itwas clear that the serial bomb plot had not only the blessings but the activecollaboration of Pakistan’s state actors, particularly the army and its Inter-

ServicesIntelligence(ISI).TheblastscamelessthantwomonthsaftertheHindu–Muslimcommunalriots

in January 1993 that lasted twenty-two days and resulted in 900 killings. TheriotingwastriggeredbythedemolitionoftheBabriMasjidbyHindufanaticsinthe state of Uttar Pradesh on 6 December 1992. The 12 March blasts werepurported to be revenge attacks by the city’s Muslim-dominated underworld,dominated by the Dubai-based Dawood Ibrahim, a fugitive from India since1983.TheoffshoredontappedintothehurtcausedwithinhiscommunitybythesavageriotsfollowingthedemolitionoftheBabriMasjid,andusedhisoldgoldsmugglingroutesandunderworldnetworktobringexplosivesintothecity.There were ten other bomb attacks of varying intensity between 1993 and

2003.On25August2003,fifty-twopersonsdiedintwinblastsattheGatewayofIndiaandattheZaveriBazaar,acrowdedmarketincentralMumbai.Itwasthelargestattacksince1993.Threeyearslater,thehorrorreturned.InJuly2006,200personswerekilled in sevenblasts inside the city’s lifeline, its commutertrains. Yet, these attacks had failed to shatter the city’s standing as India’sfinancial hub or deter its citizenry.The attackswere anonymous and faceless.Thecityhadneverknowntheterrorofgun-wieldingassailants.Butitalmostdid.TheMarch1993serialblastswereonlyPhase1,andPhase2

was just as deadly. Over 400 Chinese Type 56 assault rifles and Arges handgrenadeswerebroughtinwiththeRDXshipmentfromPakistan.SomeoftheseriflesandgrenadeswouldalsobewieldedbynineteenMuslimyouth,membersoftheIbrahimcrimesyndicate,whohadspecificallybeentrainedbytheISIinPakistan.ThenineteenyouthworkedforIbrahimMushtaqAbdulRazak‘Tiger’Memon, aDawood Ibrahim lieutenant.TigerMemon instructed them to stormtheMantralaya, headquarters of the state administration in southMumbai; theBrihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) building near the ChhatrapatiShivajiTerminus(CST)station;and theShivSenaheadquarters.Theywere toinflictmaximumcasualtiesusingtheType56riflesandhandgrenades.Phase2wasnever implemented. In themelee that followed theblasts, these

youth panicked. Their leaders, Bashir Khan and Anwar Theba, fled. Theyabandoned their cache – assault rifles, pistols, ammunition and hand grenadesnearMumbai’sfamousSiddhivinayaktempleatWorli.Possiblyitwasbecausetheywereleaderless:themainconspirator,TigerMemon,hadfledtoDubaijusthours before the serial blasts.His extended family, including parents and fourbrothers,theirwivesandchildrenhadreachedDubaifourdaysearlier.Perhapsthewould-beattackerslackedthemotivation,trainingandindoctrinationtomowdowntheirfellowcitizens.Walkingawayfromcarbombswaseasier.Indianinvestigatorsquicklyforgotaboutthisplotthatwasnotexecuted.They

focusedonframingchargesagainsttheserialblastconspirators.Partofthisarmscachewastohavebeenhandedouttomembersofthecity’sMuslimcommunityasprotection.TheplottersfearedHindumobswouldseekrevengefortheblasts.At least oneType56 rifle found itsway into thehandsof popularmovie starSanjay Dutt. He had it home-delivered by his movie producer friends andDawoodIbrahimacolytes,HanifKadawalaandSamirHingora.Thisrelationshipdetailed the proximity of a certain section of the film fraternity with theunderworldbothbeforeandafterthe1993blasts.Infact,inthe1990s,themovieindustry was caught in the crossfire of gang wars as splinter groups of theDawoodIbrahimsyndicate–ChhotaRajanandAbuSalem–extortedprotectionmoneyfromthefilmindustryandconstructionbusiness.On12September1992,twenty-fourmembers of theDawood syndicate stormed the JJ hospital whereShaileshHaldankar,agangsterfromtherivalArunGawlifactionwasadmitted.HaldankarhadgunneddownDawood’shotelierbrother-in-lawIbrahimParkar.Thegangstersreportedlyfiredover100rounds,killingHaldankarandtwopoliceconstableswhowereguardinghim.AmongthefirearmstheyusedwasanAK-47,thefirsttimetheassaultriflehadbeenusedbytheunderworld.TheMumbaipolicewasbythemid-1990ssolelyfocusedontheunderworld.

Speciallysetupencountersquadswipedoutunderworldshootersinextrajudicialkillings.ItssoleencounterwithAK-47-wieldingterroristSikhmilitantsholedupoutside Mumbai in 1992 was quickly forgotten. The police force strangely

lacked any offensive capability against terrorists. Frequent attempts to raiseSpecialWeaponsandTactics(SWAT)policeunits,modelledontheNewDelhi–basedNationalSecurityGuard(NSG),failedtotakeoff.Thefirstattemptwasin1993,soonaftertheserialblasts.ColMahendraPratap

Chaudhary,a retiredcommando instructor, trainedagroupof400motorcycle-borne policemen. He chose to make Mumbai his post-retirement home andoffered his services to the city police. The offerwas taken up by then policecommissioner Mahesh Narain Singh. The police commandos were equippedwith9mmpistols,carbinesandAK-47s,andsplit intobuddypairs thatwouldusemotorcycles to negotiateMumbai’s log-jammed traffic to swiftly reach anemergency.Theforcedidnotseeaction.AfterSingh’stenureendedin1995,theunitrapidlywiltedintodisuseandwasfinallydisbanded.In2003,theMumbaipolicecreatedquick-responseteams(QRTs)comprising

eight officers and forty-eight men. These policemen were put through aneighteen-month course by the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) in Pune,followedbya three-monthcourseby theNSGatManesarnearDelhi.But theQRTs had not fired a shot since September 2007: they had run out ofammunitiontopractisewith.Thecitypolicewasworseoff.Overworked,under-equippedandshort-staffed

astheywere,trainingreceivedshortshrift.Thepolicewerearmedwiththe.303LeeEnfieldrifleanditssingle-shotIndianimprovisation,the.410musket.Theiconic.303hadfirstseenactioninthesecondBoerWarin1899.Inthehandsofwell-drilledinfantrymen,thebolt-actionriflecouldbedevastatinginlong-rangeengagementson theplains. Itwasuselessforurbanclose-quarterbattles in thehandsofuntrainedpoliceconstables.Theunavailabilityoftrainingammunitiononlymademattersworse.ThestatepoliceneededammunitionworthRs65croreifeachpolicemanhadtofirethemandatoryfortyroundseach.They,however,got only Rs 3 crore to buy ammunition for the financial year 2008–09. Thepolicehadaskedfor1.6lakhroundsofAK-47ammunitionforitsAK-47assaultrifle arsenal, but hadn’t received even the 38,195 rounds that were finally

sanctioned.Most AK-47 ammunition was diverted to the police forces in thestate’seasterndistrictsbattlingleft-wingextremism.MumbaiseemeduneasilyinsulatedagainstapeculiaranddeadlyMetropolitan

terror which had intensified by 2008. In May that year, nine serial blasts inmarketplaces in Jaipur killed sixty-three persons. Eight low-intensity blasts inBangaloreinJulykilledtwopersonsandseventeenserialblastsinAhmedabadthesamemonthkilled twenty-ninepersons.Twenty-onepersonswerekilled infive serial blasts in Delhi’s busy markets on 13 September. Each attack wasimmediately preceded by a triumphant email from the Indian Mujahideen,ostensibly a home-grown terrorist outfit, claiming credit for the attacks. Thebombattackscameat a timewhen Indiawas riding theglobal economiccrestwith a growth rate of over 8 per cent, second only toChina.A January 2007projection by investment bank Goldman Sachs predicted that India couldovertake Britain to be the fifth largest economy in a decade and the secondlargestby2050.Arobustdomesticmarketshieldedthecountryfromtheglobalfinancialmeltdownwhichbeganin2007.Yet,itseemed,therewasnoescapingthebombsplacedincyclesandmotorbikesparkedinmarketplacestorandomlytarget Indian civilians. The larger motive, however, was clear. The blaststargetedIndia’sgrowthengines,itscities.PrimeMinisterManmohan Singh, one of the architects of the 1991 reforms

that triggered off India’s economic boom, pointed an accusatory finger acrosstheborder. ‘Pakistan-based terrorist outfits are constantly trying to set upnewmoduleswithinthecountry,’hesaid,addressingaconferenceofstategovernorsin New Delhi on 18 September 2008. The blasts were ‘a matter of utmostconcern’, he said, admitting that the attacks had revealed vast gaps inintelligence.Intelligencewingsofthestatepoliceweretheweakestlinkinaninformation-

gathering chain, critical to tracking and detecting terror modules sproutingacrossIndia.Thepoliticalleadershipsawthesedepartmentsasdumpinggroundsfor unpopular police officials or simply as tools for gathering information on

politicaladversaries.Moststateslackedaseparatecadreandstaffedtheirwingsbypersonneldeputedfromtheregularforce.Thewingsdependedonhandoutsfrom theCentral agencies, theResearch andAnalysisWing (R&AW) and theIntelligence Bureau (IB) which they sometimes dismissed as ‘routine weatherforecasts’becausetheywerenotactionable.Beginning in2006,R&AWandIBhadbegunalerting theMumbaipoliceof

the LeT’s preparations to infiltrate fidayeen suicide terrorists into the citythrough thesea.By2008, thesealertshadbuiltup intoanominouscrescendo.TheRamPradhancommittee thatprobed theMumbaipolice’s response to theattackmentionedatotaloftwenty-sixintelligencealertswhichwarnedofmajorterrorist attacks.The agencies detailed an astonishingly long list of hotels andgovernmentbuildingsastargets.ThreealertsevenmentionedspecificdatesforterroristattacksonMumbai:20August2006,24Mayand11August2008.Sixalerts spoke of the possibility of a seaborne attack. Eleven spoke of thepossibility of simultaneous attacks and three alerts even mentioned fidayeenattacks.Thesheerbuild-upofthesewarningsshouldhavetriggeredoffanalarminthe

upperechelonsofthepoliceforceandledtoadetailedthreatperceptionstudy.The alerts were, instead, mechanically handed down its bureaucracy to the‘zone’astheycalledaprecinctwithfourpolicestations.On26June, theadditionalcommissionerof theAnti-TerrorismSquad(ATS)

informedVishwasNangre-Patil,thedeputycommissionerofpoliceinchargeoftheMumbaipolice’sZone1,thattwoterroristsmighthaveenteredIndiainMay2008andmaywellbeinMumbai.Onlyoneofthetargetsthealertmentioned–atemplenearShivajiParkinDadar–felloutsideNangre-Patil’sprecinctwhichextendedfromMarineDrivetoColaba.Thetargetsincludedasitecode-namedLeopold,theBombayHighCourt,thedirectorgeneralofpolice’sofficelocatednear the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and the offices of the Department ofAtomic Energy building next to it. Nangre-Patil immediately alerted DeepakVishwasrao, theseniorpolice inspector inchargeof theColabaPoliceStation.

The police determined one of the targets to be the popular tourist bar, theLeopoldCaféonColabaCausewaywhoseowners theyalerted.On11August,Nangre-Patilandthemunicipalauthoritiesbeganadrivetoclearhawkersfromthepavementinfrontofthecafé.The alerts from the Central agencies continued to come in and the Ram

PradhanCommitteemeticulously recounted the sequence of events and policeresponses.On24September, theIBinformedtheMaharashtradirectorgeneralof police Anami Roy that the Lashkar-e- Toiba (LeT) had been showing‘interest’ in launchingattacksonMumbai.Thelistofpossible targets includedtheTajMahalPalace andTower, theSardarVallabhaiPatelStadium, theSeaRock Hotel and the Taj Land’s End the last two located in Bandra, the JWMarriotHotelinJuhuandtheJuhuAerodromeinsuburbanMumbai.Thisalertwas passed on to the police commissioner the following day. Four days later,Nangre-Patil and Senior PI Vishwasrao visited the Taj. The officers met thehotelgeneralmanagerKarambirKang,thesecuritymanagerSunilKudiyadiandMahavir Singh Rathod, security head of all Taj hotels. They discussed thevariousthreatscenarios–asuicideattack,plantingofVBIEDsandexplosives.Thepolicemenhadcomewitha listofsuggestions tobeefupsecurity.They

wanted theCCTV systems of bothTaj buildings to be integrated andmannedcontinuously.Onlyonegateof thehotel shouldbekeptopenwithdoor framemetal detectors, they advised. On 30 September, the two police officers werebackatthehotel.Thistime,theybriefedhotelauthoritiesonthemodelsecurityinstructionsissuedfor theBombayStockExchangebuildingwhereeighty-fourpersonshaddiedintheMarch1993attacks.On2October,Nangre-Patildetailedtwenty-six steps toaugment theTaj’s security. Ina letter toSeniorPIDeepakVishwasrao,Nangre-PatilsuggestedpositioningsnipersontheterraceoftheTaj,policeguardsattheentrance,integratingtheCCTVsofbothwingsandmanningthemroundtheclockandinstallingdoorframemetaldetectorstocheckvisitorsat theentrance.Nangre-Patilalsosuggestedclosing thehotel’sNorthcotegate,anopenentranceatthesouthernendoftheoldwingnamedforanursinghome

thatstoodacrosstheroad.Thisunguardedentranceledvisitorsintotheheartofthe hotel.On 16October, the senior police inspectorwrote toNangre-Patil toreportthatthehotelmanagementhadbeeninstructedonthepointsraisedbytheDCP.Iftherewasanyurgencyinthepolice,itdidnotshowontheground.On13 October, the Mumbai police withdrew the two policemen it had postedoutsidetheTajhotel.Thehotelsdidnotdemandadditionalpolicecover.ItwasbusinessasusualinMumbai.On30October,thecombinedoperationsroominthecoastaltownofVadinar,

Gujarat,flashedanalert totheCentralintelligenceagenciesinDelhi.ThealertwasextremelyunusualbecausetheOpsRoom,agroupingofnavy,coastguard,Intelligence Bureau, Border Security Force and army representatives, rarelyissuedsuchwarnings.Thealertsaidthatthirtyterroristswerecrossingoverforan attack within the next thirty days. Mumbai was not mentioned, but themissive did not trigger any alarm. It was buried within Delhi’s bureaucraticintelligencemaze.Meanwhile, somewhere inPakistan, the forgottenPhase2of the1993blasts

wasbeingputintoaction.

MumbaiUnderAttack

Bharat Tandel sat at his favourite post-dinner spot in Colaba, theMachhimarNagarboat ramp.The twenty-foot-wide ramp,where fishermen launched theirboatsintothesea,wasoneofthefewopenspacesinthedenselypackedfishingcolonyinsouthMumbai.ThecoolseabreezewhippedaroundTandel’sgnarled,weather-beatenfaceashestaredoutatthefishingboatsthatbobbedatanchorinthe Backbay Reclamation, an unfinished real estate project that was now afishingharbour.Tandel lookedaround, trying tospothisownboat in thehightide.Onnightslikethis,therewereusuallydozensoffisherfolklikehimaround.But tonight they were all in their homes watching Suresh Raina and RohitSharmahammer theEnglishbowling attack in the fifthOne-Day Internationalcricketmatch in Cuttack’s Barabati stadium. The fifty-one-year-old fishermandidn’tcare.Hehatedcricket.So it was that he saw something unusual. A dirty black-and-yellow Zodiac

inflatable rubber boat headed for the ramp across the boats lined up there,towardshim.Thegrowloftheboatengineceasedandgavewaytothesploshingofoars.Twoofthemenwerefuriouslyrowingtowardstheshore.Attheramp,oneofthecrewsteppedoutandheldtheboatwitharopeandsevenyoungmensprang out of the boat. Fair, clean-shaven and in their twenties, they didn’tappeartobelocals.Theyworeorangelifejacketsovertheirclothesandwereintheirunderpants.‘MustbethoserichkidsfromtheH2O,’Tandelthought.H2Owas a water-sports complex on the iconic Chowpatty beach further north.Speedboatsfromthereoccasionallyventuredhere.

Theboystossedtheirlifejacketsbackintothedinghy,puttheirtrousersonandflunghaversacksover theirbacks.TandelsawhisneighbourBharatTamore,asteward at theTajwhohad stoppedbyonhisway to a late shift at the hotel,challengetheyouth.Oneofthemshotbackathim,‘Humpehlesehitanghain.Humepareshaanmatkaro.’(Wearealreadyquitestressed.Don’tpesterus.)‘Kya hai …?’ Tandel asked them in an avuncular tone as they passed by.

‘Tensionmeinhai,’oneofthemsnarledandwalkedpasthim.Thetwomenwhohadstayedback in theZodiacyanked thestartercordandgunned theYamahaoutboard motor. The dinghy turned around and raced away into the darknesswithathroatyroar.Tandelsoonforgotthefive-minuteincidentandwentbacktostaringatthesea.Theeightyoungmen lugged theirheavybackpacksandbrisklywalkedonto

PrakashPetheMarg,just50metrespasttheramp.Heretheysaidtheirgoodbyesandsplitintopre-decidedbuddypairs.Itwastheculminationofalongjourneythathadbegunfourdaysearlier.These tenmen– soon tobe the familiar faces in Indiaas theMumbai terror

attackers–setsailfromKarachion22Novemberonboardasmallcargovessel,the Al-Husseini owned by the Lashkar-e-Toiba military commander ZakiurRahmanLakhvi.TheLashkar-e-Toiba or the armyof the purewas aPakistanimilitant group

withrootsinthecovertwartoexpeltheSovietsfromAfghanistan.FoundedbyaradicalAhle-HadithpreacherHafizMohammedSaeedin1990, itwasaJanus-faced organization. Its charitable arm, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, ran schools andhospitals across Pakistan. Its military arm, the LeT, recruited and trainedPakistani civilians, mostly from its largest province, Punjab, through three-month-longguerrilla courses inparamilitary camps.Theywere then infiltratedacrossaheavilymilitarizedanddisputed740-kmLineofControl(LOC)tofightIndiansecurityforcesinJammuandKashmir.Unlikeothermilitantgroups,theLeT was distinctly proximate to the Pakistan army. Every LeT leader was‘handled’ by a serving officer from the Pakistan army’sDirectorate for Inter-

Services Intelligence or ISI. So enmeshedwas the LeTwith the state, and sovitalweretheytocalibrateitssecretwarinKashmir,thattheywereoftencalled‘sarkarimujahid’(governmentholywarriors)insidePakistan.The ten terrorists were ‘fidayeens’ or suicide commandos, the deadliest

weaponintheLeTarsenal.Theywerelaunchedforattacksagainsthigh-profiletargets in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere in the Indian hinterland. Theseattacksbeganin1999andhadpeakedby2001,whichsawtwenty-ninefidayeenstrikesthatkilled161securitypersonnel.The attackers were all between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, hand-

pickedbyexpert trainerswholookedforamixtureofexceptionalfitness,highmotivation that would allow them to fight to the end, qualities found only inroughlyoneamongnearly200recruits.Theywere thencoached, indoctrinatedandlaunchedfortheonlymissionoftheirlives.The start of their journeyhad been carefully selected.On17November, the

northernArabianSearesoundedwiththehigh-pitchedwhineofgasturbines,thedrone of maritime patrol aircraft and the chatter of high-frequencycommunicationaswarships,patrolaircraftandhelicoptersoftheIndianNavy’sswordarm,theWesternFleet,manoeuvredinthe‘DefenceofGujarat’exercise.DGX, for short, practised much more than just the defence of India’swesternmost state against a seaborne attack during war. It was designed tosecureIndia’senergycorridortoWestAsiafromwhereover60percentofoilsupplies flowed. Then, on 22 November, as DGX came to a close, the radiochatter dropped to normal. The warships headed back to their home port inMumbai.Thecoast,quiteliterally,wasclear.ButtheAl-HusseinicouldnotenterIndianwaterswithoutbeingspottedbythe

IndianNavyortheIndianCoastGuard.Ataround3p.m.on23November,theLeTvessel lured and captured an Indian fishing trawler, theMFBKuber.TheKuber’s four-member crewwere taken prisoner on board theAl-Husseini andlater murdered. The captain of the Indian trawler, Amar Singh Solanki, wasasked to take the ten gunmen and their deadly cargo towards Mumbai. At

gunpoint, Solanki steered the deadly Trojan horse nearly 500 nautical milessouth, through thepatrol areasof the IndianNavyand theCoastGuard in thenorthArabianSea,neverstrayingmorethan80kmawayfromthecoastline.HebroughttheKubertoaspotnearly4nauticalmileswestofMumbai,aspotthegunmen located on their hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS). Thetrawlerwaitedhereforthreehours,thehorizoncrownedbythecityskyline.Asthesunsetoverthecity,theten-manteamcontactedtheirhandlersinPakistan.Theywere instructed to kill their hapless captive, sink the trawler and sail onboard the rubber dinghy intoMumbai. They complied, but only partially. AsSolanki lay with his throat slit in the engine room, the gunmen inflated therubber dinghy and lowered it into the sea. They briefly panicked when theymistook an approaching boat for a naval vessel, hastily clambering into theireleven-seatercraftandheadedfortheshore.Inthemelee,theyfailedtopullouttheseacocksthatwouldsinkthetrawlerasinstructed.TheyleftbehindadriftingKuberandaThurayasatellitephoneonboard.Once on the city road, six of them flagged down the final transport to their

destinations:twoblack-and-yellowtaxicabs.OnecabtookfourteammemberstotheTajhotel.Theotherone took the rest.AbuSohebandNazir alightednearColabaCauseway,andtheothertwo,IsmailKhanandAjmalKasab,wentonuptoCST.AbuUmarandBabarImrancrossed theroadandspotted thegap inawallwhereanarrowpedestrianpathledintoColabaCauseway.Theteammembersheftedathree-foot-longhaversackthatweighedatleast15

kg. In it was an AK-47 assault rifle with a side-folding metal butt and sixmagazines each with thirty rounds. Each bag also had over 200 rounds of7.62×39mmlooseammunition,adozenhandgrenades,a‘Star’pistolandthreesparemagazinesinawaistpouch.Eachpersonalsocarriedan8-kgIEDthathadaprogrammableelectronictimerswitchandcontainednearly5kgofRDXand3kg of tightly packed shrapnel. The team also carried amobile phonewith anIndianSIMcard.AGPShandsetwithpre-fedcoordinatesonmapsallowedeachofthebuddypairstopreciselynavigatetotheirtargets.Theyhadcomeprepared

forwar. Perhaps themost deceptive element inMissionMumbai’s exhaustiveplanningwasthepoisonousstinginthetail.Whenthehorrorwasoveritsdeadperpetratorswouldleavebehindenoughfalsetrails toimplicateIndiansfor thePakistanideep state’smost spectacular covert thrust.Eachattackerwore a redthreador ‘kalava’ aroundhiswrist, bought byLeTmole forRs20 each fromneartheSiddhivinayaktemple.TheSIMcardsintheirNokia1200seriesmobilephones, which they would use to speak with their handlers in Pakistan, werebought in India. They also carried fake student identity cards from theArunodaya Degree College in Hyderabad. Ajmal Kasab was ‘SameerChoudhary’.IsmailKhanwas‘NaraishVerma’.

21.20Hours/CSTStationThe taxi Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab and Ismail Khan had hailed pulledinside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (as the magnificent 120-year-oldVictorianGothicstructurewasnowcalled).TheyhadleftbehindanIED,settoexplodeanhourlater,underthedriver’sseat.TheywalkedamongthethousandsofpassengerswaitingtoboardtrainsinoneofIndia’sbusieststations.Over3.5millionpeoplepassedunderitsarcheseachday.Theduo thenentered the largepublic lavatory, zippedopen theirhaversacks

andclippedadoublemagazineontotheirrifles.Themagazineswereboundwithducttape,toallowforrapidreloads.Theyslungtheirrucksacksononeshoulder,leaving their firing arm free, a shooting technique taught to US Navy Seals.Theyemergedonto theconcoursewith theirKalashnikovscocked,andopenedfire.Theyhad turned intowhatanOctober2008USDepartmentofHomelandSecurity brochure called ‘active shooters’, ‘individuals actively engaged inkilling or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area with nopatternormethodtotheirselectionofvictims’.Kasab and Ismail shot from the hip, in precise controlled bursts.Theirwalk

was confident and unhurried. Their targets were the thousands of railwaypassengers–men,womenandchildren–whowaitedon theconcoursefor the

earlylong-distancetrainsthatwouldtakethemtotheirnativetownsinUPandBihar.CCTV footageon the concourse showedmost of the policemen, armedwithbamboocanes,fleeinglikeKeystoneKops.Oneconstableattemptedtofireback,buthispoorlymaintained.303riflejammed.Indesperation,hiscomradeflung a plastic chair at the terrorists. Inspector Shashank Shinde, the railwaypolice station-in-charge, rallied around a small team of policemen on theplatformtoleadafightback.Buthisheroiceffortwasinvain.KasabandKhanmoweddownShindeandthreeconstables.Theyweredoneinbypoorweaponryandlackoftraining–thebolt-actionriflestheycarriedweredesignedatroughlythesametimeasthecolonial-erastation.Mostpolicemenhadn’tfiredashotinyears.Bythetimethewell-armedduostoppedshooting,fifty-eightpersonslaydeadand104injured.WhensocialworkerSantoshKoutlkar,twenty-six,enteredthe concourse shortly after the terrorists had walked away, it was quiet as agrave.Therewasnohumofpassengers,nodinoftrainannouncementsfromthepublicaddresssystem.Thestillnesswasinterruptedbyweakvoicesofbachao,bachaofromsurvivorsamongtheknotsofbloodyandmangledbodies.Ismail Khan and Kasab were to have climbed into the CST building with

hostagesandholdoutforalongsiege.Theresistancefromthepolice,howeverfeeble,divertedthemfromtheirmaintarget.Theyheadedupaflightofstairsatthecentreof thestation’ssuburbanplatformsbut itwasa footoverbridge thatled outside the station complex. The active shooters were on the loose inMumbai.Theywalked into a lane leading to the six-storeygovernment-runCamaand

AlblessHospital forwomen and childrenwhich theymistook for a residentialbuilding.They scaled a rear gate and shot dead two unarmed security guards,BabanUghadeandBhanuNarkar,whotriedtoshutthegates.Hospitalstaffhadbeen alerted by the melee at the nearby CST station. Now, as they saw thegunmenenteringtheirbuilding,nursesandstaffswitchedoff lightsandlockeddownthewardstoprotectover200frightenedpatients,mostofthemexpectantmothers. The duo stalked the darkened corridors, looking for hostages. The

hospital staff’s ployworked.As the terrorists exited the hospital after a futilesearch, they were challenged by a seven-man police team led by AdditionalCommissionerofPoliceSadanandDate.Intheexchangeoffire, theduokilledSub-inspector PrakashMore andConstableVijayKhandekar.Datewas hit bygrenade splinters, his 9 mm pistol jammed as he attempted to fire. The duocontinued walking down the narrow Rang Bhavan Lane between St Xavier’sCollegeandCamaHospital.TheywerefranticallyhuntingforagetawayvehiclewhentheysawtheincominglightsofawhiteToyotaQualisminivan.Itcarriedseven policemen, including theMaharashtraAnti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chiefHemant Karkare, his deputy, Additional Commissioner Ashok Kamte, andSenior Police InspectorVijay Salaskar. Kasab andKhan took cover on eithersideofanarrowlaneandambushedtheminivan,rakingitwithAK-47fire.Asthebullet-riddenvehiclegroundtoahalt,theywalkedtowardsitandpulledoutthebodiesofthethreeseniorofficers.KasabtookanAK-47andtwomagazinesfrom Ashok Kamte’s body. The bodies of Sub-inspector Bapusaheb DurgudeandconstablesJaywantPatilandYogeshPatil lay in therear.Aninjuredheadconstable,Arun Jadhav, played dead. The duo then commandeered theQualisanddroveouttocontinuetheirmayhemonthecitystreets.The two of them shot from inside the moving vehicle at a small group of

waitingjournalistsandpolicemenatthejunctionofthelandmarkMetrocinemajust 300 metres away from the hospital. They drove the police vehicle 2 kmsouth,toNarimanPoint,thecity’sbusinessdistrict,andabandoneditatastone’sthrowfromtheVidhanBhavanbuildingandtheOberoiHotel.Here,KasabandKhancommandeeredaSkodaLaurafromthreeterrifiedciviliansandspedalongthe Queen’s Necklace, towards the Girgaum Chowpatty sea-front, Mumbai’smostfamouspublicbeach,3kmnorth.Theycameupagainstapolicebarricadeat Girgaum Chowpatty. It was here that their unfamiliarity with the Skoda’suniquereversegearendedthechase.Thegearstickhastobedepressedbeforebeingshiftedforward.IsmailKhan’sfranticattemptstoreverseonlyresultedinthe car repeatedly surging into the road divider. The police at the barricade

closedin.IsmailKhanpulledhispistoloutandshotatthepolicemen,whofiredback and killed him. Assistant Sub-inspector Tukaram Ombale meanwhilegrappledwithKasabwhohademergedfromthepassengerseat.Intheprocess,OmbaletookafullburstofbulletsfromKasab’sAK-47onhischest.Kasabwasoverpowered and beaten by the policemen till he lost consciousness. He wastakenunderescorttotheNairHospitalincentralMumbaiandattendedto,justas the hundreds of otherMumbaikars wounded in the strikes. ‘Please sir,’ hepleadedwithoneof thepolicemenguardinghim, ‘Ihavedonewhat Icame todo.Pleasekillme.’

21.40Hours/LeopoldCaféThehawkersonthepavementofColabaCausewaythoughtAbuSohebandAbuUmar were tourists. The kind ‘drawn like moths to a Kingfisher flame’, asLonelyPlanetputsitwhilewritingaboutLeopoldCafé.Theduohadgotoffthetaxi and crossed the road to stand outside the landmark watering hole. Theychatted on their mobile phones, then turned, bent down, unzipped theirhaversacks,insertedthetwinmagazinesintotheirAK-47s,cockedtheirweaponsandenteredLeopold.Theyfiredblindlyallacrossthebar,killingtendiners,andflung agrenade that explodednear the cash counter at the far end.Soheb andUmardeftlychangedmagazinesandsprayedafewmoreroundsinsidetoensuretherewerenosurvivors.Theattackwasbriefandviolent,lastingalittleovertwominutes.Theshots,screamsandexplosionsquicklyswallowedupbythechaosofabusyColabaevening,theassailantswalkedoutunchallenged.Theybaggedtheir Kalashnikovs and headed towards the TajMahal Palace and Tower thatloomed behind. En route, they fished a small bag out of their haversack andplaced it in a bylane near Gokul, another popular restaurant nearby. The twoyoungmenwalkedonuntil theyreachedtheNorthcoteGate,at thesideof theTaj.

21.38hours/TajPalace

Abu Rehman Bada (alias Hafiz Arshad) and Abu Ali (alias Javed) hadmeanwhile emerged from their taxi near theGatewayof India after slipping atimed explosive device under the driver’s seat. They entered the fragrant,opulent lobby of the Taj Mahal Palace with its faraway tinkle of music andunhurriedsybariticbuzz.HafizandJavedcouldhavepassedoffforanyof theseveralbackpackingtouristsinthehotel.Theyglidedintothelobbyandturnedleftintoagranite-linedcorridor,flankedbyaLouisVuittonstoreandthehotelreception counter manned by the courteous, impeccably attired saree-cladexecutives.Thecorridorleddeepintotheoldwing.The5’10”-tallandwell-builtHafiz,sportingaredbaseballhat,stoppedhalfwaydownthecorridorandpulledanAK-47 out of the bag, calmly inserted a pair ofmagazines and cocked hisweapon.Javedfollowedhislead.N.N.Krishnadas,aCommunistPartyofIndia(Marxist)memberofParliament

fromnorthernKerala’sPalakkadconstituencywashalfwaythroughhisdinneratthe Shamiana restaurant, by the Taj poolside, behind themain lobby.He firstheardafirecracker-likesound,followedbythecrashofcutleryandthenscreamsasdinersfelltothefloor.Krishnadaswaswiththreeotherlawmakers–JaisinghGaikwad of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Lal Mani Prasad of theBahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Bhupendra Singh Solanki of the BharatiyaJanataParty(BJP).Theywerepartofaparliamentarydelegationthatwasbeinghosted in the hotel and were the largest group of Indians in the restaurant.Krishnadassawagun-wieldingterroristoutside.Hedidn’tenter therestaurant.Hafiz and Javed walked away, firing from the hip into the elevator area andkillingguestsloungingbythepoolside.Hafiz’sbullets crackledwildlydown the shinygranite corridors and towards

Shoaib and Nazir who strolled into the hotel from the Northcote entrance.Instinctively,theduospunaroundandsplittotakecoverbehindpillars.Thetwoterrorists,relievedattheirnarrowescape,emergedfromtheircoverandwalkeddowntoteamupwithHafizandJavedat thebankofelevatorsinthelobbyoftheTajPalace.Theirtimingwasimpeccable.Thefourthenrodeanelevatorto

the sixth floor of the hotel’s heritage section, leaving twenty bodies on thegroundfloor.Priya FlorenceMartis, twenty-one,mistook these shots fired for firecrackers

fromtheweddingreceptiononatthehotelthatnight.Shehadjustfinishedhersecondmonth as data centre executive at theTajPalace, andbarely knewherwayaroundthemazeofrooms.Thiswasherfirstjobandshehadcomeinthreehoursearlytorelieveacolleague.ShetookherworkstationintheserverroomoftheTajonthesecondflooroverlookingthepoolside.Theroomwasaconvertedguestbedroom.Itwasoneofthemostvitalspaceswithinthehotel.Inside,floor-to-ceiling IBM servers streamed and backed up data from the Taj Group’sninety-three hotels, fifty-five in India and the others abroad. The office waslocateddirectlybeneaththegranddomeofthehotel.Theshotscontinued.Thenanexplosionreverberatedthroughthehotel.ShereceivedafranticcallfromherfatherFaustineMartis,aheadsteward in thehotel. ‘Priya,’hesaid,anxiously,‘thehotelisunderattack.Staywhereyouare,Iwillcomeandgetyou.’Between10.30and10.40p.m., twotaxisexplodedonMumbai’sstreets.The

first vehicle blew up on theWestern Express at Vile Parle near the domesticairport showering the roadwith the body parts of its driverUmar Shaikh andpassenger,LaxminarayanGoyal,anadvocatewhohadhiredthetaxifromCSTstation; the other at Mazgaon, 3 km north of CST station killed its driverFulchandBhindandhispassengers,ZarinaSheikhandherdaughterReema.AfogofwarenvelopedMumbai.Panic sweptacross thecity.Falsealarmswerereportedfromvarioushotels.Themassacreofthepoliceofficersonlyaddedfuelto the fire.The rumourswere that sixty terroristshadattacked thecity.Panic-strickenMumbaikarsmade 267 calls to the police control room between 9.40p.m.and2a.m.Twocallssaidthatthepolicecommissioner’sofficewasunderattack.ThesiegeofMumbaihadbegun:anaudaciousoperationplannedwithmilitary

precisionandruthlesslyexecutedwithinatightthree-square-kilometreboxinthejugular of India’s commercial capital. TheGPS handsets that the buddy pairs

carriedhadpre-fedwaypointslocatingtheirtargets.Itenabledthefiveteamstonavigateefficientlyonalienterrain.In a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) mission control room specially set up for the

purpose near Karachi’s tony residential area, Malir Cantonment, five LeThandlers – Sajid Mir, Abu Qahafa, Abu Alqama, Zarar Shah and ZabiuddinAnsari – were at work. They were wearing headsets and speaking Urdu andPunjabiintotheInternettelephoneconnectionsonfourlaptopstomotivateanddirectthefivebuddypairs.TheLashkar’scontrolroomalsohadTVsetstunedtovariousIndiannewschannels.Theinformationcommunicationrevolutionhadtransformed the world. It would now, in an unprecedented way, help trans-borderterroristmastermindsexercisemilitary-stylecommandandcontrolforthedurationoftheattack.In theheritagewingof theTaj,PriyaMartis instinctively locked thedoorof

heroffice,switchedthe lightsoffandrushedinto thesmallsupervisor’scabin.Sheduckedunderthetableandpulledthesupervisor’s intercomintothespacewithher.Theintercomwasconnectedtoallfifteenphonesinheroffice.Shewasfrightenedbywhatshesaw.Theroomhadclearglassdoorsandwindows.Shewas hiding in a glasshouse. A few hours later, she saw the outline of a manhammeringtheglassdoor.Hewasarmed.Sheretreatedfurtherunderthetable,furiously praying, her face a mask of tension. The hammering stopped. Hemoved away. Then she heard shots, explosions and screams as the terroristsgunneddowntheguests.Sheprayedfuriously.Shechokedandgaspedassmokefromthehotelfiresrolleddowntheventilationshafts.Meanwhile, DCP Vishwas Nangre-Patil and five policemen had entered the

hotelthroughtheNorthcoteentrance.Theywereguidedintothesouthernwingoftheheritagesectionbythehotel’ssecuritymanager,SunilKudiyadi.Patilandhis team were armed with service revolvers, pistols and two rifles. Theyexchanged sporadic fire with the terrorists, and entered the close-circuit TV(CCTV) control roomof the hotel, locatedon the second floor. Itwas shortlyaftermidnight.Fromhere,thepolicemenhelplesslymonitoredthehavoc

allaround.Thegunmenbrokeinto thehotelsuitesandroundedupfourhostages,bound

theirhandsandmarchedthemintoRoom632.Thissea-facingsuitebecametheiroperations base for the next two hours. They spoke with their handlers andcombed the sixth floor formore hostages.Mumbai police vans called ‘assaultmobiles’andquickreaction teamshadalreadyconvergedon thehotel,butdidnotmovein.Fortwocriticalhours,thepolicewatched,helpless.Overahundredpolicemen,manyofthemarmedwithassaultrifles,hadconvergedattheTaj,butthey were not pushed in to corner the terrorists. ‘The MARCOS [MarineCommandos]shouldbethereinafewminutes.Keepthempinneddown,’PoliceCommissionerHasanGafooradvisedPatilonthewireless.But the four terroristswere not going towait.Workingon instructions from

their Karachi-based handlers, who suspected the police were monitoring thehotelCCTVcameras, they soakedupholstery andcarpetswith alcohol and setthem ablaze. The cameras were destroyed. The security forces were blinded.Television channels relayed images of tongues of flame licking the red oniondome of the southern corner of the Taj. The handlers were overjoyed. ‘Mybrother, yours is the most important target. Sabse zyadaa apke target kocoveragede rahi haimedia,’ chuckledAbuAlqama. Live television coverageaddedadramatictwisttothesiege.Itallowedthehandlerstoassesstheimpactof their actions in real time. Televisionwas both amedium and an unwittingmessenger for the handlers. Soon after midnight, Indian TV channels flashedphone-inswiththeMPstrappedintheTaj.Theyhadrashlynarratedtheirplightandrevealedtheirlocation:TheChambers,amembers-onlyclubsituatedonthemezzaninefloorbetweenthehotellobbyandthetower.TheMPswere not alone. Therewere over a hundred other guests,many of

whom had come to attend a wedding reception in the Crystal Room. Thehandlersgottowork.At3.10a.m.,oneoftheLeT’shandlerscalledoneofthefourterroristsrampagingthroughthehotel.Terrorist:Greetings!

Handler:Greetings!Therearethreeministersandsecretaryofthecabinetinyourhotel.Wedon’tknowinwhichroom.

Terrorist:Ohthatisgoodnews.Itistheicingonthecake.Handler:FindthosepersonsandgetwhateveryouwantfromIndia.Terrorist:Praythatwefindthem.Handler: Do one thing, throw one or two grenades on the navy and policeteamswhichareoutside.

Theterroristssetoutinsearchofpotentialhostagesthroughthehotel.

22.00Hours/TheOberoi–TridentFahadullahandAbdulRehmanChhotaabandonedtheirrubberboatontherocksat Nariman Point, where the Marine Drive promenade ended abruptly in theArabianSea,andhailedataxi.Theirdestinationstoodlessthanhalfakilometreaway.Thetaxidrovedownatree-linedavenueilluminatedwiththeorangeglowof sodium vapour street lamps, past the National Centre for Performing Arts(NCPA) and the uptownNCPA apartments, and up the steep driveway of theTrident,whereitdischargeditspassengers.FahadullahandChhotahadalreadypulledouttheirAK-47s.TheyfirstshotattheGuccishowroomthatstoodtotheleftofthedriveway,killingasecurityguard.Asstaffersfledandhidforcover,theduowalkeddownandplacedaplasticbagatthefootofthedriveway.Theythenannouncedtheirentryintothehotelwithahailofbulletsthatshatteredtheglass doors. They walked over the glass and past the black granite–toppedconcierge desk, casually spraying lead around the lobby, killing nine fleeingOberoistaffersandthreeguests.Oneofthemwasthirty-eightyearoldJapanesebusinessmanHisashi Tsuda.He had exited an elevator near the reception andwalked into the path of the two gunmen. He turned and fled towards theelevators.Theterroristsfatallywoundedhimbeforeheranback.FahadullahandChhotathenclimbedaflightofblackgranitestepswhichledto

the twenty-one-storey Oberoi Hotel. They fired short bursts into the glass-frontedshopsthatlinedthecorridor.TheystrodeintotheTiffin,arestaurantin

thelowerlobby,andthentotheloungearea,wheretheyleftanotherplasticbagcontaininganIED.

PradeepBengalorkarignoredtheshots.HehadspentthirtyyearsinthehotelandhadbeenthroughhundredsoflavishweddingswhereDomPerignonflowedlikewater,thebaraatburstcrackersontheMarineDriveandlaunchedbottlerocketsinto the skies. The bespectacled fifty-one-year-old waiter at the Kandaharrestauranton thesecond floor, thepool level,wasservinga trayofpipinghotseekhkababstooneoftheguestsbythelargesea-facingwindows.Pradeepworeacream-colouredshalwarandabaggykurta,abrownjacketandblackshoes.Itwasabusynight;eachoneof the twenty-three tables insouthMumbai’smostpopularMughlairestaurantwereoccupied.Theelevenrestaurantstaffhadtheirhands full. Pradeepwas theoldest staffer onduty that evening.Theyoungest,JordanFernandes,twenty-two,walkedaboutwithaspringinhisstep.Thelean,athleticallybuiltassistantstewardwasservingouthislastfourdaysondutyandhadtoldPradeephewaslookingforwardtohisnewjobinanAustralianhotel.The lone tabla player sat on the elevated wooden platform, immersed in hisperformance.Then,thedinofcracker-likesoundsstartedapproachingthe1,000-square-foot

restaurant. The tabla player stopped his recital. The shots were followed bypiercingshrieks.Headsturnedawayfromcompanionsanddinnerplatestowardsthedoorwhere the shots came from.Somediners startedheading towards theexit.Pradeepandtheotherrestaurantstaffwalkedtowardsthedoor.Theysawaterrifying sight at the Tiffin, a level below. Two gunmen shot people as theycrouched under the tables. Single shots to the head. At point blank range.Pradeep recoiled and ran back inside. ‘Stay inside the restaurant,’ he told thediners,‘youaresafehere.’The restaurant staff thought thesewereunderworld assassinswhowouldkill

andleave.But,totheirhorror,thegunmendidn’tstop.Pradeepsawthemsprint

up the granite stairs that led to theKandahar.The gunmen stopped at the spanextdoorandcalmlyshotthepetiteThaireceptionistwhomannedthecounter.TheKandaharwasnext.‘I’mleadingtheguestsoutoftheserviceexits,’RahulKadam,theyoungrestaurantmanagertoldhisstaff.Hehastenedthedinersouttowards the long corridor to one side of the restaurant entrance. Pradeep andJordanFernandessawafewdinershidingunderthetables.‘They’rekillingpeoplehidingunderthetables,’Pradeephissedatthem,‘let’s

getout.’The twostewardspushed thedozen remainingdinersout through thenarrowcorridor: ‘go,go…runawayfromhere’.FahadullahandChhotawerejust a few feet away from joining them when they heard a shout. ‘Ruk jao,’Fahadullah said, ‘varna goli chalaoonga.’ Pradeep and Jordan froze. The lastguest thatPradeephadpushed inside turnedaroundin thecorridor,awayfromthe gaze of the terrorists. He gestured for Pradeep to join them. But the twostewardsweretransfixed.Theyturnedaround.FahadullahstoodholdinganAK-47levelledinhishand.Hewasofmediumheight,aroundfivefeeteightinchestall, dressed in a black shirt and black trousers.Hewore brown sneakers andcarriedahaversackonhisshoulder.Thefingersofhislefthand,curledaroundtheriflegrip,werewrappedinagreencloth.HispartnerAbdulstoodbehind,hewas shorter and dressed almost identically. If Fahadullah and Abdul Rehmanweremildlyamusedtoseehowthestewardsweredressed,theydidn’tshowit.Theyhadotherusesforthetwo.Thegunmenjerkedtheirassaultriflestowardsawinetrolleyandaskedthestewardstosetfiretothediningtables.Pradeepwastosoakthetableswithliquor,Jordanwastosetfiretothem.The stewards, still believing thesemenweregangsters, complied reluctantly.

‘Theunderworldhasbecometerriblyviolent,’Pradeepthoughttohimselfasheemptiedthecontentsofabottleofredwineontoatable.Thechoiceofwinewasdeliberate. Itwouldnotburn.The two stewardsgrinnedat eachother, silentlydelightedintheirmischief.Thegunmenclearlydidnotknowtheiralcohol.‘Aaglagao,’ Fahadullah shouted at Jordan who struggled with the matchbox. Thegunmenensured the stewardsnevercamecloser than six feet,motioning them

away with their rifles and shouting ‘door raho, door raho’ if they came anycloser.Thestewardsranoutofmatchboxes.‘Jaldikaro,jaldikaro,’Fahadullahshouted, thenpickedupaclothservietteandthrewitathim.‘Iskoaaglagao.’AsJordanfumbledandlit thenapkinfromoneof theburningtables, itcaughtfireandburnthishand.‘Haathjalgayana,’hegrimaced.Fahadullah’sresponsewas two AK-47 shots. Two bullets hit Jordan in the chest and left eye andshatteredthelargesea-facingglasswindow.Theyoungwaiterkeeledover,dead.Pradeepfeltrealfearforthefirsttimethatevening.Hesetthetablesonfire.Thebluish flame on the wine-soaked table was quickly doused when the hotel’sfirefightingsystemkickedin.The terrorists cursed. They had lost fifteen minutes in the restaurant. They

were in a hurry. ‘Bas ho gaya,’ Fahadullah shouted. ‘Baahar chalo.Oopar lechaloaurbataokaunkaun-seVIPshain.(Comeout.TakeusupstairsandtelluswhoaretheVIPs.)’Pradeeptriedfeverishlytodistractthem.Heledthewayoutoftherestaurant.

‘They killed Jordan because they didn’t need him any more,’ he thought tohimself.‘TheywillkillmeonceIleadthemupstairs.’Hehadtofindawaytobuytimeandplanhisescape.Asetofelevatorsoutsidetherestaurantledtothelobbyleveltwofloorsbelow.Pradeepledthemtoit.‘Oye,’ Fahadullah shouted when he saw the elevator arrow pointing

downwards.‘Ooparjaanahaihumein,neechenahin.’Pradeep explained these elevators would take them downstairs, from where

theywouldhave to takeanotherelevator. ‘Hum to restaurantmeinkaamkartehain … hamey pata nahin; oopar ka samajh nahin hai … (I work in therestaurant, I don’t know about the upper floors)’ he babbled. Itwas a lie.Heknewthehotellikethebackofhishandandhadworkedineverydepartmentofthehotel,frombanquetstoroomservice.ThenFahadullahsawpeoplemillingaboutinthedarkreceptionarea.‘Abdul,

dogolaphenkdo,sabbhaagjayenge.’Chhotaplacedhisrifleonthefloorandknelt. Fahadullah placed his AK-47 on the floor to fish grenades out of his

companion’shaversack.ThiswasPradeep’smoment.Astheterroristsflungthetwobombs into the lobby,Pradeepdarted inside theelevatorandslammed thebutton that read ‘Lower Lobby’. The brass-clad doors began to slide shut.Fahadullahturnedaroundandfiredtwoshotsathisescapinghostage.Onebullethit the brass door. The second hit the wall. The doors closed. Pradeep hadescaped.

At around 10.15 p.m., the IED that the terrorists had planted at the drivewaywent off. It punched a hole in theTrident’s boundarywall and tossed aside abombblanket that thepolicehadplacedover it.Theshockwaveshattered theTrident’s twelve-foot-high glass panes in the lobby, uprooted a palm tree andsmashedvehiclesparkedoutside.Fifteenminuteslater,asecondIEDplacedinthe lobbyof theOberoidetonated.Fortunately, ithadbeen leftbehindapillarand that absorbedmost of the shockwave.But the impact shook the buildingandtheinvisiblewavereverberatedthroughtheatrium,blowingoutalltheglassonthelobbyfloors.ThesofasintheTeaLounge,ascenicsit-outbythelobby,caughtfire.Thickblacksmokebillowedoutandfilledtheatrium.Commander Sushil Nagmote took cover behind a table as the hotel edifice

shook.Thehotel’schiefsecurityofficerhadrushedtherefromhisflatinCuffeParade as soon as he got a frantic call from his assistant close to 10 p.m.informinghimofablast.Thetwinexplosionsonlyconfirmedtheretirednavalofficer’s fears after he had followed the trail of violence, blood, bodies andshatteredglass.Thehotelwasunderanunprecedented terroristattack.Adinerlayslumped inachair in the lobby’sopen-air restaurant,his intestinesspillingout. A police inspector fired hesitant single shots from his pistol towards theelevated flight of stairs that led to the Oberoi. A constable pointed his self-loadingrifleandfiredaimlesslyinthesamedirection.Nagmotenowfranticallytried tominimizecasualties.Heurgently instructed theengineers toshutdowntheelevatorsandpreventguestsfrompouringintothelobbyarea.

FahadullahandAbdulRehmanhadbynowusedtheguestelevatorstogouptothetwelfthflooroftheOberoi,lookingforhostages.Astheyemerged,theyranintoagroupoffifteendinerswhohadescapedtheirbulletsintheKandahar.Inacruel twist, the survivors had walked straight back to their tormentors. Theterroristsroundedthemupandwalkedthemtothetwenty-firstfloor,firingshotsattheceilingtohurrythemup.Onthatfloor,theservicestairstelescopedintoanarrow stairwell that led to the hotel’s elevator machinery rooms. Ten of thehostageswerelinedupagainst thewallandshot.Fivehostages, includingfourwomen, were taken downstairs. Among them were a Turkish couple SeyfiMuezzinogluandherhusbandMeltamandLoHweiYen,a twenty-eight-year-oldSingaporeanlawyer.ShehadtravelledtoMumbaiearlierthatdaytodelivera talkontheimpactof thecreditcrunchontheshippingindustryandwasatadinnerintheKandaharwhentheterroristsstruck.Shehadfledupstairsintothehotel.Now,shewaspartofthelastfivesurvivorswhoweretakentoroom1979wheretheterroristsdebatedtheirfate.At around 3.30 a.m., Yen called her husband, Michael Puhaindran, in

Singapore. She now relayed the terrorists’ message: ‘Get the SingaporegovernmenttotelltheMumbaiauthoritiestorefrainfromstormingthehotel,orelseshewould loseher life.’Soonafter, shecalledherhusbandone last time.Hervoicewascalmbutfirm:‘Pleasetellthem(theauthorities)tohurryup.’Atcloseto4a.m.,AbdulRehmanreceivedacallfromtwoofhishandlersin

theLeT’scontrolroominKarachi.Handler: Brother Abdul, the media is comparing your action to 9/11. Oneseniorpoliceofficerhasbeenkilled.

AbdulRehman:Weareonthetenthoreleventhfloor.Wehavefivehostages.Handler2/AbuKahafa:Everythingisbeingrecordedbythemedia.Inflictthemaximumdamage.Keepfighting.Don’tbetakenalive.

Handler 1: Kill all hostages, except the two Muslims. Keep your phoneswitchedonsothatwecanhearthegunfire.

Fahadullah:Wehave three foreigners, includingwomenfromSingaporeand

China.Handler1:Killthem.FahadullahandAbdulRehmanthendirectedtheTurkishcoupletostandaside.

Theconfinedspacereverberatedwiththesoundofgunfire.

22.25Hours/NarimanHouseBabar Imran, who used the code name Abu Akasha, and Abu Umar strodetowards Chabad House using a narrow pedestrian path that linked ColabaCauseway toCaptain Prakash PetheMarg. They crossed the crowded twenty-foot-widecausewaywherefuriouslysnortingBrihanmumbaiElectricSupplyandTransport(BEST)busespassedeachother,aluminiumsidespracticallyscraping.Colabawasfilledasusualwiththetinnysoundsofhundredsofhonkingvehiclesinchingpastshopsandpedestrians.Theystoppedby theExpressPetrolstationandplacedanIEDunderavehicle.Thetwomenthenturnedaroundthecornerandwalkedupthethreesteps,all

thatwasleftofwhatfishermencalled‘paanchpairi’(fivesteps),thatledtothenarrow Hormusji Street, newly paved with interlocking red tiles. Imran andNasirhomedinonabuildingtuckeddownit.Ithadaprominentsteelglowsigninwhiteandcyanthatsaid‘ChabadHouse’inEnglishandHebrew.Thecream-colouredbuildinghadbeenbought in2006byGavrielHoltzberg,

twenty-nine, and hiswifeRivka. Itwas builtwhere an old colonial bungalowhad once stood. The Holtzbergs worked for the Brooklyn-based ChabadLiberation Movement for Hasidic Jews, an ultra-orthodox movement thatprovidedahomeandprayerservicesforJewishtravellersinsixty-fivecountriesworldwide. Gasvriel and Livka were among thousands of ‘emissary families’thatworkedintheworld’slargestJewishnetwork.Babar ImranandNasirwalkedup the stairs to the second floorof thehouse

renamed after a Hebrew acronym for chochmah (wisdom), binah(comprehension)andda’at(knowledge).TheyblastedtheirwayintotheflatandalmostimmediatelyexecutedthreeJewishhouseguests,includingsixty-year-old

IsraelitouristYochevedOrpaz,twenty-eight-year-oldAmerican-IsraelinationalBentzionChromanandhisfriend,theChabadHouse’skoshersupervisor,thirty-seven-year old Rabbi Leibisch Teitelbaum. The terrorists then took fourhostages: theHoltzbergsand theirsonMosheandafifty-year-oldhouseguest,NormaRabinovich.Meanwhile, theHoltzbergs’cookZakir,nicknamedJackie,andtheirson’snanny,SandraSamuel,coweredinthepantryonthefirstfloor.

Santosh DattaramVeer, a thirty-one-year-old Shiv Sena worker, had his eyesfocusedontheTVset.HewascheeringIndia’swininthecricketmatchwhenheheardthesoundofgunfire.‘Somebody’scelebrating,’hethought tohimselfashe lounged about on the terrace of Sarabhai House. The roof of the single-storeyed tenement had a 100-square-foot makeshift office of a local Ganeshutsav mandal. There were more shots. Then screams. They came from thedirectionofNarimanHouse.Santoshandfivefriends,includingHarishGohil,rantowardsthebuilding.The

watchmanhaddisappeared.Theyouthranupstairs.SantoshsawtheHoltzbergs’cookJackie,whofranticallyshouted,‘Bhaago,bhaago’.Santoshandhisfriendsranuptothethirdfloor.Justoverthestaircase,hesawoneoftheterroristswithanAK-47.Hedidnot looklikeanIsraeli.Somethingwaswrong.‘Ooparaao,oopar aao,’ the terrorist challenged them. The youths backed off and randownstairs.Smoke billowed out of Chabad House. The crowd saw the figure of Rabbi

Gavriel Holtzberg silhouetted against the light. There was something amiss.Through the iron grille that covered the window, they sawHoltzberg silentlymotioningthecrowdwithbothhishandsasiftosay‘moveback’.Suddenly,agrenade bounced down and exploded, showering deadly steel shrapnel aroundthebuilding.Aterroristappearedonthewindowwheretherabbihadjuststood,pokedagunbarreloutandrakedthestreetwithgunfire.Oneof thebulletshitHarishGohilinthechest.Hediedonhiswaytothehospital.

The locals of Colaba regarded their Jewish neighbours with mild curiositywhen they first arrived twoyears ago.Now, theybelieved theyhadunleashedhidden weapon caches on them. ‘It’s these foreigners … they’re drunk andthey’ve fired their guns,’ builder and former Congress party corporator PuranDoshiseethedasheledacrowdofiratelocalstowardsthebuilding.Thecrowdbeat up a foreigner fleeing the Chabad House. It was fifty-two-year-oldAntwerp-baseddiamondmerchantDavidBialka,whohadescapedtheslaughter.Theyouth thendirected their ire at thebuilding.Theyuprootedpaving stonesandhurleditatthebuildingbutquicklyretreatedwhentheterroristsreappearedandshotatthem.AnIEDtheterroristshadplantedatapetrolpumpbehindthebuilding exploded. A fewminutes later, terrorists set off another IED on thegroundfloor.Theexplosionbenttheironslidinggate,aportionofthewallonthefirstfloorcollapsedinwardsandleftaheapofbricksonthegaragefloor.Theresidentsfled.‘Civilians are easier to kill,’ the scholar C. Douglas Lummins noted in a

seminalessayonthemilitary.‘Untrained,unorganizedandunarmed,theydon’tknowhowtotakecover,don’tactaccordingtoaplan,andcan’tshootback.Itismuchmoredangeroustotryandkillsoldiers;youmightgetkilledyourself.’The trained soldiers who could respond quickest to this emergency were,

ironically,locatedatthesouthernendofColabaCauseway,lessthan2kmaway.Col Arun ‘Aries’ Sharma’s ear cocked up when he heard the distant yetdistinctiverattleofanAK-47.Sharma,commandingofficerofthe2ndbattalionoftheGrenadiers,hadn’theardthatsoundsincehelefttheKashmirValleythreeyearsback.Hearingtherattle,hecameoutofhisspaciouscolonialbungalowat10DuxburyLanejust2kmawayfromNarimanHouse.TVnewschannelsbreathlesslyspokeofagangwarthatwasoninColaba.But

therewassomethingabout theseshots that troubledSharma.Thegunfirecameinshortprecisebursts:thedisciplinethatcomesfromfiringhundredsofroundsin training. It told the veteran of a dozen firefights with militants all that heneeded to know. ‘These are no gangsters,’ he thought to himself. ‘The local

policecan’tcopewiththis.’Heheadedbackinsidetoretrievehismobilephoneandcallhisofficerswhowereinapartyintheunitmess.Sharma’s800-stronginfantrybattalionhousedintheColabagarrisonhadspentsevenstraightyearsincounter-insurgencyoperationsbeforecomingtoMumbaiin2007.Twodaysago,they had returned from a major exercise in the Rajasthan desert. Tonight, hethought,hesawareturntoaction.‘Getreadyboys,’hesaidintohiscellphone.‘Wewillbecalledatsomepoint.’

TheArmy,NSGandMarcosAreCalledInMaharashtra’sChiefSecretary Johny Josephhadbegun to receive frantic callson his cellphone from around 9.50 p.m. The fifty-nine-year-old Joseph, whojoined the IndianAdministrativeService in1972,hadonly just returned tohisfourteenth-floorresidenceinSarangbuilding.Theapartmentwaslessthan200metres from his office in the state secretariat, Mantralaya, and just half akilometre north of the road the eight terrorists had landed on an hour before.Joseph still sported his trademark dark-blue safari suit.When the TV imagessuggested an emergency, an ashen-faced Joseph rushed to his waiting vehicleandreturnedtohisoffice.On26July2005,Mumbai’ssuburbshadbeendelugedand Joseph, then municipal commissioner, was severely criticized for notrespondingintime.Joseph’s office was on the fifth floor of the Soviet-style secretariat. It was

adjacent to the state government’s control room that hadbeen set up after the1993 Latur earthquake. Joseph’s first call was to Chief Minister VilasraoDeshmukh, away in Kerala, requesting him to immediately return to the city.Thechiefsecretarythenrushedintohisofficeataround10p.m.andmobilizedhis crisis management team comprising all important state governmentsecretaries.TwentyminutesafterJosephhadenteredhisoffice,itbecameclearthatMumbaiwasunderamassive terroristattack.Terroristswithsophisticatedweapons and grenades had attacked multiple locations, Police CommissionerHasanGafoor toldhim.Gafoorhad instructedoneofhis joint commissioners,

Rakesh Maria, to man the control room in police headquarters at CrawfordMarket.Asheadof the statebureaucracy, Josephdecided to supplement reliefefforts.Meanwhile,DrChandrakantGaikwad,themedicalsuperintendentofthestate-

ownedStGeorge’sHospital,called.ThehospitalwaslocatedrightbehindCST.Hewasfrantic.Bodieswerearrivingbythecart load,hetoldJoseph.‘They’renotinjured,’DrGaikwadsaid.‘They’rejustdead.’Therehadbeenattacksatsevenplaces.TheterroristshadenteredtheTaj,the

Trident, CamaHospital andNarimanHouse. The situationwas grim. Around10.30 p.m., Joseph received a call fromNewDelhi. It was Cabinet SecretaryK.M.Chandrasekhar,thecountry’smostpowerfulbureaucrat.Aphonecallfromhimcouldsetthewheelsofgovernmentmovinglongafterofficehours.Josephaskedhim to send in theNationalSecurityGuard (NSG). India’sConstitutionmandateslawandordertobeastatesubject.TheCentralgovernmentstaysawayunlessitsassistanceisspecificallysought.Chandrasekharwaivedtheformalitiesaside. ‘I will personally ensure they are dispatched to Mumbai,’ he assuredJoseph.Inthemeantime,moreworryingnewsstartedpouringin.Terroristshadtaken

hostages.Civilianshadbeenkilledandseriouslyinjured.Thesituationappearedtobeslippingoutofthehandsofthepolice.TheNSGwouldn’treachforafewhours yet. Joseph needed army commandos. ‘This is war,’ Joseph thought tohimself as he dialled Major General R.K. Hooda, the general officercommanding(GOC),Maharashtra,GujaratandGoaarea.MajorGeneralHoodalivedintheColabamilitaryarealessthan3kmsouthof

Mantralayaintheimposing‘GunHouse’.Thenamewasanoverstatement.Theonly soldiers the general commanded were in peacetime establishments – thebase workshops, hospitals and offices – in the three coastal states. The 2GrenadiersunitreportedtothePune-basedSouthernArmyCommand.‘Sendmecommandos,’Josephsaidfrantically.Thegeneralinformedhimthathedidnothave any, the armyhavingdeployed them in JammuandKashmir.TheGOC,

however, offered to send in his army columns. Joseph then dialled his friend,RearAdmiralM.P.Muralidharan,thenavy’sflagofficer,MaharashtraArea.Theadmiraltoldhimthatthenavyhadcommandosonabaseinthemainlandacrossthe harbour.Delightedwith this news, the chief secretary immediately dialledRearAdmiralR.K.Pattanaik,chiefofstaffandthedefactonumbertwooftheMumbai-based Western Naval Command. Pattanaik agreed to dispatch theMARCOSat the earliest.Aharbour craft, a 100-foot-longpassenger boat thatferriedpassengersbetween thenavaldockyardand themainland,setsailat11p.m.tofetchthecommandos.At11.20p.m.,JosephreceivedacallfromRakeshMaria, manning the police control room, that confirmed his worst fears. ‘Wecannotcontrolthis,sir,’Mariasaid.Thearmyhad tobecalled in. It took thearmyanotherhour toagree tosend

troopstothelocations.At12.35a.m.on27November,LtGeneralAmarjitSinghSekhon,theDelhi-

baseddirectorgeneral,MilitaryOperations(DGMO),clearedthedeploymentoffivearmycolumnstoassistthelocaladministration.By1a.m.,themenofthe2Grenadiers had boarded trucks and moved out of their barracks in southMumbai.Anhourlater,at2a.m.,nearly800soldiersringedtheLeopoldCafé,TajPalaceandTower,OberoiHotel, theCSTstationandCamaHospital.Theterrorists, meanwhile, rampaged through the Taj and Oberoi, hunting theirvictimsdownwithcold-bloodedefficiency.Since the start of the insurgency in Jammu andKashmir in 1989, all of the

Indian Army’s 350-odd infantry battalions had been deployed in counter-insurgency operations. The ‘Grinders’ as theywere called, had spent nearly adecadeinJ&K.In1994,ithadreceivedaunitcitationforkilling150terroristsin a single year. Since then, the unit’s personnel had killed over 200 foreignterrorists or FTs, as the army called Pakistani andAfghan terrorists. Tonight,however,the2Grenadierswaitedfororderstoenterthelocations.ColSharma,meanwhile,waitedinColabawithhis‘Ghatak’platoon,twenty-fourofhisfinestsoldiers,thetipofthe2Grenadiers’spear.Iftheordercame,thesemenwould

stormthehotelsandengagetheterrorists.Buttheordernevercame.

NSGKoBulaoThe phones had already begun ringing in the national capital. But thegovernment did not convene a meeting of the National Crisis ManagementCommittee (NCMC). The NCMC, headed by the cabinet secretary includedsixteenkeygovernmentsecretaries. Instead, theUniongovernment’sresponsesflowed in bureaucratic fashion, through the lumbering home ministry. TheMinistry of Home Affairs (MHA)maintained internal security but stepped inonly when states were unable to respond to a crisis. The internal securityestablishmentwasonlyoneoftwenty-fourmajordepartmentsthat,amongotherthings, gathered intelligence, fought terrorism, policed borders, seized drugs,dispensedfundstomodernizestatepoliceforces,paidfreedomfighterpensions,handled immigration, created new states and appointed governors. It also rantraining programmes and poster campaigns to promote the national language,Hindi.HomeSecretaryMadhukarGuptawho administered thismammothministry,

wasinIslamabadfortalkswithhisPakistanicounterpartSyedKamalShah.HehadcrossedovertoLahorefromtheWagahborderjusttwodaysearlier.Guptacarriedwithhimalistofthirty-twoIndianandtenPakistanifugitiveswantedforterroristoffencesinIndia,whichhehandedovertoShah.Thelist includedthe1993 bombing suspects Memon and Dawood and Maulana Masood Azhar,wantedfortheDecember2001attacksonIndia’sparliament.Justhoursbeforethe Mumbai massacre, Gupta had issued a joint statement with Shah thatcondemned terrorismandaffirmed their resolve toend themenace.Bothsidesalsowelcomed the release of fishermen captured by their coastguards as theybreached the international boundary. The irony of this statement would strikethemmuch later.WithGupta away, at about 10 p.m.,HomeMinister ShivrajPatil dialled the secondmost important person in his ministry,Mahendra LalKumawat, special secretary, Internal Security (SSIS). ‘See if they need any

help,’Patiltoldhim.Kumawat was themost overworked policeman in the country that night. In

addition to his duties as SSIS, he also held charge as director general of the200,000-strongBorderSecurityForce(BSF)thatguardedborderswithPakistanandBangladesh; hewas alsodirector general of theNarcoticsControlBureau(NCB), another vacant post that was yet to be filled. He attended over sixmeetings a day and was often briefed as he walked through the sandstonecorridors of North Block. Kumawat knew which of the 700,000 men in theMHA’ssevenparamilitarieswasbestsuitedforthetask.Itwouldbetheforce,which, the MHA’s annual reports noted, was ‘modelled on the SAS of theUnited Kingdom and the GSG-9 of Germany’. Kumawat dialled the NSG’sdirector general, Jyoti Krishan Dutt, and instructed him to take his forces toMumbai.Dutt,inturn,dialledMajorGeneralAbhayGupta,hisinspectorgeneral(IG)in

charge of NSG operations. The general, however, was in Mussoorie, theHimalayanhill stationnearly300kmnorthof thecapital.Hewas todeliveralecture on the NSG at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy ofAdministrationthattrainedIndia’scivilservants.ThecoldwarbetweenDuttandGuptawastheNSG’sworstkeptsecret.Buttonight,therewasnohintoftensionwhentheyspoke.‘Pleasecomebackassoonasyoucan,’Duttsaid.The police officer had quickly realized that the ‘shooting in Mumbai’ his

daughterhadspokenofatthedinnertablewasnofilmshoot.AsDuttwalkedtotheTVset and scrawlsof ‘gangwar’ appearedacross theTVscreen,his facecreasedintoafrown.‘Thisisnogangwar,’Duttsaidtohimselfashereachedforhiscellphoneagain.DuttdialledBrigadierRangi,whocommanded theSpecialActionGroups in

Manesarasforcecommander.Rangiwasonleaveandoutsidethecity.Next,hedialledtheDIG(OperationsandTraining),BrigadierGovindSisodia–thenextofficerinline–andaskedhimtoreadyhiscommandos.‘Howmany?’Sisodiaasked.

‘HowmanywillfitinanIL-76?’Duttwantedtoknow.‘Around200,’Sisodiasaid.‘Thengetthemready.’With his senior commanders unlikely to return in time, Dutt decided to

personallyaccompanyhismentoMumbai.Dutt then called SanjeevTripathi, the head of theAviationResearchCentre

(ARC). The NSG depended on the ARC, the air arm of the Research andAnalysis Wing (R&AW), to fly its commandos. The aircraft was available,Tripathitoldhim,butithadtoberefuelledandthecrewbroughtfromhome.As Dutt drove towards the Delhi airport, his thoughts flashed back to the

December2006meetingof thecabinet secretariat.Hehadproposed fourNSGhubs inMumbai,Kolkata,Chennai andBangalore,manned by over 200NSGpersonneleach.ThiswasbecauseDelhiairportbecamefog-boundinwinter.Itwould be difficult to fly out theNSG at short notice. The hubswould reducereaction time to a crisis. Dutt’s proposal was vigorously opposed by homeministrybureaucratswhoworriedaboutfinancialimplications.Themulti-centrehubproposalwas finallywatereddown to a singlehub. InKolkata.Even thatproposalwas‘undertheconsideration’ofasubcommitteesinceJanuary2007.Inshort,putincoldstorage.

DeadlyHeadleyOn 11 November 1977, the Fatah faction of the Palestine LiberationOrganization (PLO) launched yet another amphibious assault on Israel. Thistime, eleven terrorists rode two Zodiacs to Israel’s Mediterranean coast. Ataround noon, they landed on a beach nearMa’aganMichael, roughly 80 kmnorthofTelAviv, andwalkedamile to the four-laneCoastalHighway.Theywere armedwithKalashnikovs, hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades andwas led by a female terrorist, DalalMughrabi. The group first gunned downAmerican tourist Gail Rubin, who had seen them on the beach, thencommandeeredpassingtaxisandtwobusesandbegantheshootingandgrenade-

hurling spree, now called the Coastal Road Massacre. Thirty-seven Israelis,includingthirteenchildren,werekilledbeforeIsraelipoliceshotandkillednineof theeleventerroristsatahastilyerectedroadblock11kmnorthofTelAviv.Thetouristbusthattheterroristshadhijackedexplodedinafireball.Itwas till then Israel’sworst terror attack.Strangely, thiswasnot the attack

KhalilAlWaziraka‘AbuJihad’hadplanned.ThePLO’smilitarymastermindhadsenthisoperativesfromLebanontocapturealuxuryhotelinTelAviv,takehostagesforasiegeanddemandthereleaseoftheircomradesinIsraelicaptivity.The plan hit a hurdle in the azure waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Twoterrorists drowned when one of the two rubber boats capsized; the remainingelevenlosttheirwayandlandedshortoftheirtarget.Theattacksfailedtothwartpeace talks between Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and EgyptianpresidentAnwarSadatandonlysteeledtheJewishnation’sresolvetoactagainstFatah.The PLO’s naval commando raid was not short on training,motivation and

planning.FortunatelyfortheIsraelis,theterroristsdidn’thavesatelliteimagesofurbanareas,hand-heldGlobalPositioningSystems to steer them to the targetsandsecurecommunicationwiththeirbaseinLebanon.AlltheyhadwerefilmsoftheTelAvivshorelinewhichtheyviewedattheirtrainingcampsinLebanon.Bytheearly1990s,thesetoolswerecommerciallyavailable:GlobalPositioningSystemhandsets,satellitetelephonesandGoogleEarthsatelliteimagesofcities.Butwhatterroristsstilllackedwaspreciseinformationonwhereexactlytolandtheirboatsandthelayoutoftheirtargets.TacticaldifficultieswerepartofthereasontheLeTdidnotplanalargerattack

onMumbai.UntilSeptember2007, theLeThadplannedahit-and-run raidonguestsat theTajMahalPalace.Twogunmenwouldinfiltrate thecityfromtheporous Indo-Nepal or the Indo-Bangladesh border, carry out their deadly taskandthenfleenorthtowardsKashmir.ButafterMarch2008,theLeT’splanformodest mayhem changed. The group now began to discuss multiple attacksusing more than two attackers. The change in strategy came amidst tumult

within the LeT and a strategic power shift within Pakistan. The LeTmilitarychiefZakiurRahmanLakhviwantedabigoperationtorefocushisgroup’sfightagainst itsprimeenemy, India,becausehiscadreswere restlessandwanted tofightUS-ledcoalitionforcesinAfghanistan.TherewasapowershiftwithinthePakistanarmythathadfordecadeswageda

covert war against India. On 28 November 2007, in an unprecedented move,Pakistan’smilitary dictator-turned-presidentGeneral PervezMusharraf handedthe reins of the army to the inscrutable, chain-smoking director general of theISI,GeneralAshfaqParvezKayani.NeverinPakistan’shistoryhadtheheadofitsdeepstate, theISI,goneontocontrolitsmostpowerfulinstitution.GeneralKayani had been commissioned into the army just four months before theDecember1971warwith India carvedan independentBangladeshoutofEastPakistan.Kayaniwasawardedthe‘Tamgha-e-Istaqlal’medalformobilizingthePakistanarmyasDGMOduringIndia’seight-month-longborderbuild-upafterthe2001attackonIndia’sparliament.TheFebruary2008generalelectionsbrought inaciviliangovernment ledby

AsifAliZardari’sPakistanPeople’sPartythatbeganimpeachmentproceedingsagainstGeneralMusharraf.By18August,Musharrafwas forcedoutofofficeandintoexileinLondon.Hisnine-yearrulehadended.ThePakistanarmymayhavebeen in thebarracks,but its ISIand itsproxyarm, theLeT,continued toplanmayhem.Theyhadalreadyplantedadeep-coveroperative inMumbaiforthe past two years. David Coleman Headley, then forty-six, had arrived inMumbaiinSeptember2006aclean-shavenCaucasianbusinessmanwhocarriedabrandnewUSpassport.HehidthefactthatuntilMarchthatyearhewascalledDaoodGilaniandwashalf-Pakistani.HewasinMumbaiostensiblytoopenthebranchofFirstWorld ImmigrationServices.Theagencywasonlya cover forhisrealmission.Headleycarriedwithhim$25,000giventohimbyMajorIqbaloftheISIforscoutingtargetsinMumbai.Hequicklydiscoveredthatatall,well-built,English-speaking,whitemalecouldoperatewithimpunityinIndia.Headley the double agent had heterochromatic eyes, a blue right eye and a

dark-brown left eye, and swore byGeneral George S. Patton’s favourite line,‘No guts, no glory’; but he was an unlikely terrorist. The son of Syed SalimGilani,apoetanddiplomatpostedat thePakistanembassy inWashingtonandSerillHeadley,thedaughterofawealthyPhiladelphiafamilywhoworkedasanembassy secretary, Headley spent his early years with his father in Pakistan,attendingtheHasanAbdalCadetCollege,amilitaryschoolforboysinPunjab’sAttockdistrict.SerillbroughtHeadleybacktotheUSin1977.Helivedwithhismotherinan

apartmentaboveanightclub‘KhyberPass’thatsheraninPhiladelphiawithherAfghan-bornhusband.Headleyworkedasamanagerintheclubandlater,ranavideorentalstoreinNewYork.Headley returned to Pakistan in the early 1980s. US investigative website

ProPublicanotesthatin1984,HeadleywascaughttryingtosmuggleheroinoutofPakistan’s tribalareas.HeusedhisfriendTahawwurRana, thenstudyingtobeaPakistanimilitarydoctor,ascover.Therusefailed.Hewasimprisonedbutbrokeoutofprison.In1988,hewascaughttryingtosmuggle2kgofheroinintotheUS fromFrankfurt airport.Hewas tried, served fouryears in aUSprisonand then cut a dealwith theDrugEnforcementAgency (DEA).He agreed towork for themasan informant.Heusedhisdeep linkswithdruggangs in theAf-PakregiontouncoverdrugsmugglersintheUS.Post-9/11, when US intelligence agencies scrambled for information on al

Qaeda that operated fromAfghanistan and later fromPakistan’s lawless tribalregions, Headley turned into a vital asset. In Lahore, however, Headley wasslowlydrawntowardstheviolent,virulentIndia-hatingideologyoftheLeTanditsfounderideologue,HafizMuhammadSaeed.ThedrifterfoundhisideologicalmooringswithinanorganizationdeterminedtobleedIndia.By2002,theDEAdoubleagenthadbecomeatripleagent.Headleywasnow

being trained as a militant separately by both ISI and LeT. He was almostunrecognizable in the salwar kameez, a traditional Afghan ‘pakol’ cap and abeard that touched his chest.Hewas trained in unarmed combat, intelligence-

gathering techniques and the fine art of cultivating agents in the LeTheadquarters inMuridkeoutsideLahoreandin themountainsofMuzaffarabadinPakistan-occupiedKashmir.HevolunteeredtofightinKashmir,butatforty,wasrejectedforbeingtooold.TheLeTandtheISIevidentlyhadabigger,moreimportantroleforhiminmind.Theirbeliefwasvindicatedwhen,duringaflurryof eight visits between India and Pakistan between 2006 and 2008, Headleyconvincedhishandlersthatalarge-scaleattackonMumbaiwaspossible.The fastest, most secure route to infiltrate men and material was over the

ArabianSea.TheLeTtimedtheattacksforSeptember2008,afterthefuryofthesouth-west

monsoon had abated. In April 2008, Headley took four boat rides aroundsouthernMumbai,fromneartheTajMahalPalace,fromMarineDriveandtheWorliarea.Hewas lookingfor the landingspot for the terrorists.On12April2008,he found it inMachhimarNagar inCuffeParade. Itoffered the shortestpossible access to all the targets andwas adjacent to a busy road fromwheretaxiscouldbehailed.Headleyhiredaboatfromthefishingcolonyandheadedout into the sea. There, 6 km out into the sea, he punched a series of GPSwaypointsintoayellowGarminGPShandsetgiventohimbytheLeT.Hemanaged the reccesdespitea tumultuouspersonal life. InFebruary2007,

duringoneofhisninetripsbetweenMumbaiandPakistantomeethisLeTandISIhandlers,hemetanattractiveMoroccannationalFaizaOutalhaatamutualfriend’shomeinLahore.Sparksflewbetweenthespyandthemedicalstudent.They were married that month. Headley hid the marriage from his first wifeShazia,whomhemarriedin1999andhadfourchildrenwith.InMarch2007,hebroughtFaiza toMumbaiwhere theyextensivelyreccedtheTajMahalPalace,which was then the only target of the strike. Headley always carried a SonyEricssonphonegiventohimbytheISIwithwhichhefilmedelaboratevideosoftheinteriorsandtherooms.TherewasatearfulspatattheTajMahalPalaceoverHeadley’sfirstwifeand

inDecember2007,FaizagotintoanotheraltercationoutsideHeadley’shousein

Lahore. He spent eight days in jail for assault. Faiza later breezed into theAmerican embassy in Islamabad and told the US State Department’s securitybureauthatherhusbandwasaninternationaldrugpeddlerandaterrorspywhohad been going to India on a secretmission. It is not clearwhat cameof thisrevelation.Headley, meanwhile, had completed videographing and obtaining GPS

waypointsforallthetargetsinMumbai.Itwouldallowgunmenwhohadnevertravelled out of Pakistan before to steer themselves to pre-selected targetswithoutasking fordirections.Hisextensiveknowledgeof thecityallowed theLeTtofocusitsmurderousgunmenonproximatetargets.HeruledoutastrikeagainstShivSenachiefBalThackeray’shome,Matoshree: the terroristscouldnottravel15kmfromColabatohishomeinsuburbanBandra,hereasoned.Heknew theMumbai police could notwithstand amilitary-style assault. ‘Does itwork?’heonce jokedwithapolicemanarmedwithavintage9mmcarbineatSiddhivinayaktemple.HethenturnedtotellafriendthatitwasaWorldWarIIweapon.WhentheterroristsfinallystruckMumbai,HeadleywasattheHolidayInnin

Lahore.HereceivedanSMSfromSajidMir,thenpresentattheLeT’sKarachi-based control room, asking him to switch on the TV. A few hours later, hereceived a coded email from his Chicago-based wife Shazia. ‘I am watchingcartoons,’ wrote the Chicago-based homemaker. ‘Congratulations on yourgraduation.’Meanwhile, inMumbai, the police had paid a terrible price for the criminal

neglectof itsforce.By2a.m.on27November,seventeenpolicemenhaddiedand thirty-five were injured. The news that the NSG was being called intravelledthroughMumbai.Itinjectedaplacebointotheshatteredmoraleofthecity.The Mumbai police withdrew from the Taj, Oberoi and Nariman House

locationsandwaited forbackup toarrive from1,400kmaway. Indoingso, itmade another fatalmistake. They ‘broke contact’ and gave the desperadoes a

respite.The attackers nowhad theupperhand andhigherground.Theyhad afreerunoftheirtargetsandcouldplantheirdefence.

MARCOStotheRescue

Prashant Mangeshikar sat on the green carpeted floor of the Chambers, anexclusiveclubareaonthefirstflooroftheTajTowerdirectlyabovethelobby,andlookedatthetangleoflimbsaroundthedarkenedroom.Thefacesofnearly150guestshuddledinthedarkenedroomwerelitbytheglowofcellphonesasthey texted and spoke in hushed whispers, to the outside world. The roomreverberatedwith thesteadycrackofbulletsandgrenadeblasts.Less thantwohoursago,Mangeshikar,agynaecologistattheBombayHospital,hiswifeTiluMangeshikar, an anaesthetist, and their daughter Kalindi were at theweddingreception of their daughter’s friends Amit and Varsha Thadani at the CrystalRoom. The venue had a special significance for them. TheMangeshikars hadhosted their reception here in 1971.Themuted revelrywas interrupted by thesounds of what some of them variously thought were fire crackers orconstructionwork.Then,bulletsshatteredaglassdoor,forcingoverahundredguests tocrouchunderthetables.Threeterroristsenteredtheroom,firedshotsandboltedaway.Afterabrief,anxiouswait, theguestswereescortedawaybyTajhotelstaff,throughaservicecorridor,intothedininghalloftheChambers.Hotelstaffhadunpluggedthetelevisionsetsinsideandlockedthedoors.Theirsolelinkwiththeworldoutsideweretheirmobilephones.Ithadhelpedthattheywereinthedininghall.Thepreciseandefficienthotel

staff plied the guestswith a steady flowof sandwiches and crates of drinkingwater.Theearlytextmessagesthatstreamedinontheirmobilephonesspokeofagangwar.Thisledmostgueststobelievetheirstayherewasonlyaninterlude.‘Wearegoingtobeoutofheresoon,’BhishamMansukhani,thirtyone,acity-based journalist, toldDrPrashantMangeshikar.Bhishamandhismother IndrawereguestsattheweddingreceptionattheCrystalRoom.Thetwofamiliestook

picturesofeachotheronphonecameras.Butasthehourspassed,thesoundsofgunfireandexplosionsgrewlouder.Themessagesontheirphonesbecamemoreurgent,more frantic. TheTajwas only one of several locations that had beentargetedbyterrorists.Severalpolicemenhadbeenkilledandtheupperfloorsofthe Taj were ablaze. Anxiety set in, but there was no panic. Theywaited fordeliverance.At aroundmidnighton27November, aharbour craft ‘Vahini’ arrivedat the

boatjettyofanIndiannavalspecialforcesbase,INSAbhimanyu.Thebasewasjust eight kilometres off the city on the mangrove-fringed mainland. Animposing memorial a little distance away from the jetty, a fifteen-foot highbronzefrogman’shandwieldingadagger,wasframedagainsttheorangeglowoftheMumbaicityskyline.Thegraniteplaquebeneaththememorialread‘Welivebyduty,honour,courage,valour’.Thesixteenheavilyarmedmen–IndianNavyMarineCommandosorMARCOS–whosworeby thismotto, filed intothe ferry. They were armed with AK-47s and MP5 sub-machine guns andholstered9mmpistolsontheirthighs.Handgrenadesbulgedinthepouchesoftheblack,bulletproofveststheyworeoverIndianarmycombatfatigues.Thebase commanderbriefedhismenon the jetty.The informationwas still

comingindriblets,hetoldthem,butitwasclearthatitwasacoordinatedattackon city hotels. ‘Vahini’ chugged away from where the MARCOS used toparachuteintotheseainfulldivingrig,ridehelicopter-launchedZodiacs(rubberboats) for coastal raids and crawl through mud with full combat loads. Thecommandossatintheenclosedseatingareaofthepassengercraftandcheckedtheirweapons.EveryoneofthemhadrotatedthroughtheWularfreshwaterlakenorthofSrinagarwheretheypreventedtheinfiltrationofPakistanimilitants.Thecraft headed towards the naval dockyard past rows of moored merchantmenanchoredintheharbour,ofthekindtheMARCOShadbeenrecentlydeployedtoprotectfromSomalipirates,intheGulfofAden.Now they braced themselves for operations on unfamiliar terrain: five-star

hotels in the heart of themetropolis.The commandos reached INSAngre, the

navy’s administrative headquarters deep inside the naval dockyardwhere twosenior officers were waiting for them – a Commodore who headed navaloperations and a Commander in charge of special forces operations. Thecommandosweredividedintotwoteams.OneteamofeightcommandoswouldaccompanythetwoofficerstotheTajMahalPalaceandTower,anotherteamofeight, along with a dog squad and a three-member team comprising bombdisposalexpertsfromthenavaldockyard,weresenttotheTrident–Oberoiwhichpolicesaid,hadbeenbombed.When the team of eightMARCOS arrived at the Taj at 2 a.m., fire brigade

personnelweredesperately trying todouse the flameson thesixth floorof theoldwing of the TajMahal Palace. They could hear intermittent firing on theupperfloors.Thehoteldriveway,however,wasdeserted–anunusualsightevenat that hour. Three policemen and a few hotel staff stood in the desolatereceptionarea.Therewerebloodstains,brokenglassshardsandatrailofemptybrass7.62mmshellsonthefloorleadingtotheswimmingpool.OneofthethreepolicemenwasK.L.Prasad,jointcommissionerofpolice,law

and order. He wore a khakhi-coloured bulletproof vest. The situation, heinformedtheMARCOS,wasdire.Fourterroristshadenteredthehotel.‘They’veinflictedheavycasualtiesonthehotelguests.Weneedyourassistance.’There was no time to lose. The first priority for the commandos was to

understandthehotellayout,toknowallthepossibleentriesandexits.Thehotelstaffproducedalayout.ItwasadenselypackedblueprintonanA4-sizedsheet.Themarinecommandoofficerleadingtheteamscouldmakenosenseofit,sohetuckeditintothepocketofhiscombatfatigues.HedirectedhismentoheadfortheCCTVsecurityroomthatthepolicehadabandonedashortwhileago.Fromhere, theMARCOS reasoned, they could assess the number of terrorists, theirlocationandtheweaponstheycarried.Sunil Kudiyadi, the hotel’s security manager, escorted them into the south

wingoftheTajPalace.Kudiyadi,atallstrappingprofessional,wasapictureofcalminthechaosaround.Hewasdressedinhisblacksuitandtiewithabrass

name-plate and carried a walkie-talkie with which he communicated withsecuritystaff.Heaccompaniedthecommandosupthestairsofthesilenthotel.Theytookthestairsbehindthemainreceptionareatoclimbuptothesixthfloor.Smokefromtheburningfloorsupstairsfilledthehotelandpouredthroughthe

lobbies.Therewasnovisibility.Thecommandosabandonedthisapproach.Onthesecondfloor,thecommandoswereinforanotherdisappointment.The

CCTVroomwasablazeandthicksmokepouredoutofit.Meanwhile,amurmurofrelieftravelledaroundthedenselypackedChambers.

Thehotelstaffhadbeguntakingguestsoutinsmallbatches.Theguestsleftinsmall groups of twos and fours, all of them escorted by the hotel’sExecutiveChef Hemant Oberoi and his kitchen staff. The first to leave were the lawmakerswhomBhishamMansukhanihadseengivinginterviewstoTVchannelsfrom inside thedininghall.The full impactof those revelationswasyet tobefelt.Eggedonby theirPakistan-basedhandlers, thefour terroristshadsprinteddownfromthetopfloorsoftheTajPalacetosearchforprizedVIPhostagesonthe first floor.The terroristsarrivedafteraround fiftyguestshadmoveddownthe narrow service corridors into the lobby.Theynow set upon the remainingguestswholinedthecorridor.Therewerescreamsandtherattleofgunfire.Noonecouldseewheretheshotswerecomingfrom.Thenervousbutorderlyfile,disintegrated into a stampede. They turned and darted back into the functionroomsthatstoodinthecorridorbesidetheChambers.TheMARCOSheard the staccato bursts of fire echoing down the corridors.

‘They’re coming from the direction of the kitchen area,’Kudiyadi exclaimed.ThekitchencomplexformedthesecondlinkbetweentheheritagewingandthenewTajTower.Theteamrushedtowardsit,gunsattheready.Kudiyadishowedthem theway.Thegroupcautiouslyapproached thekitchenarea.Therewasasoundthatgrewlouderastheycamecloser.Itwasthetrillingofdozensofcellphones:frantic,unansweredcallstothefifteenvictimswholaycontortedonthefloor. Most of those victims were uniformed Taj staff, shot while fleeing,looking for cover. The green stone tiles were splattered with blood. At least

sevenpersonswerealiveandseriouslyinjured,writhinginpainonthefloor.Aninjured ladywas trappedbeneath thecorpseofadeadperson.She lookedatacommandoandwailedweakly,‘Takeheroffme.’The commandos tensed as they approached one of the kitchen doors. Three

gunmen were walking past. They saw the MARCOS. One of them whirledaroundandfiredaburstfromhishipandthrewagrenade.Thecommandostookcover. The grenade did not explode. The terrorists fled through the numerousexits from the kitchen. ‘Evacuate the injured out of here,’ the team leaderwhisperedtoKudiyadi.The firefight told the commandos that they were up against heavily armed

terrorists. But they also came upon another realization. The hotel was full ofcivilians.TheMARCOSwereallspecialists:incommunications,sharpshootingandhandlingexplosives.Butnow,inthelabyrinthinemazeofthedimlylithotel,they needed only one speciality: nerves of steel. They could not afford to betrigger-happy. As the commandos began shifting the wounded out of thecorridor. Their priority had swiftly changed from neutralizing the terrorists toevacuatingcivilians.Morecommandoswereneeded.Thetaskwassimplytoolargeforeightmen,

howeverwell trained.Theyradioed theirchiefofoperations in thehotel lobbyforreinforcementsastheybeganhelpingthewoundedoutofthecorridors.Thecivilianswhohadescapedtheslaughterhadbynowbarricadedthemselves

intotheroomsaroundtheChambers.TheMangeshikars,BhishamMansukhaniandhismotherwereamongfifty-oddguestswhofoundrefugeintheLavenderRoom, at the far end of the corridor. The guests broke off a chair leg andjammeditthroughthedoorhandlesandpushedacirculartableandpiledchairsagainstthedoor.TiluMangeshikarwasrelievedtoseeherhusbandPrakashanddaughterKalindiweresafeinsidewithher.She,however,hadanemergencytoattendto.RajanKamble,ahotelmaintenanceworker,whohadbeenshotwhiletryingtoescorttheguestsinthecorridor.Abullethaddrilledhisbackandtorehisabdomenoutasitexited.Despitethechaos,theguestsmanagedtopullhim

inside theirhideaway.Kamble’swhiteuniformwasbloodsoakedandhis facecontortedwithpain.TiluMangeshikarusedhotelserviettestopushhisintestinesback in.She laid thegrievouslywoundedstafferon thefloorandadministeredpainkillers borrowed fromaguest andwhen a table clothwouldnot holdhisintestines,sheheldherhandoverthewoundforoversixhourstokeeptheminplace.By around 5 a.m., sixteen more MARCOS had arrived at the Taj. This

enhancedforcenowsplitintothreeteams.Twoteamsweredeployedtoevacuateinjuredcivilians,thethirdsearchedfortheterrorists.ThisthirdteamreachedthediningroomoftheChambers,whichhadearlierservedasthesanctuaryforthecivilians. The shiny cream-coloured granite corridor was brightly lit, but theroom insidewasdark.As the teamentered thehall, therewasdeathly silence.Thentheyheardasoftbutdistinctivemetallicrasp.ItwasthesafetyleverofanAK-47 being taken off.Gun flashes lit the dark hall. The terrorists inside theroomfiredatthecommandosastheyentered.Onecommandowashitasheranforcover,abulletenteredhisshoulderandanotherlodgeditselfinaspareAK-47magazine tuckedonhisbulletproofvest.TheMARCOSwithdrewfromthehallandevacuatedtheircomrades.The Taj staff informed the commandos that a large number of hotel guests

were trapped inoneof the four function roomsadjacent to theChambers.TheMARCOS chalked out a rescue plan as a dozen commandos closed in on theChambersfromtwosides.TwoMARCOSsnipers,scaledthescaffoldingaroundtheGatewayofIndia,heftingRussian-madeDragunovsniperrifles.Fromhere,they covered the large sea-facingwindows that overlooked a basketball-court-sizedopenterrace,theroofofthehotelporch.Hotelstafftoldthemtheselargewindows were the only other access point to the Chambers. It seemed theterroristshadbeencornered.MARCOStossedteargascanistersintotheChambersandre-enteredthehall,

weaponsatready,ataround6a.m.Theterroristsweregone.Theirescaperoute:anarrowstaircaseleadingthroughthekitchen,backintotheheritagewingofthe

TajPalace.IntheChambersdininghall,thecommandosspottedaredrucksackleftbehind

bytheterroristsastheyfled.Itwasbroughtdowntothelobby,andthecontentscarefullyopenedandlaidoutonthefloor.TheChinese-maderucksackbelongedto Abu Umer alias Nazir, who had shot up the Leopold Café. The bag with‘Changing the tide’ embroidered on it had a globally-sourced arsenal thecommandos had seen in Kashmir: seven AK-47 magazines each with thirty7.62×39mmbullets.Over100 looseM43cartridges, torefill themagazines,aversatileAKMTypeIbayonetwhichalsofunctionedasaninsulatedwirecutter.An egg-shaped, blue Chinese Type 86P plastic-bodied fragmentation grenadepackedwith1,600steelballswithasixmetrekillradiusandamatchbox-sizedtwelve-volt battery, the kind favoured by militants to trigger off IEDs. Theterroristshadclearlycomepreparedtoinflictmasscasualties.But it was the four Arges 84 grenades that pointed the needle of suspicion

across theborder.Theanti-personnelhandgrenadeswere licence-producedbythe Pakistan Ordnance Factory, Wah, from an Austrian firm ArmaturenGesellschaftmbH.Eachhalf-kilogrenadehad5,000 steelballspackedaroundninety-five grams of plastic explosives. When the pin was pulled and thegrenadethrown,itexplodedwithinthreeseconds.Eachball-bearingturnedintoa projectilewith the velocity of a .22 calibre bullet, and could kill and injurewithin a twenty-metre radius. The Arges had surfaced in every major attack,with Pakistani fingerprints, the 12 March 1993Mumbai serial blasts and theattempted storming of India’s Parliament on 13 December 2001 by fidayeenattackers.Therucksackalsocontainedasmallplasticpouchwithblack tangy tamarind

podsusedbysoldiersonthesubcontinentasastimulanttostayawake.Anotherplasticpouchcontainedhalfakiloofalmondsandraisins,ahighenergysourcecarriedbymostfidayeen.It indicatedonething:Mumbai’sattackershadcomepreparedforalonghaul.Thecommandosnowturned toclearing thebarricadedrooms.Theyknocked

politely,explainedtheywerefromthearmedforces,butneverkepttheirfingersawayfromthetrigger.Theycouldnotbesureif therewereterroristsminglingwith civilians. When Bhisham and Indra Mansukhani emerged from theLavenderRoomataround9a.m., theireyesandnostrilswereassaultedby thefrozen teargas smoke thathungoutside.Thecorridorwasabattlefield strewnwith bullet empties and broken glass and shattered tiles. Grim-faced men inblackaskedthemtoraisetheirhandsandwalkout.IndraMansukhanihesitated.Shehadlostherfootwearinthestampedeoutside.Thecommandoaskedhertowalkbehindhim,heclearedtheglasspieceswithhisbootsasheescortedthemto safety. TheMangeshikars and the other guests walked to the safety of thehotel lobby helping out the wounded Rajan Kamble. (He later died in a cityhospital).TheMARCOS’actionwasbrief,butcritical.Theyhadsavednearly200hotel

guestsfromcertainslaughter.TheyhadpushedtheterroristsbackintothePalacewingawayfromtheTajTower,whichtheycouldhaveusedforanothersiege.And if thiswasanyconsolation, theattackershadadepletedarsenal. Itwasasmallvictoryinthedarkhoursof27/11.

MARCOSattheOberoiThe team of eight marine commandos deputed to Trident–Oberoi had lesssuccess. The eight-man team led by an officer and a dog squad with threeLabradorsreachedtheTridentaround2a.m.CommanderNagmotebriefedthemabouttheterroriststrikeandhowthetwo

terrorists had swept into the Trident, killing everyone in their path. Nagmoteexplainedthelayoutofthehotelandthethreecorridorsthatconnectedthetwinhotels.Theattentionofthemarinecommandoswastakenupbyabaglyingnearthe reception counter. It was suspected to be full of explosives. The bagwasinspected.Itwasafalsealarm.At2.45a.m.,thecommandosheardgrenadeblastsandfiringfromthepoolside

ofthehotel.Ateamrushedtothethirdfloor,andsplitintotwo.Butbythetime

theyreached,though,theterroristshadstoppedfiringandshiftedtheirposition.Thecommandosclearedthetwolevelsuptothehotelpoolside.Nagmoteurgedthem tomove in and tackle the terrorists. But theyweren’t taking any ordersfromhim.Thecommandosstayedatthepoolside,whiletheterroristsfiredfromtheupperfloorsofthehotel.By3a.m.,thetwinhotelcomplexrepresentedwhatwas wrong with India’s security apparatus: multiple agencies with differentchains of command, no coordination or clear directives. There were navalcommandoson thepoolside,CentralReservePoliceForcepersonnel,Mumbaipoliceand troopers froman Indianarmy infantryarrayedon theMarineDrivepromenade.All those assembled lookedup at the looming towers of the hotelandwaitedfortheNSGtoshowup.

TheDenofBlackCats

Manesar/10.30p.m.ColSunilSheoranwascalleda‘bulletcatcher’intheIndianArmy.Thatwasthemonikerforanyonewhohadsurvivedfirefights.Sheoran, itwassaid,usedhisbodytotrapbullets.‘Ifyouaregoingintoaction,youdon’tneedabulletproofjacket – take Sheoran along.’ Thus went the legend. It was a tribute to hisresilience.The thirty-eight-year-oldcommandohadbeenshot twice.Atclose range.He

had survived narrowly both times.ANaga insurgent had ambushed him fromless than 5 metres away. AnM-16 round fired at him entered his cheek andexitedhisneckjust2mmawayfromthecarotidartery.A20-mmscarwrappedaroundhisrightcheekandunderhisear.Then,inanotherfirefightin1996,anM-16 round had entered his chest just 5mm above his heart. The bullet hadgougedamatchbox-sizedlumpoffleshfromhisbackasitexited.Sheoranhadtakenoverasgroupcommanderofthe51SpecialActionGroup

(SAG)exactlytwomonthsago.

The National Security Guards (NSG) – a centrally located SWAT (specialweaponsandtactics)teamdesignedtoovercomethedeficienciesoflocalpoliceunits was raised by the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1985. Its motto was‘SarvadaSarvottamSuraksha’(bestprotectionalways).The ‘Black Cats’, as the NSG were dubbed for the black jaguar shoulder

patchestheywore,weremodelledonGermany’sGSG9,createdafterthefiascoofthe1972MunichOlympics.AbotchedrescuemissionbyGermanpoliceledtothedeathsofelevenIsraeliathletesbyPalestinianterrorists.InIndia,theMay

1984 army assault on the Golden Temple eliminated Bhindranwale and hismilitant supporters but caused heavy collateral damage, an incident thatindirectly led to theassassinationofPrimeMinister IndiraGandhibyherSikhbodyguards.MrsGandhi’ssonandsuccessor,RajivGandhi,wasquicktograsptheneed foracentralanti-terrorist force.NSGlegendhas it thatRajivGandhipersonallyselectedtheirweaponsandequipment.Since the early 1990s, the NSG has provided close protection to VIPs on

terroristhitlists.ThesebodyguardscamefromthethreeSpecialRangerGroupsthat drew its cadre from police and paramilitary forces. TheNSG’s offensivecomponent, the Special Action Groups (SAG), comprised wholly of armypersonnel.51SAGspecialized inhostagerescueandcounterterroristmissions;52SAGinstorminghijackedaircraftandskymarshalduties.51SAGvindicatedthemselvesduringthesurgicallypreciseJune1988siegeof

theGoldenTemple,dubbedOperationBlackThunder-II.OverfortymilitantsoftheKhalistanCommando Forcewere flushed out of the temple,with the unitsufferingnoloss.

Onthenightof26/11,ColSheoran,thickeyebrowsfurrowed,hispiercinggreeneyesframedbyrimlessspectacles,peeredattheshakyTVgrabsshowingspentcartridgesafterashoot-outatMumbai’sLeopoldCafé.Herecognized themasAK-47empties.Hehadclearedthelastfilesforthedayanddrivendowntohisbungalow in theNSG’s1,800-acregarrison inManesar, in thebarrenAravallihills 30 km south-west of Delhi. This was no gang war, he said to himself;gangstersdon’tuseAK-47s.Sheoran had been alerted by a textmessage the Delta 8 unit, hismakeshift

arrangementwhereacommandointhecomplexmonitoredthreetelevisionsetsroundtheclock.Nowashewatchedthenews,variousscenariosbegantounfoldin his mind. At around 10 p.m., the news reported firing inside the Taj. ‘Apossible hostage situation.’ Sheoran reached for his cellphone and dialled his

second-in-command, Lt Col Sundeep Sen, who lived close by. ‘Are youwatchingTV?’Athishomeafewhundredmetresaway,SenlookedatthedeadTVsetathis

home inManesar.TheSens had snapped their satelliteTV connection so thattheirsonDivyaman,nine,couldfocusonhisstudies.‘Something has happened in Bombay,’ Sheoran said. ‘Kuch militants ghus

gayehainhotelmein…’hesaid.‘Militants?’Sen asked incredulously. ‘Areyou sure?’Hewent back intohis

bedroom,donnedhisuniform,pickeduphisrucksackandheadedtothe51SAGofficehalfakilometreaway.AsSheoran’ssecond-in-command,heknewwhathadtobedone.If theSAGhadtomove,hehadtoworkfast.Insidehisofficewas a huge whiteboard, the duty chart of the 51 SAG, the location of all itsofficersandmen.Hesatbehindhisglass-topped tablecalling theunitofficersandensuringtheforcehadadequatevehiclestomoveoutofManesar.WhenSheorantookover,therehadbeenafewdaysofawkwardness.Senwas

senior in service but Sheoran outranked him.Many officers opted out of thisembarrassmentofreportingtoone’sjunior.ButnotSen.HelikedtheNSGandwasdeterminedtocompletehistwo-yeartenure.Inthenewcommandingofficer(CO)he found aprofessional, unfussy about protocol. In just twomonths, thetwo officers had established an excellent working rapport. Tonight, Ram andShyam, as they were jokingly called, had their task cut out. Sheoran wasdisappointed when he took over command of the 51 SAG. His army specialforcesunit innorth-easternIndiahoned itscombatedgeagainst insurgents. Inthe51SAG,hesawaforcelivingonpastglory.Thecommandounithadlastseenactioninthe24September2002assaulton

Gandhinagar’s Akshardham temple by a pair of LeT terrorists. The terroristswhomassacred thirtydevoteeswerekilledbyover100SAGcommandoswhohad flown in from Delhi. Two SAG commandos had died in the predawnfirefightwiththeLeTfidayeen.IttooktheBlackCatsclosetosixhourstolocateandkillthefidayeeninsidethetemplecomplex.ButtheNSGalsosustainedthe

firstcasualtiesinitseighteen-yearhistoryofoverahundredoperations:SubedarSureshKumar,forty-two,partofateamlookingfortheterrorists,wasshotandkilled.CommandoSurjanSinghBhandari,twenty-six,whowasshotintheheadand seriously injured, died after two years in coma. India’s largest-circulationEnglishnewsmagazineIndiaTodaycalledtheattackonthetemple‘Terrorism’snew game plan’. Terrorists had now shifted to attacking soft targets. Theimmediate fallout of the operation was a pay hike from home minister, L.K.Advani:a25percentcommandoallowancefortheentireforce.Littleattempt,however,wasmadetoimbibethelessonsofAkshardham.Not

that itwasaneasy task.TheNSG’sSpecialActionGroupwasadeputationistforce;officersandmencamefromthearmyandthendepartedaftertheirthree-yeartenure,takingtheirskillswiththem.A1991NSGproposalforapermanentcadreof25percentspecialistofficerswasignoredbythegovernment.Since2002,itseemed,theSAGwasinaccelerateddecline.Combatdrillswere

not properly carried out. New equipment like ballistic shields had not beenacquired,batteriesforradiosetswereconstantlyrunningoutofcharge,andtheturnoutofthemeninthealertdrillswasshoddy.Trainingandstandardoperatingprocedures hadn’t changed since the 1980s. The commandos did not have anurban cityscapewithmulti-storey buildings and staircases – they continued totraininasolitary‘killhut’,arudimentaryfour-roomedbrickstructure.Existingfacilitieslikethesophisticatedelectronicfiringrange,withitsarrayof

movingtargetsinthesniperrangelaybrokenanddisused.TheNSGwentfrombeinganelite commando force to theMHA’s smallestparamilitary force.TheSAG was a strange three-legged beast equipped by civilian bureaucrats,administeredby thepolice and staffedby the army.Sheoranhad to start fromscratch.He decided to beginwith core skills like training and alert drills. Heoften joined his commandos in cross-country runs and shooting to motivatethem.Hewouldplacea50paisecoinatthepistol-shootingrangeandencouragehismentohit it.Hisstylewasunhurriedandnon-formal;hecalledhis juniors‘chhotey’.Thealertdrillswerepractisedsooftenthatasquadroncommander’s

three-year-oldsonhadbegunsaying ‘AforAlert’ inhisplayschool.Cynics inthe unit joked that Sheoran could devote all his time to the unit because hisfamily was away – his wife,Major Sween, was a military surgeon posted inPune,hischildrenwereinboardingschool.Sheoran’s second callwas toMajor Sanjay ‘Kandy’Kandwal, the officer in

chargeofthe‘alertsquadron’.The51SAGhadthreesquadronswithover100commandos in each. The ‘squadron’ was the Special Forces equivalent of aninfantrycompany.Inanemergency,the‘alertsquadron’movedoutofManesaratahalf-hournotice.ThisstrikeelementformedpartoftheCounterTerrorismTask Force-1 (CTTF), a fully self-contained flyaway team of 150 NSGpersonnel which, apart from the 100-strong alert squadron, included a bombdisposal squad, a dog squad and a communications and surveillance team thatcouldrespondtoaterroriststrike.SheoranreceivedacallfromMajorB.Bharath,thethirdsquadroncommander

on ‘casual cycle’. ‘Arewe going toMumbai?’ Sheoran said only: ‘luck baby,luck’.TheNSGwasalertedeachtimetherewasaninternalsecurityemergency,a bombblast or a terrorist attack, but in the past fewyears, these had usuallypetered out.But the new CO had an inkling the bullets would follow him.‘Chhotey,’ he told Bharathwhile practising a room entry drill in the kill hut,‘abhimainaagayahoon…kuchnakuchtohonahai…tayyarikarle…bahutjaldihoga’ (Nowthat I’vecome, therewillbeaction…verysoon).By10.30p.m.,evenSheoranwasstumpedathowprophetichiswordswere.Mumbaiwasunderunprecedentedmultipleterroristattack.Hewassurethatit

wasonlyamatteroftimebeforetheNSGwascalledin.Hedecidedtotakehistraining officer, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, one of the 51 SAG’s mostimportant officers. ‘Unni’ was Sheoran’s right-handman because he put newarmy volunteers, officers and men, through their paces and assessed theirworthinessforthe‘Balidaan’(sacrifice)badge,thewingedcommandodagger.At around 11 p.m., a two-minute hooter pierced the calm of the sprawling

campus. It came from a siren-fitted van with flashing lights. The van drove

around the unit lines, the rows of barracks where the commandos lived. Thesoundhadanimmediateresponse:aflurryofactivityintheunitlines.Over200pairsofhands, roughenedbyyearsof firingandharddrills, sprangoutofbedand instinctively reached for their blackdungarees, boots andhaversacks.TheSAGwasonthemove.Everycommandoknewthedrill.CTTF-1hadtobeoutof thegatesofManesar in thirtyminutes.Thehaversack theycalled the ‘alertbag’ held twenty-five items essential for a seventy-two-hour deployment – ashavingkit; clothes: spareblackdungarees,apairof thearmy’scombatdress,civilianclothes;food:apacketofinstantnoodles,roastedgram;and500rupees.It also held what passed off for the army’s unofficialMeals Ready to Eat orMRE:shakarpara(deep-friedflourpiecescoatedwithsugar).Themenreachedfor their twenty-five-year-old GSG-9 ‘Romer’ steel legacy helmets. Eachweighedover2.5kgandwasuncomfortable,equivalent to twobricksonyourhead, but protected the head from a 9 mm bullet and shrapnel. The trooperswalked out towards their vehicles, briskly hefting their black helmets,bulletproofjacketsandalertbags.CommandoSunil Jodha,onguarddutyat the lines, regarded thehooterwith

mixed emotions. He still had a month to go before his three-month NSGprobation ended. ‘Jodha… naye wale nahin jayenge,’ one of his comradessniggered, as they filed past him. Jodhawas distraught.Hewent to his bunk,pickeduphisrucksack,donnedhisblackdungareeoverhisgreencombatsandfiledoutwithhiscomrades.Iftherewasgoingtobeaction,Jodhawouldbepartofit.Inanotherpartof thecomplex, tubelightsflickeredoninthearmourycalled

the‘koth’thatlaydeepinsidethecomplexthatheldtheNSG’sarsenal.Rowsofgleaming blackHeckler andKochMP5 sub-machine guns,AustrianGlock-17pistols and the newly acquired grey Swiss-made SIGSauer 551 assault rifles.Worn-out,three-foot-longsyntheticboxesstackedinsideheldthePSG-1sniperrifles. Each weapon had a hand-painted numeral, meticulously entered into aregister.Themenstartedloadingtheweaponsintotrucks.

Another truck drove to theNSG’s ammunition store, half a kilometre away.This truck loaded green wooden boxes containing three different types ofammunition. These boxes held matchbox-sized brown cardboard cartridges,stamped with the type of ammunition, from the Ordnance Factory Board’s(OFB)KirkeeAmmunitionFactory:9×19mmfortheGlock,theMP5,7.62×51Marksmanroundsforthesniperrifles,and5.56mmfortheSIG.Close tomidnight, Sheoran received a call fromBrigadier Sisodia, theman

whowasnow inoperationalcommand.ThebrigadierdirectedSheoran to takeanotherteamoffiftycommandosfromCTTF-2.At12.18a.m.,NSGheadquartersflashedacode:‘Cheetah.Cheetah.Cheetah.’

TheNSGhadbeenformallyrequisitioned.TheyhadtomovetoMumbai.Thiswas not a training exercise. But the code was a formality. The 51 SAGwasalreadyonthemove.Theirmenhadbegunformingupintheopengroundneartheunitlines;theequipmentneatlyspreadout.Officersstoodaroundengagedinlightbanter.TherewasColB.S.Rathee,thedeputyforcecommander,standinginforhisboss,BrigadierRangi.LtColRameshKumar‘RK’Sharma,thirty-six,wasslatedtotakeoverasthe51SAG’ssecond-in-command.AnofficeroftheGorkhaRegiment,Sharmawasaquietman,buttough,andamongahandfulofofficersoverthirty-fivetohaveclearedtheNSG’sprobation,thegruellingfiringandphysicaltests,underUnni’swatch.AndtherewasMajorKandwal,atoughGarhwali officer with a no-nonsense air about him. Kandy sported a beard,allowed only for Sikhs in the regular army. Special forces like the NSG,however,allowed theirmena fairamountof leewaywhen itcame topersonalappearance.Army officers deputed to theNSG came from infantry units, special forces,

artillery,engineerandthearmouredcorps.ThecommonthreadbindingthemallwasMajorUnnikrishnan.Unnihadbeenthe51SAG’strainingofficerfor twoyearsnow.Leanandathletic,withpiercingbrowneyesandaboomingvoice,heepitomized an ‘OG’orOliveGreenofficer, the army’s informal nickname forby-the-book,diligentofficers.

Unni had topped his commando course in Belgaum, earning a covetedinstructor grading. He later served as adjutant – a post which administereddiscipline in the unit – for over two years at his parent regiment, the 7thBattalion of theBiharRegiment.As training officer,Unniwasmercilesswithofficersandmenwhovolunteeredforthe51SAG.Volunteerswereputthrougha punishing six-week physical course called the probation where Unni was alaconicbut formidablepresence.At thegruellingobstacle course– a seriesoftwenty-sixditches, ropeclimbs, rope slitheringandwall scaling–hecouldbeunsparingonstragglers:‘Youarewastingthenation’stime.’Inthe‘killhut’,a3,000-square-foot set of six rooms and a shooting gallery where commandoslearned crucial room-intervention drills, he emphasized speed and reflexes.‘When the bullet comes,’ he growled, ‘youwon’t have time to think.’At thesniper range, hewent into details. Crouched beside trainees, he explained theprecise finger pressure that would send a 7.62 mm bullet hurtling towards acardboard‘Figure11’target,afour-foot-tallcharginginfantrysoldier,over500metresaway.Unni left his friendship at the gates of the training range, so friends could

expectnoleniency.Butthetoughexteriormaskedagentleman.Heworshippedhis parents, Dhanalakshmi and K. Unnikrishnan, a retired ISRO employeesettled inBangalore.Unniwas themanyou turned towhen apartyhad tobeorganizedatshortnotice.HelovedmoviesanddrovelatenightswithhisfriendsintheunittothemultiplexinGurgaon’sAmbienceMall,22kmaway,returningintimeforthreehoursofsleepandmorningPTat5a.m.Hecoulddriftofftosleepatamoment’snotice.Forthepastyear,hehadwrestledwithadivorcebutneverletthataffecthiswork.Thatnight,Unniledthebanter.SomeTVchannelshadreportedthatoverfifty

terroristshadassaultedMumbai.‘Eachofusshouldtaketwoterrorists…’UnnijokedwithhiscomradesKandy,BharathandRK.He turned toCaptainVarunDalal.‘Dalal,yourookie,’Unnisaidgrimly,‘yougetonlyoneterrorist.’Dalalgrinnedsheepishly.Hehadanothermonthtocompletehisprobationand

washappy tobepartof theoperation.Dalalhadbeenconfined tohisquartersafterrunninghighfeverthatmorning,butthe11p.m.hooterhadchaseditaway.Hisbodybuzzedwithadrenalineandanticipation.Theyoungcaptainwasinthecompanyofmenwhohadnottheslightestdoubtthattheywouldprevail.A hush descended on the gathering as Sheoran’swhiteGypsyKing arrived.

Bodiestensed,themenfellinline.Sheoranhadheldtwoopenmeetingswithhistroopshere after takingover– armyparlance called it ‘feeling the command’.Histalkwaseerilypropheticthen.‘Rememberthis,’thecommandocoloneltoldthem,‘thereisactionwhereverIgo;youwillallbebloodedsoon.’Tonight,hewastothepoint.‘Readytoleave?’wasallheasked.At12.54a.m.,amotleyconvoyofnearlyfortyunmarkedvehicles–transport

buses, 4-tonne green-hued Stallion trucks and a small Swaraj Mazda pickuptruck–swungoutofthegatesoftheManesargarrison.MajorKandwal’swhiteMarutiGypsyKingshotaheadof theconvoyand the trundlingmassof trucksenteringthecapitalcity.TheSAGwasaninterventionistforce,notaguardforce.Thismeantitwould

inheritacrisis–usuallyahostagesituation.Tointervene,theforcehadtoarriveatthescenefast,andforthis,itneededadedicatedtransportaircraft.Buttogetto the aircraft parked at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, thecommandos had tomove 30 km by road. During ‘OperationVajra Shakti’ in2002, theNSGconvoyspentanembarrassingtwohoursnegotiatingpeak-hourtrafficonNationalHighway8betweenManesarandDelhi.TheforcearrivedinGandhinagarat10p.m.,fivehoursaftertheterroristsstruck.Little,itseemed,hadchangedsincethen.Ifanything,thetrafficsituationhad

worsened.NH-8,betweenDelhiandJaipur,hadcometobethecountry’sbusiestintercityroute,usedbyaquarterofamillionvehicleseachday.ThereweretwotollbarriersbetweenManesarandtheairport.Kandwalandhismengotofftheirvehiclesandhadabriefscufflewiththetoll-boothstaffwhorefusedtokeepthe

gatesopenfortheconvoythatwasfollowing.‘Don’tyouunderstand…thisisanationalemergency,’hesnarledatthem.TwotollgatesopenedfortheSAG.Fifty-five minutes later, the SAG was within sight of New Delhi’s Indira

GandhiInternationalAirport.Anewgiganticairportterminalandathirdrunwaywere being built. The area was a floodlit construction site with giant gantrycranes,andechoedwiththerumbleofdrillsandconcretemixers.Buttheconvoyskirtedthisandheadedtowardsanunmarkedgateatthesouth-westerncorneroftheairport,kickingupacloudofdustasitcrossedtheruttedconstructionsites.The khaki-clad Defence Service Corps sentries at the gates were the only

indication that this was a government installation. Brown, six-foot-high gatesslidopentorevealagiantbluehangarandalargecompoundlinedwithtreesandlandscaped gardens. It was an oasis of greenery and calm amidst the chaosoutside.Theareawasnotmarkedonanymap.Neitherdid thesecretair forceunit comprisingSoviet-built Ilyushin76s,Boeing707s,Antonov32 transportsand sleekGulfstream jets appear on any official aviation list. And for a veryimportantreason.Theseaircraftwerethecoverteyes,earsandwingsofIndia’sexternalintelligenceagency,theR&AW.TheconvoywasmetatthegatesbyMajorArunJasrotia,wholedtheSAG’s

sniperdetachment.Jasrotia,aquiet,sharp-facedsecond-generationarmyofficer,had been decorated earlier with a Sena Medal for gallantry in the KashmirValley.Forthepastfortnighthehadbeenondeputationwiththe52SAGbasedneartheairport.Hefleweachdayasaskymarshal.Dressedinplainclothes,hemingledamongthepassengersonsensitivedomesticsectors,keepingawaryeyeforpotentialhijackers.Tonight,hewouldflyonanothermission.The trucks drove up to a single Ilyushin 76 standing at the taxiway of the

tarmac.The giant four-engine-planewas a silhouette.Only its cargo holdwasopen and lit, its ramp lowered on the tarmac. Since the inception of theNSGnearlyaquarterofacenturyago,oneIL-76alwaysremainedonroundtheclockalert,toflythecommandostoacounterterroristemergencyanywherewithinthecountry.Theaircrafthadbeentoppedupwith70tonnesoffuelandwasreadyto

take off. Air force crew in their distinctive blue overalls walked around andconductedlast-minutechecks.TheSAGknewthedrill.Thetroopersmanuallyloadednearlytwentytonnesof

equipmentoffthetrucksandintotheaircraft.Tothebystanderthismighthavelookedchaotic;itwasanythingbut.ThisSOP(specialoperatingprocedure)hadbeeninpracticefordecades.Eachsquadronknewthesequenceandwhereandhow it had to load its equipment. Manifests were ticked off and the cargostacked in thecentreof theaircraft. It took themhalf anhour to loadup.TheIndian Air Force (IAF) loadmaster on board covered the cargo with canvasnetting. It was 2 a.m. The IL-76 was ready for take-off. The pilots walkedaroundtotheNSGpersonnelaskingthemtohurryup;theyhadtotakeoffsoon.ButtheNSGwerewaitingforaveryimportantpassenger.Shortlybefore3a.m.,HomeMinisterShivrajPatildroveuptotheaircraftin

his white ambassador car. Hewas dressed in a black achkan, salt-and-pepperhair immaculately greased back. The minister, escorted by NSG’s DirectorGeneralJyotiKrishanDutt,strodebrisklyuptowardsthewaitingcargojet.Hewalked up the steep crew ladder on the side and boarded the aircraft. For acabinetministerwhowhizzedaround thecountry inanEmbraer ‘Legacy’135BJbusinessjetoperatedbytheBorderSecurityForce,theIL-76wasmorethanalittleshortonconveniences.Buttonight,hisspartanridewouldconveyaveryimportantmessage.No politician bore the brunt of the ongoing wave of bomb attacks in India

more than India’s internal security minister. The seventy-three-year-oldpolitician from Maharashtra’s south-eastern district of Latur had suffered anembarrassingdefeatinthe2004LokSabhaelections.Itwasonlyamomentaryhiccup. Patil swiftly landed the second most important job in the UnitedProgressive Alliance cabinet, chiefly due to his unquestioned loyalty to theGandhifamily.On13September2008,whenfivebombshadkilledthirtypeopleinDelhiand

injured over a hundred, themedia savagely attacked Patil. The homeminister

hadfoundtimeforthreewardrobechangesbetween7.30and10.30p.m.‘HehitsthewardrobeasDelhiburns,’screamedtheheadlinesofthetabloidMailToday.The NSG operated under Patil’s ministry. But Patil hadn’t come to wavegoodbye or display sartorial solidarity. He would accompany his troops toMumbai.Itwouldshowthepeopleandhiscabinetcolleaguesthathewasverymuchincharge.Patil pausedmomentarily and looked at theNSGpersonnel inside the cargo

hold.Withabriefsmileandawaveofhishand,heacknowledgedthem.Hethenducked and headed forward into the extended crew compartment behind thepilots.Itwas 3 a.m.when thewheels of the IL-76 retracted and the aircraft swung

southwards towards Mumbai. The IAF called the Soviet-built aircraft the‘Gajraj’orkingofelephants.Tonight, itsinteriorswerepackedlikeacrowdedMumbai passenger cattle car.A dull light illuminated the aircraft’s off-yellowinteriors. The centre of the cargo holdwas occupied by rows ofmetal boxes,suitcasesandcrateswassecuredbynets.Thesecontainedover200assaultriflesandsub-machineguns,40,000roundsofammunition,20kgofplasticexplosiveandover150handgrenades.Weaponsandammunitionwerestoredseparatelytopreventaccidentsin-flight.TheIL-76alsohadamodularupperdeck,aretrofitthatcouldbepushedinto

comfortablyseat225fullyequippedsoldiers.Butitwasmissinginthisaircraft,sothe200-strongtaskforcesatinrowsonthecanvasandaluminiumseatsandrestedtheirheadsonthepanelsalongthesidewalls.Adozencommandossatontop of their cargo. Some stretched themselves on the load and slept.Walkingdown the aisle was an arduous task, involving stepping over toes whilebalancingyourselfagainsttheload.Theseven-memberaircraftcrewwasbusyattheirflightstations.Dutt,Sisodia

andPatiloccupiedthepassengerseatsthathadbeenplacedintheextendedcrewcompartment,which usually housed two beds to rest extra pilots during long-rangemissions.Patilwascontemplativeandquietforthedurationoftheflight.

Dutt,meanwhile, laid out the broadbrushstrokes of theoperation toBrigadierSisodia: therewouldbeminimumcollateraldamage, thesafetyof thehostageswasparamountandtheterroristswouldhavetobetakenaliveasfaraspossible.Hewassupremelyconfidenttheoperationwouldgooffwell.‘Whatdowecallthe operation?’ Dutt asked at the top of his voice. Sisodia thought for a fewminutes. ‘Well, therehasalwaysbeena traditionofcalling themBlack…so,BlackTornado?’hesuggested.Duttgaveitthethumbsup.In the cargo hold, Sheoran briefed his squadron commanders. They sat

bunched inside just behind the crew compartment. Unni, Kandy and Sharmastrainedandleanedforwardtolistentohisvoiceabovethehigh-pitchedroaroftheaircraft’sfourturbofans.Intelligenceabouttheassaultwasscarce.Intheair,theyoperatedinaninformationvacuum.SoSheoranfocusedonwhathecoulddo:gethiscommandosintothesceneofactionassoonashecould.HesplittheSAG into two teams.ColRatheewould lead operations at theOberoiwithLtColR.K.Sharma.SheoranwouldbeinchargeoftheTajoperationwhereMajorsKandwal andUnnikrishnanwould lead commandos. ‘We have to hitMumbaifastanddoourduty,’hesaid.‘Wearebettertrainedthantheterrorists,solet’sjustrememberourdrills.’Hegothisofficerstosynchronizetheirwatches.Theygaveathumbs-upsign.‘ArreyBratSir,’UnnidrawledtoMajorBharathsittingnexttohim.‘Dekhna,

jab tak hum pahunchenge, sab khatam ho gaya hoga, hume kuch karne ko hinahinmilega.Aursir,aapzyadabak-bakmatkarna,mainsoneyjaarahahoon(By the timewe get there, thingswill be over. And please don’t chatter, I’mgoingtonapnow).’Withthat,heturnedtoonesideandslept.AstheaircraftapproachedMumbai,Sheorantooktheaircraft’spublicaddress

systemandpep-talkedhistroops.‘Bahadursheron,’hesaid,‘tumhareimtihaankighadiaagayeehain.’HethensatdownandfuriouslyscribbledasetoftacticalquestionshewouldasktheMumbaipolice:thedescriptionoftheterrorists,whattheywerearmedwith,where thehostageswereandwhether the terroristshadopenednegotiationswiththegovernment.Yettherewasasenseofuneaseatthe

back of Sheoran’smind.TheBlackCatswere going into the city blind.MostofficersandmenhadonlyheardofthetwolandmarkMumbaihotelstheyweresupposedtooperatein.Afewhadevenseenitfromtheoutsideduringpersonalvisits toMumbai. The terrorists had already familiarized themselves with thelayoutsbefore they leftKarachi.Now theyalsohada six-hourhead startovertheNSG.

AssaultontheTaj

27November,9a.m.DeputyCommissionerofPolice(DCP)NisarTambolisquintedathiswatch.Itwas5a.m.ThegreyIL-76aircrafttaxieddowntoaremotebayoftheaircargocomplexatMumbai’sChhatrapatiShivajiInternationalAirport.Tamboli,aslim,soft-spoken officer with deep-set eyes and a high forehead, was part of thereceptionparty.Sixhoursearlier,thedeputycommissionerofpolice(ZoneVIII)had received a call from Rakesh Maria, the joint commissioner of police(Crime), coordinating operations from the police control room. Maria’sinstructionswere concise: escort theNSG from the airport to the city.At thattime, Tamboliwas examining a two-foot-deep bomb crater atVile Parle. Thebombhadbeenplantedinataxi.Piecesofthedriver’sbodyhadlandedontreesandbuildingsseveralhundredmetresaway.

Tambolihadnoideahowmanycommandostoexpectbutwhenhesawthefullcomplement insidetheaircraft,hewasgladhehadarrangedfor twentysingle-decker BEST buses. HomeMinister Patil alighted first. Hewas escorted to awhite Ambassador car that would take him to Mumbai’s Raj Bhavan, theresidenceofthestategovernor.TheteamcommandersSisodia,Sheoran,RatheeandKandwaldrovedownto

the police headquarters. Captain Dalal andMajor Jasrotia were escorted to apolicevan.TheywerewelcomedbyakindlyMumbaipolicedriver inkhakhi,who jabbered inMarathi through the hour-long drive. The two officers couldonlynodpolitely–itwasalanguageneitherofthemknew.Their force,meanwhile,kitted themselvesouton theconcrete runwayapron.

Each commando carried over 15 kg of gear. The heaviest item was an 8-kgbulletproof jacketmadeofKevlar.Thejackethadtwohardarmourpanels thatfitted into sleeves in the front and the back of the jacket. These hard armourinsert plates known as HAPs,made of ceramic or composites, protected vitalbodypartsagainstAK-47bullets.They unloaded their hit boxes – two-foot-high, black tin trunks. The boxes

were bought from the local market for Rs 1,200 a piece and modified withhandcraftedwoodenracksonwhichalltheweaponsandammunitionofafive-manhitteamwereplaced.Eachcommandopulledouthispersonalweapons:anMP5withadouble-magazineandaGlockpistol.TheHecklerandKochMP5,orMaschinenpistolewascompact,just21incheslong,simpletouse,accurateandunjammable.Eversince theGermanfirm introduced it in themid-1960s,mostspecial forcesworldwide favoured thisweapon. It fired9x19mmlow-velocityroundsheldina thin,curved, thirty-rounddetachableboxmagazine.The9×19mmwas the idealcartridge.Unlike thehigh-velocityAK-47 rounds, itdidnotricochet in confined spaces.TheNSGhad threeversionsof theMP5: regular,silenced and compact. The commandos inserted four spare magazines for theMP5and theGlock into theirbandoliers and stockedupon stungrenadesandHE36fragmentationgrenades.

LasttogoinwasthedistinctivebalaclavaandtheblackRomersteelhelmets.TheSAGhad250oftheseGerman-madehelmets,justenoughtoequiphalftheforce.Theyresembledmotorcyclehelmets,hadbeenimportedovertwodecadesago and looked their age. The headgear was constantly refurbished throughIndian ‘jugaad’ like chinstraps from motorcycle helmets and coats of cheapblackpaintovertheoriginaldullmattefinish.Infullbattlegear,thecommandosbegantheorderlymarchtowardsafleetof

redBESTbusesandpolicevans.Thebusesweremarked‘SP’forSpecialandhad‘Reserved’writtenonthesideinMarathi.Over200pairsofbootsscrunchedupthealuminiumfloorsofthesevehicles,withthecommandosgingerlymovingtheir guns and equipment boxes through the narrow doors meant for onepassenger to board or alight. It took them another twentyminutes to load thebuses.As the NSG convoy wound its way to the city, the troopers looked at the

handfulofpeoplethathadventuredoutontheroads,fearandpuzzlementwritlargeontheirfaces.

At around 5.30 a.m., Brigadier Sisodia, Col Rathee and Col Sheoran wereusheredintotheMumbaipolicecontrolroominCrawfordMarket.ThecontrolroomhadalargeelectronicGIS(geographicinformationsystem)mapofthecitythat showed the location of police stations and various police vehicles. Overtwenty-fivepolicemensatintwosemicircularrowsbeforethemap,manningthetwelve police zones in the city.Mariamoved from one police operator to thenext, each one of them speaking non-stop. The police had suffered anunprecedentedcasualties,soheregardedthearrivaloftheNSGwithsomerelief.Maria was yet to interrogate the sole attacker, Ajmal Kasab, whomAssistantSub-inspectorofPoliceTukaramOmblehadheroicallycaptured.He walked around to the pulpit-like elevated table, where the control room

officersat,gesturingtheofficerstositbeforehim.Theactionhadsincemoved

totheTajandOberoihotels,heinformedthem.TherewerefourterroristsinsidetheTaj.Maria furnished a physical description based on eyewitness accounts.Mostoftheterroristsappearedtobeintheirlateteensorearlytwenties.Oneofthe terroristswas tall,well built andwore a red cap andT-shirt, he said.Themarinecommandos,thepoliceandanti-terroristsquadhadlaidacordonaroundthe site.TheNSGwould get a detailed briefing on the hotel layouts from thestaffthere.Worried that media reportage could compromise the operations, Brigadier

Sisodia askedMaria, ‘Can you do something about themedia? I believe theyhavebeenreportingourarrival.’Maria shrugged. He couldn’t do anything about the media, but promised to

keepthematasafedistancesothattheywouldn’tinterferewiththeoperations.The fifteen-minutemeetingwithMaria gave theNSGa fix onnumbers, but

littleelse.Sheoran, meanwhile, scrounged for tactical intelligence. From the police

headquarters, his vehicle sped to the state police headquarters near Regalcinema. Hemet the director general of police, Anami Roy. Themeeting wasbrief and uneventful. TheDGP could not add towhatMaria had already toldthem. Sheoran pocketed the list of queries he had scribbled in the IL-76 andheadedbacktohisvehicle.ArrivingattheTajhotel,healightedfromthefrontdoor of the white Qualis under the magnificent rectangular porch. It wascrowdedwith police and fire department vehicles. He heard a distinct tak-taksoundechoingthroughtheupperfloors–MP5onsingle-shotmode.Thesoundpleasedhim.Ifafirefightwason,itmeantsecurityforceswereincontact.Ifso,hismencouldcloseinandswiftlyneutralize theterrorists.SheoranstrodeintothelobbyoftheTajandwasstruckbythedistinctsmellofteargasmixedwithcordite. Itwas thesmellofurbancombat.Sheoranwasbackin thefront lines,onlythiswasintheheartofthecity.‘Sir,wehaveahostagesituationattheChambers.’Ayoungmarinecommando

officerhadwalkeduptothecoloneltohurriedlybriefhim.

Sheoran’s commandosarriveda fewminutes later.He ledhisofficers to thepavement outside the Taj. He laid out a few twigs to explain the layout. Thepalace section of the Taj was U-shaped; its two wings – north and south –enclosedtheswimmingpool.Apatiolinkedtheoldwingtothetowerblocktothenorth.‘Kandy,getyourhitstowork,’hesaid.ThecolonelalsoradioedUnni– who had reached the state secretariat with the main body of the NSGcommandos and was waiting for orders – to reach the Taj swiftly. Unni andKandy’steamswouldsandwichtheterroristsattheChambers.AsamarinecommandoescortedKandyuptotheChambers,hisnosewrinkled

atthesmellofteargas.TheMARCOSwerelobbingteargasgrenadesintotherooms around the Chambers with textbook precision. ‘You will run out ofgrenadesprettysoon,’hesaidtothem,coughing.Kandyquicklysummedupthesituation.TheMARCOShadbeenguardingthe

guests at the Chambers and had prevented a slaughter. But they had brokencontactwiththeterroristsseveralhoursago.Theycouldnotsparemanpowertopursuetheattackersdownthecorridors.‘SierraOne,thisisSierraFive.Nohostilesincontact,’Kandyradioed.Sheoran grimaced. The terrorists had slipped away.His forcewas primarily

gearedtowardshostagerescuewithinconfinedspaces.Theystormedroomsonlyafterterroristshadbeencorralledin.Whilehostagenegotiatorsboughttime,theBlackCatsplannedtherescue.Hedidthemath.TheTajPalaceandTowerhad1,100rooms.Theywerelike

twoseparatehotels.Occupancywasreportedat80percent.Therewerecloseto3,000guestswhentheterroristsstrucktwelvehoursago.Fourterroristswereonthe rampage. He had just forty commandos to clear all the rooms and fightterrorists. This operation could take days.Hewould not ask theMARCOS tooperatewith him.The two commandounits had different drills. In a firefight,thiscouldhavetwounhappyconsequences–crossfireandfratricide.At 9.30 a.m., the NSG commandos became the third force to take over

operations at the landmark hotel. It had been only twelve hours since the

terroristshadstruck.Sheoran’s immediate priority was clear: evacuate ‘technical hostages’,

civilianstrappedintheoperationzone.Thecommandoswouldthencloseinontheterrorists.ThefiresofthepreviousnighthadknockedouttheCCTVcamerasin the Palace wing. Sheoran now needed eyes on the target, at least on theoutside.‘Jassi,Jassi,’hecalledforhissniperchief.MajorJasrotiaappearedhurriedly.

‘You’remyeyes,gettowork,’Sheoransaid.Jasrotia knewwhat he had to do.Hewalked off briskly to look for vantage

pointstopositionhissnipers.InOperationBlackThunder– the seventy-hour siege to evictmilitants from

the Golden Temple – in 1988, NSG snipers were atop numerous buildingsaroundtheshrine.Theyactedasspottersandsentries:militantswhostrayedoutof the complex were shot. The NSG had two months to prepare for BlackThunder.Sheoran inspected thecontentsof thehaversackrecoveredfromthe terrorists

after the firefight at the Chambers. It was neatly laid out on the floor of thelobby.ThegrenadesandAK-47ammunitionwereaneye-opener. ‘Our friendsfromacrosstheborder,’Sheoranthoughttohimself.Just then,Unniwalked inwith his task force from the state secretariat. The

lobbyoftheTajwaspacked.Police,paramilitaryforces,firebrigadeandrescuestaff milled about before a thirty-foot-long magnificent M.F. Hussain canvastriptych – horses, lions, doves and a peacock called ‘three stanzas of the newmillennium’.Sheoranlookedforasecludedspottobriefhismen.Hespottedaroomtotheleftofthelobby,pastaLouisVuittondisplaywindow.ThiswastheHarbourBar,India’sfirstofficialwateringhole.The‘1933’beneathitssignagedenoteditsvintageand,inmoresedatecircumstances,helpfulbarmentoldyouitsliquorlicencenumberwas‘001’.ItlookedoutontotheGatewayofIndiaandoffereda splendid lateralviewof the shipsandyachtsat anchorage.Thecyanwallsofthenautical-themedbarwerelinedwithwhitewoodenpanelling.Ithad

circular Burma teak tables and an antique brass telescope, ship sextants andcopper-hued vintage diving helmets. The bar had a ten-foot-long,wood-lined,blackgranitebarcounter.Thewine shelvesbehindbrimmedwithhundredsofbottlesofthecity’sfinestMerlotsandlimited-editionsinglemalts,coveredwithdelicatevelvet.At thebar,Sheoran swiftlydividedhis force into two teams–Kandywould

headTaskForceTower,Unniwould leadTaskForce Palace. Sheoran carriedtwowalkie-talkies, one for each task force.A thirdhandset kept him in touchwithhissnipers.‘Your priority will be hostage rescue,’ he told Unni. ‘We can sort out the

terroristsoncewetakeoutthecivilians.’AsSheoranturnedtoleavethebar,henoticedamajesticcopper-huedspiralstaircase.Itleduptowardstheceilingandwastuckedawayinacornerofthebar,behindastonearch.‘And,Unni,findoutwherethisleadsto…wecanuseit…’hesaidbeforestridingouttoamakeshiftcommandcentreinthelobby.

Major Jasrotiawalkedaround themassiveTajhotelcomplex.The firebrigadeusedthelullinfightingtoevacuateguestsfromtheTajPalace.Tallfireladdersandahydraulicliftextricatedfrightenedciviliansoutofthehotelroomsthroughthe windows. One of the civilians, a well-dressed lady on the second floor,matter-of-factlypassedherhandbagtoafiremanandthengingerlyclimbedoverthewindowontothefirelift.JasrotiasawtheGatewayofIndiaasanobvioussniperperch.Themonument

wasundergoingafaceliftandwascoveredwithironscaffolding,whichmadeiteasier to climb. Marine commando snipers had begun climbing down. TheywouldnowbereplacedbyJasrotia’smen.The 400-foot-long hotel promenade that overlooked the harbour posed a

problem. There were no buildings for snipers to sit on. Jasrotia then walkedaroundtheTaj.Thegateattherearwaslockedandchained.Heclimbedatreeto

lookoverintothecompound.Bodiesofguestswerescatterednearthepoolside.Heheldhishandouttoseeifanybodyfired.Therewassilence.Hethenturnedto lookabove.Crowdshadgatheredon the roofsofa rowofbuildingsbehindthe Taj intrigued by the sight of a commando in helmet and bulletproof vest,scalinga tree.Theycranedtheirnecksoverparapetsforacloser look.Jasrotiawavedthemawayusingbothhishands.At9.10a.m.,Jasrotia’ssnipersmovedtotherooftopsoffivebuildingsbehind

theTaj.OnesniperteamunderCaptainVarunDalalclimbedatoptheGatewayofIndiawhileCaptainDalalandhisbuddy,HavildarMustafaPathan,wentupthetopfloorofthe162-year-oldRoyalBombayYachtClub.Theycarriedwiththem twoGerman-builtPSG-1sniper rifles.These rifleswereheavier than theDragunov sniper rifles that the army andMarcos used. The PSG was deadlyaccurateupto300metres.Inthehandsofatrainedsniper,ithada99.9percentchanceofhittingitstargetwithasingleshot.From the roof of the six-storey Devidas Mansion, a residential building

overlooking the Taj Palace and Tower, Jasrotia lifted his walkie-talkie andspoke.‘SierraOne,thisisSierraSix.Snipersone,twoandthreeinposition.’In the lobby of theTaj, SierraOne, Sheoran, cocked his head sideways and

spokeintothewalkie-talkieclippedtohiscollar.‘SierraSix,thisisSierraOne.Ireadyou.Over.’The SAG guns ringed the hotel, covering all exits from the hotel in deadly

interlockingfieldsoffire.NowtheBlackCatscouldmoveintothehotel.

TaskForcePalaceTaskForcePalaceunderMajorSandeepUnnikrishnanmovedintoscanthe268suites in the Palace wing. This did not include the numerous restaurants,ballrooms and banquet halls. In the lobby, Unnikrishnan – in tan-colouredrunningshoeswiththickrubbersoles,idealforabuildingintervention–loweredhismask and briefed his hit teams in chasteHindi. ‘Ourmain objective is torescue the civilians,’ he told them, eyes sweeping his team. ‘Do not touch

anything in the roomswithout askingme.’Unniwas concerned that terroristsmighthavebooby-trappedthehoteltoslowdowntheNSG.‘Onecarelessmovebyyoucankillyourcomrades.’HismenslidthesafetiesofftheirMP5’sfireselectorswitchabovethetrigger

and switched it to single-shot mode. They were trained to fire only accuratesingle shots. Sunlight streamed into the magnificent building. The corridorssmeltofsmoke.Theteamsdidnothavemaps,buttheycouldn’taffordtowait.Afterninetytenseminutes,Unnikrishnan’steamshadscannedalltheroomson

thegroundandtopfloorsofthenorthwing.TheyclearedtheWasabirestaurantandrescuedtenpersonshidinginside.Nosignof theterrorists.Butthereweretelltalemarksoftheirpresence.Corpseslaywheretheyhadbeenshot.Poolsofbloodcoagulatedaroundthemontheopulentgranitefloors.Thecommandosdidnottouchthebodies.Militantsfrequentlybooby-trappeddeadsoldiersinJammuandKashmirandinthenorth-eastofIndia.Allittookwasagrenademinusitspin,itsleverheldinplacebytheweightofthecorpse.At around 1 p.m., the twenty-member commando teammoved their search-

and-rescueoperationtothesouthernwing,MP5scocked,fingersontriggers.MajorUnnikrishnanplannedtocleartheroomsfromtopdown.Twohitteams

ledbyNaibSubedarFireChandNagarandNaibSubedarKarpeclambereduptothe rooftop of the palace wing. They scanned the roof for terrorists hiddenamongtherowsofwatertanksandequipment.Whenthemenreachedthesea-facingsuitesonthesixthfloor,theyweregreetedbyadeathlysilence.Thefiresofthepreviousnighthadbeendoused.ATajemployeedeftlywieldedamasterkey to open doors. Most suites were bolted from inside. The men in blackknockedonthedoors.‘WeareNSGcommandos.Weareheretohelp.Openthedoor.’Theyknewtheyweregivingthemselvesawaytopotentialterrorists.Buttheyhadnooption.Nooneknewwhowas in therooms. Itwasachance theyhadtotake.By2p.m.,twenty-threefrightenedguestshadbeenescorteddowntothelobby.

Twohourslater,thenumberofrescuedguestsswelledtoforty.Butwherewere

themilitants,Nagarthoughttohimself.Couldtheyhaveescapedinthemeleeofthepreviousnight?At6p.m.,Unni’smenreachedRoom402onthefourthfloor.Theyknocked.

Therewasnoresponse.TheyintroducedthemselvesinHindi.TheninEnglish.Silence.Thehitteamwaitedforafewminutes.Then,FireChandbracedhimselfagainstthewallandkickedthedooropen.Shotsrangoutfrominsidetheroom.Thebulletsflewpastthedoor.OnepassedthroughNagar’sleftfoot,shreddinghisblackjungleboot.AsplinterhitCommandoSunilKumarYadav.Aferociousgunbattleerupted.TheNSGhadfinallymadecontact.YadavclosedinontheroomundercoverfirefromHavildarRajbirSingh,who

alsoapproachedthedoorstealthilyandlobbedagrenadeinside.Itexploded.Afire spread through the room. The terrorists started closing towards the doorwhereYadavhadtakenupposition.MajorUnnikrishnanwasinformedaboutthiscontact.‘Takecover,takecover,

I’mcoming,’hisvoicecrackledovertheradio.Hedashedwithfivetrooperstotheplaceofcontact.HereachedthespotandevacuatedtheinjuredFireChandandCommandoYadavtotheOperationsControlCentre(henceforthOpCentre)onthegroundflooroftheTajtotel.Theterroristshadfled.Theyleftaburningroomanddeadhostagebehind.Itwasquarterpastseven.At around8.15p.m.,MajorUnnikrishnan returned to theOpCentre to brief

Sheoran.Smokehad filled the fourth floor;hismencouldnot enter it to clearrooms. They had to think of an alternative route. Thewearymembers of TF-PalacewalkedtoacorneroftheOpCentreforfood.Themenuwasfrugal,thestandardmilitaryfareofaloo-puris.Thehotelkitchenswereshutbecausetherewasnowaterorelectricity.Thefoodcamefromthelocalmilitaryunit,packedincardboardboxes.Ashesaton thesofa toeat,Unnikrishnannoticed thathisbuddySunilJodhalookedunwell.‘Sunil,’heasked,‘whyareyousweating?’‘Sahab,I’mwearingdungareesovermycombats…’Jodharepliedsheepishly.‘Takeitoff’,Unniordered.Jodhalookedaroundthelobby.Thereweredozensofhotelguests,policeand

armypersonnel.‘Okay, go ahead, I’ll cover you.’Unnimoved on the sofa. Jodha sat on the

floor,unzippedhisdungareeandquicklyextractedhisgreenarmyuniformfrombeneath.NosoonerhadhedonethisthanUnniwasgone.

TaskForceTowerMajorKandwalandhisfourhit teamsmovedupthefireescapeofthetwenty-one-storeyedTajTower.Theyweretrainedtoworktheirwaydownabuilding,butKandwalreversedthedrill.IftherewereterroristsintheTower,theycouldspilloutintothelobbyforanotherattack.Hiscommandoswouldworktheirwayupthehotel.Theywouldhavetoassumetherewasaterroristbehindeverydoor.Butwithseventeenroomsoneachofthetwenty-onefloors,itwouldbeatediousexercise.In 2002,Kandwal had sneaked into a twin-storey brick house in Kashmir

disguised as a local.He lugged a 10-kg IEDunder his phiran.Two hard-coremilitantshadbeenreportedtobeintheemptyhouse.Kandwal’sIEDblewouttheroofandcollapsedthewalls.Thetwomilitantswerecrushedtodeath.IntheTaj,theirprioritywastorescuehostages.Kandwal had a redmaster card in his pocket. It could open any door in the

hotel,butnotifthedoorhadbeenboltedfromtheinside–likemostdoorswerethatday.Thecommandoshadtousetheirpersuasiveabilities.‘Openupplease,we are here to help.’ They had practised room entry to perfection in the ‘killhut’,wherefivecommandosstackedupliterallyonebehindtheother.Heretoo,they rapidly entered one after the other, covering the cornerswith their guns.They checked under the beds and behind the curtains. Two hit teams of tencommandossearchedtherooms.Twomoreteamsguardedthestairwells.

EachL-shaped floorhadseventeen rooms.Butafterclearinga fewrooms, itwasevidentthetaskwouldbearduous.Eachdooropenedintoanantechamberthatledintotheroom.Thespacewasonlytenfeetlongandthreefeetwide.Itwould be tactically unwise to crowd fivemen in. Kandwal changed the drill.Now on, only a two-man buddy pair would enter. Five buddy pairs wouldalternatelyclearroomstoavoidexhaustion.Theabandoned roomswere snapshotsof life rudely interruptedby the terror

attack–unmadebeds, stale food from room service thepreviousnight on thetable, digital cameras plugged into laptops and the steady trickle of bathsoverflowing.Theguestswhoweretrappedinsidewhisperedtotheirrelativesonphones,thefearfuloneshidintheirclosetsandunderbeds.OneUS-basedNRIbusinessman, had been furiously chanting theHanumanChalisawhen hewasrescued.‘SierraSix toSierraOne.Movementon floor ten.Window.Friendly.Over,’

JasrotiaradioedSheoran.Jasrotiaandhissniperteamswatchedalltheguestswhostoodatthewindows

orwalkedaboutintheirrooms.TheCOrelayedthemessagetoKandwal.Rescued guestswere gathered in a safe room on each floor. Once an entire

floor had been searched and cleared, Kandwal deputed one hit team of fivecommandostoescorttheguestsdownstairstotheOpCentre.By6p.m.,forty-sixguestshadbeenbroughtdownthisway.Adozenmorefloorsremained.Thecommandoshadbeenawakefornearlytwodays.TheyhadshedtheiralertbagswithitsfoodsuppliesintheIL-76.Theseweretohavebeenbroughtbacklaterby the Mumbai police, but no one knew where the bags were. So, thecommandosscoopedupthemineralwaterbottles,softdrinkcansanddryfruitsthey found in the rooms into laundry bags.Thatwould be their only food formorethanaday.Asthecommandosclearedthehotelspaces,acriticaldeficiencynowcameto

light: theydidnothave themanpower toguard the rooms theyhadcleared.AsecondplaneloadofcommandossentfromDelhiwasyettoarrive.Sheorantried

tofill thebreachwithadozenCRPFcommandos.Thepolicemenwouldactas‘stops’or barriers in theChambers and the first floor.Theywould cut off theterrorists’escapedownstairs.ButSheoranwastoooptimistic.Afewhourslater,he heard shots. The CRPF commandos had rushed back down into the lobbybecause they had heard movements there, and had fired. Sheoran sighed andpushedhis five-manhit teamtoman thefirst floor toreplace them.HewaitedforreinforcementstoflyinfromDelhiwithLtColSundeepSen.Around 8 p.m., reinforcement strickled in. Captain Anil Jakhar and twenty

commandosmoved up to the Taj Tower to assist Kandwal’s room clearance.Kandywas edgy. The stream of requests fromNSG brass to evacuate certainguestsonprioritywasbeginningtoplayonhisnerves.Meanwhile,hissearchpartiespoundedupthestairstothetwelfthfloorofthe

TajTower.Tensionranhigh.At11p.m.,afranticmessagecamefromtheATS.Phone callswere beingmade from a roomon that floor toSaudiArabia.Thecommandos rushed to room 1201. There were muffled sounds of movementinside. The NSG commandos placed a shaped charge, a piece of plasticexplosiveonthelock,andblewthedooropen.There were four guests huddled in the room, two Saudi nationals and two

Indians. ‘Take off your clothes,’Kandwal shouted, pointing hisMP5 at them.Thefourcompliedandstrippedtotheirundergarments.Theywerecivilians.‘Room1201clear.Friendlies,’Kandyradioedback.

Ataround11.45p.m.,JointCPDevenBhartireceivedacallfrompolicecontrolroomaboutawomantrappedintheTaj.BhartiwastheNSG’sliaisonmanintheTaj.Hewore a khakhi-coloured flak jacket over a cream-coloured half-sleeveshirt and dark blue trousers. The call to Bharti had taken a convoluted route.Priya Florence Martis, who had hidden herself in the data centre of the TajPalaceeversincetheshootingbeganonthenightofthe26th,hadalsophoned

herunclewhointurninformedpolicecontrolroom.Anothercolleague,Manish,was hiding in another part of the server room.They had not had any food orwatersincetheterroristshadstruck.Bharti walked up to the reception with Brigadier Sisodia. He dialled the

extension to Florence’s office.A frightened voicewhispered at the other end.BhartiputthecallonspeakerphonesothatSisodiacouldhearher.‘Ma’am,’theBrigadieraskedher,‘whereareyou?’Priyawasconfused,shebarelyknewherwayaroundthehotel.Allshecould

mumblewas,‘Onthesecondfloor…’‘Don’tworry,mycommandoswillcomeandgetyou,’Sisodiareassuredher.

He scribbled her location on a piece of hotel stationery and passed it on toSheoran.Sheoran directed Major Unnikrishnan to evacuate her. The NSG officers

workedoutanalternativeroutetoreachher–throughthegrandstaircaseareasoftheheritagewing.Unniquicklydrewupaplantoapproachthesecondfloorthrough the staircase.Thesewereamong the last areasyet tobecleared.DCPNangre-Patil’smenhadtakenheavyfirefromthemilitantsat thisstaircasethepreviousnight.Unnididn’tknowthis.

DeathofaHeroAt1a.m.,on28November,MajorSandeepledhishitteam,SunilJodha,ManojKumar,BabuLalandKishorKumarthroughthepiècederésistanceoftheTaj:the grand staircase – a single, long staircase split into two like a Y. At thelanding between the two arms, sat a garlanded bronze bust of JamsedjiNusserwanjiTata, founderof theTatabusiness empire and themanwhobuilttheTaj in1903.Tataworeaphenta, the traditionalParsiblackcap,andstaredsternly into the distance. Behind the bust was a large entrance to the PalmLoungethathadlongsincebeenboardedupandcoveredbyahugemirror.Thestaircasewaspitch-dark.Thefirebrigadehadpouredthousandsoflitresof

wateratthefiresintheTaj.Thewaternowseepeddownthefloorsanddrippedinto the cavernous staircase area. The sound of dripping water added to theeerinessoftheplace.Itwaslikeenteringasmokyjunglecave.Athickredcarpetwithfloralpatternswasfastenedtothestepsbythickbrassstairrods.Thecarpetwas soggy and oozedwater,whichmeant that the commandos’ bootsmade agentlesquishingsoundastheywalkedupthestairstowardsthebust.Asthehitteamwalkedupthestairs,gunflasheslitupthedarkenedstairway.

The terroristswere firing at them from above.Unni signalled Sunil andBabuLal, to head up left and towards the heavy brown doors that led to the PalmLounge and the ballroom. They were to throw grenades and clear the PalmLounge. The two commandos walked up gently, weapons drawn. They tookpositionsoneithersideofthedoorway.Thedoorswereshut.Just then, a grenade flew out of the darkness. It bounced on the carpeted

staircase and exploded. An AK-47 rattled from above. Bullets drilled thestaircase. They punched into the walls around the doorway, digging into thestoneandplaster.TheglassaroundTata’sbustshattered.Itwasanambush.Theterroristswereonhighground.TheyhadseenthesilhouettesoftheNSGmen.And they had waited. The atrium was now a kill zone. Major Unnikrishnanmovedunderthecoverfireprovidedbyhistwocommandos.

Another grenade sailed out from one of the top floors and exploded on thegranitefloor.Over5,000ballbearingsfromthegrenadeblastedadeadlypatternaroundthestaircase.SunilJodha’sbodywasriddledwithbulletsandsplinters.He collapsed and rolled back down the stairs to the foot of the bust. Thecommandos took cover and blasted away at their unseen enemy.Blood oozedaroundSunil’sbody.Twobulletshadenteredhischest.Onehadbeentrappedbytheceramicrifleplateonhisbulletproofjacket.Hisleftarmwaslaceratedwithsteelballbearings.‘I’mgoingtolosemyarm,’hethoughttohimselfashelayproneonthefloor.UnnirushedbacktoSunil.Hesawbloodstreamingoutofhisbuddy’swounds.

‘Takehimbackforfirstaid,’hehissedatBabuLal.InaflashhehadgonebackuptowardsthePalmLounge,alone.Unni swung up his MP5 and fired a burst across the atrium. The bullets

hammeredintothewall.Thenheboundedupthestairsleadingtotheothersetofdoors opening into the PalmLounge. Itwas a terribly riskymove because hedidn’thaveabuddytocoverhim.Ifhebrokecontact,thecat-and-mousegamewould start all over again. He decided to outflank the terrorists. His runningshoesmadenosound.Hecouldsee theoutlinesof the largewickerchairsandtablesstrewnbeforehim.Hefelthisbandolier.Heonlyhadawhiteflash-banggrenadeleft.Heflickedthepinoffthegrenadeandflungitintothelounge.Thegrenadeexplodedwithaloudcrackthatrattledthewindows.Unnidashedin.Hethenfiredaburstatthesea-facingwindows.Clear!Helookedaroundthewall.Abrownornategrille in frontofhimcovered theballroom likemetal foliage.The ballroom was his target. He held hisMP5 in front of him as he swiftlychargeddownthecorridor.Tohisleftwasasmallalcovewithtwosofasandacirculargranitetabletop.Therewasaflashfrombeneaththetableandtwonear-simultaneoussounds–therattleofAK-47andtheburstofanMP5.

‘SierraFive,SierraFive…thisisSierraOne,comein.Over.’

ColSheoran’smessagepulsedaimlesslythroughtheairwavesaroundtheTaj.There was no response. ‘Perhaps he is in close contact, he won’t speak …’BrigadierSisodiasaid.TheNSGrapidlyclearedthecharredsouthernendofthehotel,theSeaLoungeonthesecondfloor.NSGcommandosnowguardedallthevitalaccessroutesintothenorthernendofthehotel.By3a.m.onFriday,28November,MajorKandwal’swearyteamhadcleared

alltwenty-onefloorsoftheTajTower.KandwalhandedtheTowerbacktotheMumbai police. Four hours later, all the rooms in both hotelswere cleared ofpotentialhostages.Nowthehuntfortheterroristswouldbegin.ButwherewasMajorUnnikrishnan?Sheoran climbed up to the fourth floor and peered down the grand staircase

into the atrium below. Bodies, limp and contorted, still dotted the galleriesaroundtheatrium.‘Saabji,lookatthebodies,’oneofhiscommandos,HavildarDigh Ram, whispered. The bodies were bloating. It had been over thirty-sixhours since the terroristshad struck.Theairwas thick, foulandnauseating. Itsmeltofputrefyingbodiesandrottingfood.Thebodiescouldnotberemovedtillthe NSG did their ‘Render Safe Procedure’ to clear booby traps. For that tobegin,thebuildingshadtobeclearedofterrorists.Sheoran,however,wassearchingforUnni.Helookedcloselyatthefirstfloor

wheretheyhadmadecontactwiththeterrorists.Ithadfourdoors.Oneofthosedoors, diagonally opposite the bust, was open. The door led into the hotel.Perhaps,Unnihadgonelookingfortheterroristsintheoppositedirection.At 6.30 a.m. Jasrotia’s radio on the roof of the residential building crackled

urgently. ‘Sierra Six, this is Sierra One, come to Op Centre. Over.’ Sheoranneededmorehandstoaugmentthesearchforthemissingmajor.Thesizeoftheteamswas reduced. Jasrotiawas given two hit teams and tasked tomove andsearchthefirstfloor.HewouldstartfromthekitchenareawhereMajorJohn,anewlyinductedofficer,hadtakenposition.Sheoran’sofficersrepeatedlydialledUnni’smobilephone.Itwasswitchedoff.

IfUnniwasinthehotel,hewasbeingveryquiet.

Ataround9.30a.m.,MajorKandwalandMajorJasrotiaretracedUnni’ssteps.They advanced as a two-man buddy pair. Jasrotia aimed his MP5 in front.Kandwal,coveringtherear,aimedhisMP5abovehim.Ablackfigurelayproneonthemarblefloor,faceup.Unni!Hisleft legwasfoldedunderhisright.Hisrightarmlayoutstretched,leftarmacrosshischest.Hisbodywasriddledwithbullets and lay in a sticky black pool of blood.All the bullets had been firedfromtheleft.Thefatalroundhadpiercedhisheadfromthelowerjawandexitedtheskull.Hiswalkie-talkielaytwofeetawayfromhishead.Itwasneatlyplacedon the floor, upright, switchedoff.The ringof a flash-banggrenadepin hungaroundhisthumb.Itdidn’ttakelongtofigureoutwhathappened.Theterroristhadbeenhidingin

thealcovebehindthestatue,crouchedunderthetableandtwosofas.HehadshottheloneBlackCatashechargeddownthecorridor.UnnihadtakenaburstfromanAK-47.Hisbodyhadtwistedaroundasithitthefloor.Theterroristhadtakenhisweaponsandretreatednorthwardsintothehotel.Buttheofficerhadnotgonedownwithout a fight. He had instinctively fired at his assailant. Bullets fromUnni’sMP5 were embedded on the wall and the wooden lattice. A bloodiedrunningshoeofaterroristlaynearby.Atrailofbloodledtowardstheballroom.Unnihadwoundedtheterrorist.Kandwalreachedforhismobilephoneandnothiswalkie-talkie.Noonecould

know that anofficerwasdown. ‘Sir,Unni nomore.Confirmed.’Therewas abriefpause.ColSheoran’svoicedidnotbetrayhisanguish,‘OK.Wait.I’llsendsomeone.’MajorSandeepUnnikrishnanbecametheNSG’sfirstofficertodieincombat.

His death shook the 51 SAG. It was the death of a beloved colleague and areckoningoftheirownmortality.Unni’sdeathslowedtheoperationattheTaj.TheNSGbrassreassessedtheir

moves.Theybecamecautious.Theywouldnotwasteanymorelives.Hisdeathwas,however,keptawayfromthetroops.Sheorandidnotwantittoaffecttheirmorale.

MajorUnnikrishnan’slastchargepushedtheterroriststowardstherestaurantsat thenorthernendof theTajPalace.Theycould runno further.SheoranwasdeterminednottoletUnni’sdeathgoinvain.Hemovedhissniperstocoverthenorthwing.SheorancalleddownCaptainDalalandhisshootersfromtheirperchatoptheYachtClub.Dalal instinctively knew something was wrong. He felt a cloud over the

commandcentreattheTajbutaskednoquestions.TheCOhadordersforhim.Dalal was to take his two-man sniper team into a fire brigade sky lift. TheMumbai Fire Brigade’s ‘telescoping articulated platform’, was critical inrescuinghostagesfromtheupperfloorsof theTaj.Nowitwouldbeusedasasniperperch.Theplatformwaspositionedontheroadjust25metresawayfromthenortherncornerof thehotel.DalalandMustafaPathanclamberedonboard.Thesix-square-footcagehad justenoughplace for threepersons including theoperatorwhomanoeuvredtheplatform.Thesniperstooktheirbulletproofvestsoff and placed it in front of them to create an improvised shield. Sheorandirected Dalal to ensure the terrorists would not target the media, which hadbeenmoved to the far corner of theGateway of India. The PSG-1 gun barrelnow aimed at the Taj Palace, wary eyes peered through its rubber-linedHensoldt-scope,lookingfortheterrorists.Next,Sheorandirectedhisteamstomoveintotheballroom.Thecommandostiptoedin.Itwaspitch-dark.Theywarilytoredownthethick

drapes that covered thewindows and began searching the room. It took themnearlyfivehourstocompletethesearch.Theballroomwasclean.

Meanwhile,PriyaFlorenceMartis,trappedinthedatacentre,whisperedoverthephone to friends and family.Shehadbeen terrifiedby the sightof a figure inblackmoving into her room.She sawa gunbarrel.The intruder, she couldn’tquitetellwho,appearedtobelookingforsomething.Hepacedaroundtheroomand then went away. She huddled in her hideaway, tired, hungry and thirsty.

Therewereadozenbottlesofwateratatableinsight.Butshewastooterrifiedtoventureout. ‘Getupanddrink,getupanddrink,’a friendrepeatedlyeggedheronthephone.Shebitherlipandresistedtheurgetomoveout.ThefigurewasColSheoran.Hewentbackdowntothehotellobbyanddialled

hernumber.Priyaansweredthephone.Sheoransaidhewouldcomeandgether.Buthehadtofirstensureshewasnot

introuble.‘Ma’am,areyouahostage?’heaskedherseveraltimes.Sherepliedinthenegative.‘Whenyoucometomyroom,pleasecallmyname,elseIwon’tcomeout,’shesaid.Sheoranbrisklywalkedbacktowardsthedatacentreonthesecondfloor.The

door was open. There was no sign of anybody inside. He looked around andspoke,‘Florence,Florence,wehavecometosaveyou…’Avoiceemergedfrombelow.Itwasweak.‘I’mhere…’Priya Florence had lain in a foetal position under a tiny table for thirty-six

hours. She could barely walk. Sheoran helped her up. But the girl refused toleave.‘PleasesaveManish…Iwon’tleavewithouthim,’sheinsisted.Manish, a colleague in her department, had hidden in the server room after

bullets smashed a glass door. Sheoran went in search of him. He carefullyscannedtheroombutfoundnooneamongthebankofservers.Heevenlookedupattherafters.Nothing.‘There’snooneintheroom,’hetoldher.‘Areyousure?’Priyawasinsistent.Sheoran went back to the room. His patience was wearing thin. Then he

detectedamovementinthefloor.Thefloorboardmoved.Sheorangentlyliftedthepanel.Hewassurprisedbywhathesaw.Manishhadwedgedhimselfunderthefloorboardsinanareausedtoconcealwires.Thespacewaslessthanafootdeep.Tiredandexhaustedandindeepshock,theexecutivehadtobehauledoutandhelpedtohisfeetbytwocommandos.Anhourlater,Florence,Manishandfivetouristsrescuedfromtheirroomshad

beenescortedtosafetydownstairs.Thehotelwasnowclearofallcivilians.All

three radio sets crackled. Three hit teams now encircled the restaurant andpluggedallroutesintoit.Ataround11a.m.,Mustafa spottedamovement in theWasabi restaurant.A

hand emerged from behind the curtains of the restaurant. It was holding agrenade.Dalalsqueezedthetriggerofhisweapon.Abulletcrashedagainstthethick glass. The hand dropped the grenade, which fell on a black car parkedbelowandexploded,showeringballbearingsupwards.‘Sniper Four to Sierra One. Cannot see through curtains. Militants have

advantage,’DalalradioedSheoran.

DirectorGeneralDuttoftheNSG,whohadbeenreviewingtheoperationsattheOberoi,nowdrovetotheTaj.Hehadheardofthedeathoftheofficer.Apallofgloomhung over theOpCentre in the lobby. ‘Takeme to the location,’Duttsaid,wantingtoseefirst-handwhathadhappened.If theNSG’soperationwasflawed,hewouldreviewit. ‘Sir, it’s toorisky,’warnedBrigadierSisodia.TheNSGwasstillincontactwiththeterrorists.ButDuttwasinsistent.Sisodiaaskedforafewminutesandwalkedaway.Duttheardtheintensityoffiringfromhiscommandosincrease.Sisodiahadevidentlyensuredthattheterroristskepttheirheaddown.Dutt was ushered to the grand staircase. The NSG officers explained the

situation to him. The terrorists were cornered in the northwing. Now, it wasonlyamatterofneutralizingthem.‘There is nothing wrong in what we are doing,’ Dutt told the NSG bosses

triumphantly.‘Theoperationswillcontinue.’Thestatementliftedmorale.Shortly before noon that day, Dutt received an unusual visitor. Unusual,

because theoperationswereon infullswing. ItwasLieutenantGeneralNobleThamburaj, general officer commanding-in-chief of the army’s Pune-basedSouthernArmyCommand.Thecommanderwasincombatfatigues.Hesporteda 9mmBrowning army issue pistol on hiswaist.He had flown intoMumbai

accompanied by his personal staff and hiswifeAnita Thamburaj. If someonenoticedtheimproprietyofanarmycommandertouringabuildingwithhiswifewhileoperationswereunderway, theydidnotmention it.Thamburajwas theseniormostarmyofficersouthoftheTropicofCancer.Hewasbriefedabouttheoperationsinthelobbyof theTajbyDevenBhartiandColSheoran.‘Finishitquickly,’ThamburajsaidbeforestridingoutoftheTaj.Itwasanoverstatement.Sheoranalreadyknewwhathadtobedone.Outside the Taj, the army commander briefed the waiting media. The new

wingoftheTajhadbeensanitizedandhandedovertothepolice,hesaid.Oneterrorist,possiblytwo,hadmovedintotheadjacentoldheritagebuilding.‘It isjustamatterofafewhoursbeforewewrapupthings,’hesaid.At4p.m.,Kandwal,JasrotiaandJakharledtheirhitteamsintothenorthwing.

Thelackofambientlightslowedthemdown.Theymoveddeliberatelyastheycombed the rooms that led to theWasabi. Reaching the doors to theWasabikitchen, the officers positioned their men at all four entry points into therestaurant.Theystoodinthestewardingareabeforetwodoorsthatledintotherestaurant. The doorsweremade of tinted glasswith thickwooden frames. Itwasdarkinsidetherestaurant–thecommandoscouldseethemselvesreflectedintheglass.Theyheardfaintnoises.Whoeverwasinsidewasonthemoveandwascertainlynotacivilian.Theireyesfellonasix-foot-highrefrigeratorthatstoodontheside.Itwasthe

Wasabi’s ‘hot cupboard’ where the restaurant stored dishes before they wereserved at the correct room temperature. Kandwal and Jasrotia hefted it tobarricadethedoorontheright.‘Sniper Four, take a single shot,’ Jasrotia radioed Dalal. A bullet crashed

throughthewindowandslammedintothecupboard.Dalalcouldprovidethemwithcoveringfire.The commandos crept up to the door and placed awooden frame against it.

The framewas wrapped in gunny sacking. It was packed with a kilogram ofplastic explosive Kirkee, named after its ordnance factory of origin. Thecommandostrailedawirefromthedoorframeandjoinedittoa12-voltbattery.The thickwoodendoors exploded inwards.Crack!Crack!TwoAK-47bulletscameinthroughthedoors.Kandwal swore and picked up his carbine and squeezed the trigger. Bang!

Bang!Bang!Threetoe-sized9mmbrassempties tinkledonthemarblefloors.‘Howmanyarethereinside?’hethoughttohimself.‘Howmany?’Theterroristinsidewasadisciplinedshooter.Heshotoffoneortworoundsto

conserveammunition.‘Coverme,I’mgoinginside,’KandwalgesturedtoJasrotia.Twomorebullets flewoutof the restaurant. Ithit theothersideof thedoor.

Sparks ricocheted off the stone masonry. Jasrotia grabbed Kandwal. ‘Sir,’ hepointedatthebulletmarks,‘there’smorethanoneterroristinside.’Theterroristshad taken positions at opposite ends of the room. The only entrance into theWasabiwasnowafunnelofdeath.TheAK-47firecontinued.Grenadesrolleddownthefloorandexploded.The

commandos fired back and rolled grenades inside. They exploded but had noeffectontheterrorists.Thegunbattlecontinuedforanotherforty-fiveminutes.Thenoiseofthefightwasdeafening.Bulletsclangedintothekitchenutensils.

The air was thickwith the smell of cordite. The commandos scrunched brassemptieswiththeirbootsastheyracedtochangeposition.ColSheoranfollowedtheprogressofthebattleonhisradiosets.Hetookoff

hisspectaclesandgentlywipedthesweatoffthemontohisuniform.Hismindwasracingandhisscarred,stubbledfacewasapictureoffocus.BothterroristsattheOberoihadbeenkilled.ThefightatNarimanHousewasending.HehadtoterminateoperationsattheTajwithoutriskingfurthercasualties.Itwaspointlesssendingmenin–theterroristsdidnotholdhostages.Thefourterroristscouldnothavechosenabetterplacefortheirlaststand.The

TajMahalPalacewaslikeamedievalfortwithtwo-footthickstonewalls.Thenorthwingbulgedlikeasemicircularbattlementwithwindowsoverlookingtheroad.TheWasabiand theHarbourBarnestled in thesafetyof its stonewalls.Thegrenadesbeingtossedinsideseemedtohavenoeffect.Sheoran fell back on his unit’s only heavy weapon, a Carl Gustav ‘rocket

launcher’orRLthat firedmilkbottle–sizedhigh-explosiveshells.Afewwell-aimed shots from the RL would vaporize the terrorists and end the siege, hereasoned.ButDuttandSisodiaoverruledhim.Theblastwavecoulddamagethestructure.Besides,Dutt reasoned,with themediawatching, theycouldnotuseheavyweaponsagainsttheTaj.SoSheoranwentback to the taskofknockingdownthewindowsso thathis

commandoswerecoveredastheyadvancedintothebarandrestaurant.‘SniperFour, canyoudestroywindow?’Sheoran radioedDalal.The sniper team firedfourshots inquicksuccession.Thebulletscrashedintotheglass,creatingneatholes.Butthelaminatedsafetyglasswasatleast10cmthickandshatter-proof.ThePSG’sroundsonlyventilatedit.Dalalsworesilently.‘SniperFourtoSierraOne.Cannotbreakglass.Over,’Dalalradioedback.Sheoran called in the automatic grenade launcher (AGL) he had borrowed

from the local army unit. The tripod-mounted launcher spat out 30 mm anti-personnelgrenades.Eachpotato-sizedgrenadecouldkillpersonnelwithinninemetresofit.Sheoranuseditasasledgehammertodestroythewindows.ThefirstroundflewoutoftheAGLandbouncedontotheroad,wellshortof

the target.Amisfire.The fuse inside the grenadewas activated only after theprojectile had flown 75metres.A soldier ran across, casually scooped up theroundandwalkedacrosstheroadtoflingitintothesea.Sheoranthentooktheweapona littledistanceawayandaimedit.TheAGLfiredsevenmoreroundswithdeadlyaccuracy;itmadeasoundlikeamilitarydrumroll.Fourwindowswereshattered,theframeandgreencurtainshanginglimp.Dalalreportedmovementinside.Twogrenadessailedoutontotheroadfrom

twosidesoftherestaurantandexplodedontheroadoutside.Avolleyofsingle-

shotAK-47roundswasfiredtowardsthesniperandthehotellobby.At6p.m.,thefirebrigadelituptherestaurantareausinghalogenlamps.Thebattleforthebarandrestaurantragedon.TheNSGgrenadesandbullets

provedineffective.KandwalradioedSheoran.TheyneededIEDsandnotgrenades.ColMann,an

engineerofficerwiththeNSG,boundtwoHE36grenadeswithasmallslabofplasticexplosive.Itwouldtripletheeffectivenessofthegrenades,hepromised.Theexplosiveswerewrappedtogetherwithblackducttape.Manngrinnedashenotedthatthetapehad‘ISI’,fortheBureauofIndianStandards,stampedonit.Hismenmadeadozensuchgrenadesandhandedthemovertothecommandos.Sheoran, meanwhile, moved his hit team onto the seafront road outside to

prevent the terrorists from fleeing. Another hit team under Captain RyanChakravartyof theNSG’santi-hijacksquad,movedto thecentral lobbyof thefirstfloortocutofftheterrorists’exit.At 11.30 p.m., Dalal fired a few rounds to pin down the enemy. The

commandoslobbedintheirimprovisedgrenadesintothebarandtherestaurantthroughthekitchenandfromthegroundfloor.Theexplosionswere terrifying.Thewindowsofthebarandtherestaurantexplodedandshoweredtheroadwithglass. Snipers fired into theWasabi. At 2 a.m. on 29 November, small firesbegan licking through the restaurant. Jasrotiaandhiscommandosattempted toenterbutwerestoppedbyheavyfirefrominside.TheBlackCatsstartedhurlinghandgrenadesandteargasshellstocoverthe

entry ofCaptainAnil Jakhar’s hit team of five commandos.But the terroristsadvanced towards the door, firing bursts of AK-47. The exchange of firecontinued.Atthecartridge-refillingcentreinthelobby,troopersopenedbrowncartons of 9 mm bullets and refilled MP5 magazines. The magazines werecarrieduptothecommandos.Kandwal trieda forcedentry from the seconddoor.Gunfireopenedup from

multipledirections.Therewereatleastthreeterroristsinside.TheNSG’sbullets, even the improvisedgrenades, seemed tohavenoeffect.

The terroristswere entrenched behind the heavy furniture. Two of themweresheltered behind the thick pillars of the restaurant and the wooden servingcounterstheymovedintoformmakeshiftdefences.Oneterroristusedthespiralstaircasetoalternatelyfirefrombetweentheroof

of theHarbourBarand the floorof theWasabi.Thestair rungsprotectedhimfrom grenade splinters; the stone arch from bullets fired by the NSGcommandos.Thegunbattlecontinued.Itwashazardoustowalkthegranitecorridorsofthe

northwing.Athincarpetofemptycartridgecasescoveredthefloors.At6a.m.,thefightturnedintoafire.TheliquorintheHarbourBarignited.Theterroristsstartedmovingdownstairstobreakoutofthewindows.Fromtheroadadjacenttotherestaurant,Sheoranhurledseveralhandgrenades

insidetheWasabi.Fireengulfedtherestaurantandheavysmokebillowedoutofthe windows. One of the terrorists screamed from inside, ‘Rabba reham kar!(God,havemercy)’.MajorKandwal,MajorJasrotia,CaptainJakharandNaikSateSinghleaptout

ofthekitchenandontotheterraceabovetheporch.Theystartedfiringontothewindowsoftherestaurant.Tonguesofflameandathickcolumnofsmokeleaptoutof thewindows.Twoterroristsheadedfor thewindow.Kandwalsawthemcoming.HisMP5blazedatthemforafewseconds.Theyfelldownbackwards.Another terrorist in theHarbourBar tried to escape through the southernmostwindowofthebar.HewasshotthricebyMajorRoyfromthebardoor.Hefellonto the pavement outside. It was Shoaib, one of the Leopold Café gunmen.Varun Dalal saw one more terrorist sitting next to the window and coveringShoaib’sexit.Hefiredonce.Thebodyslumpeddown.Shoaib’s smoking body lay on the pavement just below the bar. Sheoran

draggedthestillburningcorpseawayanddumpeditinthecentreoftheroad.By 7 a.m., the north wing of the Taj was engulfed in smoke. Fire brigade

tenderspouredwaterintotherestaurantandbar.Anhourlater,thecommandosenteredtheburntshelloftherestaurantthatwasnowinankle-deepwater.Burnt

bodiesoftwomoreterroristswererecoveredfromthefootofthestaircase.Thebody of the fourth terrorist was however missing. A frantic search began.Kandwalpokedunderpartofafalseceilingthathadcollapsednearthewindowoftheharbourbar.HeextractedaburntAK-47,itsstockstillfolded.Beneaththeweapon was the burnt torso of Abu Umar alias Nazir, fossilized andunrecognizable.Allfourterroristshadnowbeenaccountedfor.ThesiegeoftheTajhadended.The operations, however, would continue until nightfall. Commandos, dog

squads and engineers swept both hotels for explosives. Sheoran and his menstayed awake. That evening, they had their first formal meal at the HotelPresidentinCuffeParade.There,mostcommandosslumpeddownonthetablesandpassedout.Theyhadtobecarriedaway.Aftermorethanthreecontinuousdays of operations their bodies had pronounced ‘mission accomplished’ andswitchedoff.

ActionattheOberoi

On thenight of 26/11DeepakBagla, forty-six,was late for dinner.Thedelaycost himhis reserved tablewith the seaside view at theKandahar.But it alsosaved his life. New Delhi–based director of the British international privateequityfirm3i,Baglawasdressedinbluejeans,awhitehalf-sleevedT-shirtandmonkshoes.Hewantedtounwind,afteradayofhecticbusinessmeetings,withaleisurelydinner.BaglaandMichaelQueen,hisLondon-basedchiefexecutive,had to settle for a table near the kitchen.After a repast of grilled fish, butterchicken and nan, they were waiting for the bill when they heard what theythoughtwerefirecrackers.Thenthecracklegrewlouderandseemedlikeitwaswalkingintotherestaurant.Threeminuteslater,therewerescreamsfrominsidetheKandahar.Bulletsflewaroundtheroom,hittingdinerssittingbytheseasidewindows and shattering the glass. ‘Michael!’ Bagla shouted, ‘Run!’ The duoshotpast thekitchendoors andarrivedat awinding fire escape leading to thelobby.TheyinstinctivelydecidedtogouptoBagla’ssea-facingroom1269,justtwofloorsabovetheKandahar.The firing continued. Grenade blasts reverberated like mini-earthquakes

throughtheatrium.Baglaspentafewminutescreatingabunkerintheroom.Hetook a chair and wedged it against the door, then filled the basins in thebathroomwithwaterandinstructedhiscolleaguenottousetheflushbecausethenoisecouldgivethemaway.Theycrouchedonthefloornearthebedandwaitedforhelp.

TaskForceOberoiAt9a.m.on27November,awhiteMumbaipolicejeepwithColB.S.Rathee,LtCol Sharma and Major B. Bharath barrelled down the road that led from

MantralayatowardstheOberoi–Trident.Thethreeinfantryofficersinsidewereamixture of youth and experience: the deputy force commander, Col Rathee,portlyandbespectacled,closetoretirement;LtColR.K.Sharma,whowasjustdays away from getting his commando badge; andMajorBharath, one of theNSG’smostexperiencedofficers.Bharath,fivefeetseveninches tall, leanandinpeakphysicalfitnesshadbeenintheNSGsince2006,firstastrainingofficerandlaterassquadroncommanderoftheNSG’sthirdsquadron.HehadswitchedplaceswithMajorUnnikrishnansixmonthsago.

ThethreeTaskForceOberoiofficerswerementallyprocessingtheinformationtheyhadjustreceivedfromthepoliceattheTaj.Aplanhadbeguntotakeshape.Terroristsat theOberoihad takenhostages.Theyhad tobeswiftlyneutralizedandguestsrescued.Itsoundeddeceptivelysimple.TheirtroopershadassembledattheMantralaya,theonlysecuregovernmentbuildinginthevicinity.The jeep turned left and halted in front of the Air India building. This was

where the police had set up camp and where Police Commissioner HasanGafoor’sofficialvehiclewasparked.Thepolicehad tiedayellowplastic ropeacross theMarine Drive to block traffic. Behind this flimsy barrier stood thesurging media line and the rows of tripod-mounted cameras. TV camerascaptured the three NSG officers getting a situation report from the police. ItwouldbetheironlyglimpseoftheTaskForceOberoi.AdditionalCommissionerofPolice (SouthRegion)K.Venkateshamhadmoved themedia lines back tonearlyhalfakilometreawayfromtheOberoi.Venkatesham now briefed the NSG officers. The terrorists holed up in the

OberoihadtargetedthepoliceandmarinecommandoswithAK-47fireandhandgrenades, he said. They had shot guests and taken some of them as hostages.They didn’t seem to be in the Trident, the officer told them, they weresomewhereintheOberoi.‘ThisistheTrident…’Venkateshamsaidpointingatthebuildings,‘andthatistheOberoi…therest,youknowwhattodo.’Major Bharath looked up at themassive hotel complex in some frustration.

Thisintelligencewasinsufficienttoplananoperation.Thencameanunexpectedbreakthrough. A six-foot-tall young man in jeans and a yellow checked shirtwalkeduptoBharathandintroducedhimself.HewasCaptainAnuragGrover,anofficer from the21st regimentof theParachuteRegiment’sSpecialForces.The twenty-seven-year-old captain was on long leave, just days away fromgetting his formal discharge from the army. He was doing a businessmanagementcourseinMumbaiandhadboardedalocaltrainandrushedtothespotwhenhehadheardoftheattackthepreviousnight.Hewantedtoensurehisfriend,CaptainBhupendraDhamankar,aretiredSpecialForcesofficeronduty

atthehotel,wassafe.Hewas.Theyoungcaptainwasoneofthethreeassistantsecurity officers who worked under Nagmote. Tonight, he was glued to fourCCTVscreensinthesecurityroominthebasementofthehotel.Onthebankofscreens,DhamankarandGroverplayedbackthenoiselessbuthorrificfootage:attackers walking into the Trident armed with AK-47s, mowing down hotelguests and staff in their path, as they headed down a long corridor linedwithshowrooms that led into the Oberoi. The footage ended there. There were noCCTVcamerasintheOberoi.Therewere two terrorists,Grover toldBharath,and theyhadheaded into the

Oberoi. ‘Theyareupstairs, somewhereon thenineteenthfloor,’hesaid. ‘Theyaredroppinggrenadesintotheatrium,’hesaid.GroverthenwhippedhisphoneoutandshowedthegrimscreenshotsofFahadullahandAbdulRehmanwalkingacrossthelobby,assaultriflesinhand.ThispreciseinputhelpedtheNSGintwoways: it told themwhat theirenemy looked likeandconfirmed that theywereindeed in theOberoi.Now, the commandos could focus their attention on thesmaller hotel. The commandos would attempt a stealthy entry into the hotel.SharmainstructedthehotelauthoritiestodisconnectthecableTVconnections.HedidnotwanttheterroriststoknowtheNSGhadarrived.Bharat sought a quickwordwithColRathee. ‘Sir,’ he requested the deputy

forcecommander,‘theterroristwilldieeithertodayortomorrow,butdon’trushmeintotheoperation.Letmedoitcalmly.Iwanttocarrybackalltheseforty-nineboys.’ColRatheeknewtherequestcamefromoneofthe51SAG’smostexperienced

officers. ‘Do the operation the way you want to do it,’ he said. For the nextforty-two hours, the colonel was a benign presence, letting his two officersconducttheoperations.Meanwhile,Nagmote,thehotel’schiefsecurityofficer,hadsenthisdeputyto

meettheNSGwiththehotelblueprints.RajeshKadam,twenty-eightyearsold,an athletic six-footer, ElphinstoneCollege’s star striker inBombayUniversityvolleyballmatches,woreablackshirt,khakhi-colouredcargopantsandbrown

leathershoesashecrossedtheroadandheadedfortheroadsidewherethepolicebrass had assembled. He was one of the hotel’s three assistant chief securityofficers whoworked in eight-hour shifts. He also doubled up as a fire safetyofficer,whichcontinuedthefamilytradition:hisfatherwasafiremanpostedintheColabafirestationandwouldhavebeendousingfiresattheTajhadhenotbeenawayatthefamilyvillageinSindhudurgDistrict,thatweek.Kadam,wholivedwith his parents in theColabamarket area, rushed back towork after afranticcallfromhisboss,CommanderNagmote.Hemetthesecuritychiefinthelobby of the hotel and heard the gunfire. He thought it was a liquor-fuelledbrawl,butonlyforamoment.Kadamknewthesoundoffirearms.Hehadfired.303sandSLRsinhisfiveyearsofNCCtraininginschoolandcollege.TheAK-47sandgrenadeblaststoldhimsomethingwasterriblywrong.The two unarmed hotel staffers had attempted to help the security forces

breachtheOberoithepreviousnight.Ataround2a.m.,NagmoteescortedeightmarinecommandosuptothepoolleveloftheTrident.KadamdirectedadozenAnti-TerroristSquadpersonnelupthefireescapeattheOberoitowardstheotherswimmingpoolonthesamelevel.TheterroristshurledgrenadesandfiredattheATSpersonnelfromabove,thesoundsoftheblastsamplifiedbytheatrium.TheATSandtheMARCOSwereforcedtogiveuptheirrescueattempt.Rajeshthendidthenextbestthing.Heescortedtheshakenhotelgueststoan

assembly point themanagement had created at a nearby shoppingmall.Now,nearlytwelvehoursafterthemayhemhadbegun,hewascomposedashewalkeduptothecommandosandintroducedhimself.Thecommandos,however,hadnotimetositandunderstandthedetailed,carefullyrolledupdrawingsthatRajeshbroughtwithhim.Theoperationshadtobeginimmediately.‘Getus to the rooftop,’Sharmasaidbluntly.So, theyoungofficerexplained

theaccesspoints to theroof.TheTridenthadthreeumbilicalconnectionswiththeOberoi:atthelobbylevel,atthepoollevel,andaroutethatnotmanyknew–from the basement two floors below the ground. The terrorists had used thelobby-levelstairstoentertheOberoiandhadalsogonetothepoolside.Thefire

escapethatbeganonthepoollevel,Rajeshtoldthem,wastheonlysaferoutetogoupstairs.The ten-storeyed Oberoi hotel was the group’s flagship luxury brand in

Mumbai.ItstoodsandwichedbetweentheTridentandtheNCPATowers,bothofwhichweretwenty-onestoreystall.TheOberoi’sfloorcountbeganfromthe‘tenth’flooronthepoollevel,sothehotel’stwenty-firstfloorwasreallyonlyitstenthfloor.Likemosthotels,itdidn’thaveathirteenthfloor.As Rajesh accompanied the fifty commandos, Sharma realized he was

indispensable.‘It’sacomplexenvironment,’SharmatoldRajeshastheywalkeddown towards the basement. ‘If it’s OK,wewant you to accompany us.’ HecouldnotforceRajeshtoputhislifeontheline.Rajeshgavehimalookofincredulity.‘Don’tworry,’Bharaththumpedhimonhisback,‘wewillprotectyou.’Ifthefireofficerhadanyfearsofhissafety,theyevaporatedwhenhelooked

aroundattheteamofheavilyarmed,maskedcommandosinfullbattlegearandblackbalaclavasdrawnovertheirfaces.Sharma’swalkie-talkiecrackledashewasconvincingKadamtogowiththem.

His task force had arrived. He walked back to the Trident driveway to meetthem.Unseen by themedia, Sharma notedwith satisfaction.A perfect stealthentry.Thetroopersalightedfromtheirvehicleandfellin.TherewasCaptainKaramjeetSinghYadav,anartilleryofficerwhohadbeen

intheNSGforeighteenmonths.CaptainA.K.Singh,leanandbespectacled,wasin charge of the four-man sniper detachment. The commandos wereaccompaniedbyMajorSaurabhShah,ColRathee’sstaffofficerfromtheNSG’sforce headquarters. Sharma quickly passed his orders. The commandos werehanded out one photograph each of the two terrorists. These had beenthoughtfully printed out by Captain Grover. The fifty Task Force Oberoicommandosweredividedintotwoteamsoftwenty-fiveeach:TeamAunderLtColSharmaandTeamBunderMajorB.Bharath.CaptainA.K.Singhandhisthree-mansniperdetachment,meanwhile,crossed

the road towards theNCPATowers thatovershadowed theOberoi.From theirperches on this twenty-one-storey building, the snipers would cover thecommandos.Sharmaknew room interventionwouldplay amajorpart in theoperation. It

calledforsplit-secondjudgement,especiallywhenterroriststookshelterbehindhostages.Hecouldnotaffordmistakes.He told theofficers topersonally leadtheroominterventionteams.MajorShahvolunteeredtoleadoneof theteams.Timewasoftheessence.Thecommandoshadtogettotheterroristsbeforetheykilledtheirhostages.TheplanwasforbothteamstowalkuptotheroofoftheOberoi.Fromthere,

they would start the hazardous task of clearing over 300 rooms one by one.Three hit teams under Major Bharath, Major Saurabh Shah and CaptainKaramjeet SinghYadavwere quickly formed.CaptainA.K. Singh had ‘sited’threesnipersinanNCPATowersflatfacingtheOberoi.Exactlyayearbefore,afour-bedroomapartmentherehadsoldforarecord340millionrupees.Now,itwas the only available perch from where snipers could cover the hotel. Notwantingtomissoutontheaction,CaptainSinghhadcomebackintotheOberoiandaskedColRatheeforpermissiontoleadahouseinterventionteam.Hewasnowgivenchargeofa fourthhit team.LtColSharmawould lead the fifthhitteamwhenroominterventionbeganinside.Fromhis cabin in thehotelbasement,CommanderSushilNagmotecalled in

four of his security staff to tell the guests the commandoswere coming. Thesecurityguardshadtodialthephonesinalltheroomsandfindoutwhethertheywereoccupied.‘Letthephoneringfivetimes,ifthere’snoresponse,moveontothe next room,’ he told them in his gravelly voice. The guests were givenNagmote’s phone numbers and asked to speak with him. Over the next fewhours, they established contact with guests in twenty-five rooms. Fortunately,fewerthanhalfofthe320roomsoftheOberoihadbeenoccupiedthepreviousnight.Amajorityoftheguestsweretouringthecitywhentheterroristsstruck.Afewhadheardthegrenadeblastsandfled.Onlyahandfulofguestsremained–

buttheirliveswereinveryrealdanger.Nagmoteexplainedthesituationtotheguests inthetwenty-fiverooms.NSG

commandosareinthehotel,hetoldthem.‘Theyarecomingtorescueyou.Theyarewearingblackdungarees.Lettheminafterverifyingfromthepeephole.’Headvisedthegueststolieonthefloornexttothebed.Theywouldnotrunoutofdrinkingwater,heassured them. ‘Thewater in thebathroom is refinedbyourfiltrationplants.It’sbetterthanmineralwater.’

Nearly twohoursafterhehadfirstseen thehotels,MajorBharath,MP5inhisright hand, gingerly opened the door of the faintly lit stairwell. The hotel’semergency fire exit spiralled up to the twenty-first floor.Behind himwereLtCol Sharma and the commandos. They didn’t know this was the route theterrorists had taken as they climbed up the hotel in search of hostages thepreviousnight.Thecommandosswitchedoff their radio setsandclimbed to the roof slowly

and deliberately. The hit teams leapfrogged each other. One teammoved up,heldonesideofthestairsandcoveredthecorridorwiththeirweapons.Then,thenextteammovedupahead.Allthefire-escapedoorshadpushbars,whichmeantthat they could be openedonly from the hotel corridor, not the fire escape.Aforce sneaking up the fire escapewould have no option but to break the doordownandgiveitselfaway.Ontheseventeenthfloor,thecommandossawacrackinthefireescapedoor.

It was slightly ajar, wide enough to stick a knife blade in. Sharma thoughtspeedily.Hedirected twocommandos tostandguard. ‘Until theentirecolumnmovesup,shootanythingthatcomesthroughhere,’hetoldthem.A macabre trail led the commandos to the spot of the previous night’s

slaughter. At first they saw scattered bullet holes on the ceiling of the stairs.‘Strange,’Sharmathoughttohimself,‘wasthereafirefightonthestairs?’Thena pair of broken spectacles. A shoe. A lady’s slipper. A silk scarf. It all led

upstairs. The commandos slowed down, then stopped altogether when theylookedup.Abloodiedhandhunglimplyfromthestaircase.They had reached the twenty-first floor. It opened to a two-level elevator

machineryroom.Thestairstelescopedintoanironladderbarelyfourfeetwideand six feet long. There were rivulets of blood running down from the stairsabove.Sixbodieswereheapedontopofeachother.Theterroristshadexecutedtheirhostagesfrompoint-blankrange.Therewerebulletholesonthewall,andbulletshadknockedthelightbulbout.The door to the roofwas locked. The commandos did notwant to blast the

door down andgive away their arrival.They decided to try another route andreturnedtotheopendoorontheseventeenthfloor.Rajeshshowedtheteamsthewayinthroughthedoorandontotheguestfloor.They now had a view of the Oberoi’s pièce de résistance: the cavernous

polygonal atrium. Over thirty rooms per floor were wrapped around thisvertiginous space. The fibreglass skylight let natural light into the atrium.Standingthere,thelayoutofthehotelbecameclearertothecommandos.Ifyoutreatedtheatriumasthefaceofaclock,therewerethreeentrypointsontoeachfloor:fireexitstairsatfiveandteno’clockandasetofservicestairsbehindtheelevatorsateighto’clock.Rajeshhadledthemupthefireescapeatteno’clock.Now the commandos moved clockwise around the corridor and circled theatriumas theyheaded for theservicestairsateighto’clock that ledstraight totherooftop.Therewasaneerie,muffledsilenceintheatrium,thesilencethatterrorandthe

fearofdeathcanbring.Nothingelsewasoutofplace.All thepolishedbrowndoorsthatledtotheroomswereshut.Eachfloorhadathree-foot-highwallthatranaroundthecentralspace,madealternatelyofbrickandglasspartitions, thelatterhavingtubularbrassbalustrades.Thecommandoslookedacrossthefloor.Theycouldseemostoftheroomson

their levelandbelow.Ina tacticalsituation,suchacommandingviewlevelledtheplayingfieldbetweenthemandtheterrorists.Theblackfiguresfiledquietly

alongonthered-carpetedfloor,brieflymergingwiththeblackgranitecladdingof the elevator area.A fewminutes later they had entered the daylight of therooftop.Thecommandosscouredtherooftopforpotentialthreats.Thediscoveryofthe

bodies lent further urgency to the operation. Room intervention operationswouldneed to starton the twenty-first floor immediately. ‘Ihope therearenoRubaiyas in theserooms,’MajorBharath thought tohimselfashe ledhismendownstairs,fingersaroundhisMP5.‘Rubaiya’ was a special three-foot-high red-and-blue target the NSG

commandospractisedtheirshootingskillsonatManesar:acommandoshotthered outline of a gun-wielding terrorist who held the blue outline of ‘RubaiyaSayeed’, thedaughterof formerhomeministerMuftiMohammadSayeed.ShehadbeenkidnappedbyKashmirisecessionistsin1989andreleasedinexchangeforfivejailedterrorists,beforetheNSGcouldrescueher.Every commando fired over 2,000 rounds in training at the NSG’s firing

ranges,andallofthemdreadedtheRubaiya.AmongtheNSG’stoughest tests,which called for split-second decision-making skills. One wrong move couldjeopardize a rescue mission. One wrong shot at the blue target meant acommandohadfailedhistest.AttheOberoi,onlytheofficerswouldmakethiscall.Theyknewthisastheywalkeddownstairstothetwenty-firstfloor.

Roominterventionstartedfromonesideofthefloor.Commandostookpositioncoveringthethreeentrancesthatledintothefloor.Thehouseinterventionteamsmoved into rooms that were opened with the master key that Rajesh carried.AmongtheroomstheysearchedwastheRs250,000-a-nightKohinoorSuitethathad hosted Bill Clinton and Michael Jackson. Now the commandos walkedinsideandsweptthemassivesuitewiththeirMP5s,searchingthedrawingroom,bathroomsandattachedspa.However,thecommandosquicklyrealizedthatthemasterkeycouldopenonly

asinglelock.Mostguestshaddouble-lockedtheirrooms.Itwasuselesscallingonguestphones.Nobodybelievedthem.TheBlackCatsstoodoutsideandknockedonthedoorstonoavail.‘Openup

please,wearethepolice.Wehavecometohelp.’ThemessagewasrepeatedinHindiandEnglish.Thedoorswerealmostneveropened.Attimestheyhadtobeblasteddown.Onthetwentiethfloor,thecommandostriedopeningthedoortoaroom. Itwas locked from inside.Theycouldhearmuffledvoices fromwithin.Thecommandosaffixedasmall4-grampatchofPEK,onthedoorandblastedthelock.Thentheykickedthedooropenandtossedastungrenadeinside,whichwentoffwithadeafeningcrackandflash.Sharmaandthecommandosenteredwith theirMP5s cocked. A shell-shocked guest stood in the corner. His eyesbulgedinhorrorashesawamaskedmaninblackoverallsmoveinhisdirection.Hebeganshakingwithfear.‘Whyweren’tyouresponding,sir?’Sharmaaskedthe guest, lowering the balaclava from hismouth to speak. The guest did notreply, but the officer saw the answer in themirror.Amasked, heavily armedman in blackwas hardly reassuring to frightened survivors. Sharma rolled hismaskup.Itwouldstaytherefortherestoftheoperation.‘Isn’tthereakeythatcanopenbothlocks,’anexasperatedColRatheeasked

Rajesh.Thedeputy force commanderhadbeen following the commandosat asafedistanceas theycleared rooms.Hewasworriedat the time itwas taking.The hotel had only one such key, Rajesh knew, but it was with the generalmanager, Mohit Nirula. He agreed to fetch it. The young fire officer dialledNirulaashesprinteddown.TheGMtoldhimthemasterkeywasinthebedroomofhisapartmentonthetwenty-fifthflooroftheTrident.So,Rajeshranbackupthe stairs of the Trident, used a master key to open the GM’s apartment andlocated the special metal master key with twin magnetic strips. When hereturned nearly an hour later, the commandos had two master keys. Two hitteams were formed with the keys. The rescue operations continued. Theyperfectedadrill toclear rooms.One teamwouldopen the room,but leave thekeyoutsideandgointosearchtheroom.Theotherteamwouldtakethekeyand

goontothenextroom.‘Sniper,shiftone,’Bharathspokeintohiswalkie-talkie.Thiswasthesignalfor

the snipers at the NCPA Towers tomove one floor below. Frightened guestswerekeptinasecuredroominthecornerofthefloor,closest toafireescape.They were moved downstairs with the commandos after a floor had beencleared.Bharath locked thedozenguests inside andgave thema code.Theywere to

open only if they heard one sharp knock on the door followed by three rapidknocks and the password ‘commandos, open up’. They were calmed down,offeredfood,waterandchocolatestakenfromtheminibar.Operations on the twentieth and nineteenth floors proceeded without event.

TheyenteredtheroomwiththeirMP5sraisedandlevelledahead,fingersonthetrigger.Theythenmovedfromcornertocornertosweeptheroom,alwaysundertheassumptiontherewereterroristsineachroom.Theycheckedthedoors, thespace under the beds, the curtains behind the panoramic slidingwindows andfinally thebathrooms,before theygave the rooma clear sign.Each300-sq. ftroomhadabathroomtotherightofthedoor.Thebathtubinsidelayparalleltothe corridor.Therewas a double bed, aminibar, a study table, three chairs, asofa and a centre table and a 21-inch flat screen television. The commandosdrew the curtains over thewindows to indicate the room had been cleared. Ittookthemfivetotenminutestocleareachroom.On a narrow passage behind the elevators on the nineteenth floor, the

commandosdiscovered thebodiesof threewomenhostages.Oneof themwasLoHweiYen, theSingaporean lawyer.Thebodiesof the threewomen layontheirsideandformedatriangle.Bharathhaltedhismenasheradioedthepoliceonhisset.‘Pleasesendpolicementothenineteenthfloor.Over.’Afewminuteslater, two police officers cautiouslywalked up to the commandos. ‘We foundthem,’ Bharath pointed at the bodies. ‘We have not fired a single shot.’ Thepolicemenregardedhimwithbefuddlement.Wasthiswhytheyhadbeencalledallthewayupinaterrorist-infestedhotel?‘Sa’ab,aapjobhikarrahehain…

theekhai(whateveryouaredoingisright),’theysaidanddepartedhastily.Theydidnotmovethebodiesforfearofboobytraps.Onthesamenineteenthfloor,thecommandoscameupagainstalockedroom.

From the NCPA Towers, the snipers recorded movement inside the room.‘Humko andar movement deekh raha hai,’ the snipers radioed in. Thecommandos fixed a25-gramslabof explosiveon the lock. It explodedwith aloudbang,cuttinga rectangle into thedoor.The teamstreamed into theroom.‘Commandos…headsdown,handsup,’oneofthemcalledastheyenteredtheroom. Inside was an elderly Australian couple shaken but relieved to see thecommandos.Theyweresafelyescortedtotheholdingsuiteonthatfloor.Rajesh,meanwhile,receivedacallfromCommanderNagmoteinthesecurity

room. A guest in a room on the fourteenth floor wanted his blood pressuremedicine.Rajeshrandownthehoteltothesecurityroominthebasement.Thehotelhadkeptthemedicineinawhiteenvelope.Heranbackupthestairsandknocked on the door. The guest opened the door just a crack, grabbed themedicine and shut the door. He did not want to leave his room, evidentlybecausehewastooscared.The commandos thenwalkeddown to the eighteenth floor. Itwas 5.30 p.m.

They had swept over ninety rooms and rescued ten guests so far. Theirmovements were now fine-tuned to drill-like perfection. They had added avariationinthedoor-openingdrill.AssoonastheLED(LightEmittingDiode)intheautomaticlockbeepedgreen,theofficerwouldshovethedoorwideopenand point his weapon ahead into the room. This move would startle anyonehidingbehindthedoor.Fourhitteamsswiftlymovedtothestaircasesandstoodguard.Thefloorwas

secured.ThesprightlyMajorSaurabhShah led fourcommandos tocommenceroom-clearingoperations.Exhaustionhadbegunsettingin.Bharathhadenteredroom1857andcleared

it.Hethenhandedoutplumsfromafruitbasketandsmallbottlesofwaterlyinginsidetheroom.Thecommandospouredthewaterdowntheirparchedthroats.

Thereweretworoomstotheleftoftheelevatorandatthecornerofthefloor.Room1856,likeanyotherroom,hadabrownwoodendoorwithanovalbrassnumberplate. It stoodat theheadofanarrowpassagewhich led to fiveotherrooms – 1851 through 1855 – that were hidden from view behind the guestelevators.MajorShahdrewthemasterkeyoutofhispocketandinserteditintothekey

slot.ThetinyLEDlightonthedoorlockblinked,turnedgreenandbeeped.Shahthen shoved the door forward. Crack! Crack! Crack! A burst of three AK-47bulletshammeredthebottomofthedoor.Fahadullahhadbeenstandingbehindthedoor,his rifle readyandcocked.Shahhadstartledhim.AsFahadullahfellback, his bullets punched and splintered the door.A bullet grazedShah’s toe.The sound of the shots rippled across the atrium. Instinctively, all thecommandos on the floor spread out and took cover, standingwith their backspressed to thewalls. ‘CharlieFour toTeamLeader,havemadecontact,’Shahshoutedintohisradioset.Theshootinghadstarted.Thefiveofficerscoveredvariouspartsofthepolygonalfloor.CaptainYadav

and two hit teams covered the area closest to the bank of elevators near theroom;Major Shah stood in the corridor to the right; CaptainA.K. Singh andMajor Bharath covered the corridor across the atrium; and Lieutenant ColSharma,thefarendoftheliftcorridor.AlltheirweaponspointedatRoom1856.Fahadullah andAbdulRehman fired theirAK-47s, the bulletswhistling and

crackingacrossthecorridorastheybrokethesoundbarrier.Acrosstheatrium,Rajesh andMajor Bharath took shelter behind a four-foot-high wooden tableusedtoholdflowers.Intermittently,theyraisedtheirheadstofireafewshotsatthe room.Just then,Bharathheard thecrackofabulletas itwhizzedpastandfeltthesensationofahardslap.Thebullethadsplithisearintwo.Hisearwentnumb.Bloodpouredontohisblackuniform.Bharathcuppedhislefthandoverhisear,itwasfilledwithblood.‘Bharath!’A.K.Singhwhispered,‘khoonbehrahahai(you’rebleeding).’

‘Abbey, khoon nahin toh kya paani niklega (What, you think I’ll bleedwater?),’hesaiddrily.Withthat,Bharathpulledoutawhitefield-dressingpackoutofhispocketandput itonhisear.Thewhitebandageswerequicklyfilledwith blood. He neededmedical attention to stop the bleeding, and so walkeddown to the lobby, hand cupping the ear. Saurabh Shah volunteered toaccompanyhim.Meanwhile,thefusilladeofbulletsfromtheroomhadbentthebrassbalustrade

andshatteredtheglassbelowit.Theterroristswerecornered,buttheywouldnotgo down without a fight. They opened the door of the room to fire and tossgrenades at the commandos. Their ‘fire discipline’ surprised the commandos.The two men inside fired only single shots and they kept ‘jockeying’ orswitching their firingposition.Two shots rarely came from the same location.Their roomwasadefender’sdelight, anaturalpillbox thathadevidentlybeenchosenwithcare.Itwassetinthecornerofacorridor,protectedbythebulgeofthe elevators on the right. The doorwas set at least four feet inside thewall,protectedbytheroomsontheleft.Thecommandos,ontheotherhand,hadarestrictedfieldoffire.Rajesh,who

hadtakencover,understoodwhytheterroristshadchosentheOberoiandnottheTrident for the siege. The Oberoi, with its atrium and multiple exits, offeredthemmanymoreoptionstodobattlewiththesecurityforces.WithBharathandSaurabhShahgone,CaptainA.K.Singhcrawleduptowards

theroom.Agrenadeflewoutoftheroominhisdirection.Itexplodedintheair.Onesteelsplinterhithislefteye.Bloodgushedoutofthewound.Singhcuppedhiseyeandgrittedhisteethinpain.Helostsightinthateye.SubedarDigRamandHavildarVikramshotoutofcoverandrushedhimdownstairs formedicalattention.Asecondofficerhadbeeninjured.Itwasnowpast6p.m.anddarknesshadseton thecity.TheOberoihadno

lighting.Itsloweddowntheoperation.Sharmadecidedtoblastopenthedoorofthe room that the terroristswere inaposition toopenatwill.Hecalled in theengineercommandosanddirectedCaptainYadavtoprovidethemwithcovering

fire.CaptainYadav crawled close to 1856. From here, he provided cover fire to

engineer commandos who placed the charge on the door of the room. Anexplosion partially splintered the door. As soon as the door was breached,CaptainYadavclosedinandlobbedgrenadesintotheroom.Therewasanear-splittingexplosion.Thefiringfromwithintheroomsubsided.Thecommandoskeptlobbingstungrenadesintotheroom.The firefight between the commandos and terrorists gainedmomentum. The

dullsubsonicsoundsoftheMP5,likeacoconuthittingthefloorversustheAK-47’sfirecrackersound.Thesoundsechoedthroughtheatrium.Inthehotel,theremainingguestscoweredinfear.

Intheirroomonthetwelfthfloor,BaglaandMichaelQueenheardawomancallfor help. The muffled cries continued through the day, grew progressivelyweakerand finally stopped.BaglahadkepthisBlackberrychargedandwithinreach.Itwashislifelinetotheoutsideworld–hiswifeandtwosonsinDelhi.On themorningof 27November, heweptwhenhe calledhis parents inNewDelhiandwhisperedtothemthathewastrappedinMumbai.Aliveandsafe.HismotherUmaBagladroppedthephoneinshockwhensheheardwherehewas.His father, S.P. Bagla, a deeply spiritual seventy-five-year-old retired IASofficer,wasphilosophic:‘Godwillbewithyou.Hewillprotectyou.’BaglaandQueenalreadyfearedtheworstwhentheirTVsethadgoneonthe

blinkthatmorning.HotelsecurityhadheededtheNSG’sadviceandsnappedthecable connections. Their phones, where messages poured in from friends andfamily, were their only lifelines. Friends kept round-the-clock vigil for Baglanearthehotelandheldprayermeets.Inthedarkenedroom,thetwocolleaguesspokeinwhispersabouttheirfamilies,mortalityandwhattheycouldhavedonetoprepareforeventualitieslikethese.Bharath,meanwhile, crossed the hotel lobby that smelt of stale air of death

mixed with air freshener. The bodies had been removed, but the signs ofviolence,theblackpoolsofbloodontheredgranitefloor,wereeverywhere.Hewalked into an ambulance parked outside the hotel. A team of ten medicalassistantsfussedoverhisear.‘Wewillhavetostitchyourearup,’adoctorsaidgrimly.‘Sixstitches.’‘Sixstitches?’theofficeraskedincredulously.‘Likeembroidery?Patchitup,I

needtogobackup.’WithBharath’sleftearswathedinwhitebandages,heandShahwalkedbackupthefireescape.Inthestairwell,ShahandBharathheardfootstep-likesounds.Klump…klump

…Theycrouchedinthecorridoranddrewtheirweapons.Thefireescapewasdark.Bharathpulledouthiswalkie-talkieandusedtheglowofitsscreentoreadthe floor number. Itwas the fourteenth floor.Bharath peeped out, pointed hiscarbineoutandsmiled.Itwasthesoundofwaterdropletsseepingfromthetopfloorsontothecarpetsbelow.Theofficerscontinuedtheirtrudgeupthestairs.ColRatheewaswaitingforhim.‘Bharath,there’saseniorofficerontheline

whowants to speak to you.’ The young officer put thewalkie-talkie over hisrightear.ItwasMajorGeneralHooda,theGOCwhowascallingtheNSGfromthecommunicationscentretheyhadsetupinthehotellobby.‘Sir,Iamthesquadroncommanderinchargeofoperations…pass.’‘Son,’MajorGeneralHooda’svoice,lacedwithconcernevenoverthecrackle

oftheradio,cameon,‘whatisthesituation?’‘Sir,wehavebeen able to establish contact…wewill be able to neutralize

them…pass.’‘Son,it’saround5.30p.m.…canItellthemediathatyouwillbethroughwith

theoperationsby7p.m.?’Bharatgrittedhisteethhard.‘Sir,’hesaidslowly,‘thereareelevenfloors…

thirty-two roomson each floor…wewill not stop tillwe have cleared all ofthem…pleasedon’tbesurprisediftheoperationcontinuesfortwodays.Out.’With that,hewentback into the fight. Juniorofficersdon’tgenerally ‘out’a

seniorofficer.Thepolitewordis‘over’.TheGOChadstruckarawnerve.

Thecommandoskeptfiringatthedoortokeeptheterroristsfrombreakingout.Buttheybeganrunninglowonammunition.SharmasentMajorBharath–nowreturned, with what looked like a cauliflower on his left ear – to fetchammunition and an unusual item: Molotov cocktails. The Molotov cocktailsimprovisedbythelocalmilitaryunit–beerbottlesfilledwithamixtureoffueloil andpetrol–couldbeacrudebuteffectivewayofburningdown thedoor.When his officer returned an hour later, he handed the Molotov cocktail toCaptainYadavandaskedhimto toss it inside.CaptainYadavlit thewickandflung it at the door. The cocktail crashed through the gap in the door and setRoom1856onfire.Thecurtainsobscuringtheviewfromtherearburntaway.Black smoke billowed out of the room.The fire also triggered off the hotel’ssprinkler system.Water spurted out of spouts in the ceiling, extinguishing thefire and giving a clear view of the room to the snipers positioned at NCPATowers.The NSG’s snipers from the NCPA Towers began firing their aimed single

shots at Fahadullah and Abdul Rehman. The two terrorists, rushed into thebathroomforshelter.Thecommandoslobbedmoregrenadesintotheroombuttheseproved ineffective.The terroristshadahideawaywithinahideaway: thebathroom. They now opened the faucets in the bathroom. Water filled thebathtub,spreadoutintotheroomandgushedintothecorridoroutside.Meanwhile, the two terrorists had a conversation with their handlers in

Pakistan. It came about in an interesting manner. Lisa Ringner, a Swedishnational and a nursing student inMumbai’sK.B.BhabhaMunicipalHospital,hadbeenstayinginRoom1856.Shehadbeenalertedbyshotsfiredthepreviousevening and fled the hotel. The move saved her life. But she had left hercellphonebehindintheroom.FahadullahnowusedthephonetocallWasi,hishandlerinPakistan.Thehandlermotivatedhischargetokeepfighting.Wasi:Themannerof yourdeathwill instil fear in theunbelievers.This is a

battlebetween Islamand theunbelievers.Keep looking foraplace todie.Keepmoving.

Fahadullah:Insha’allah.Wasi:You’reveryclosetoheavennow.Onewayoranotherwe’veallgot togothere.Youwillberememberedforwhatyou’vedonehere.Fighttilltheend.Stretchitoutaslongaspossible.

Thefirefightandthewaterhadturnedtheareaaroundtheroomintoaslushypuddle.Thegrenadeblastsknockedthelightfittingsoutinfrontoftheroomandliftarea.TheysmashedtheplasterofParisfalseceilingtorevealathickmassofblack electrical cables.CableTV routers andwires hung limply like creepers.The corridor filled with half an inch of water, turning the red carpet into asoakingbog.Thecommandosnowplannedtoblowtheouterbathroomwall.P.V.Manesh

anengineercommandowastaskedwithplantinganexplosive.Ashecrouchedandplacedachargeonthebathroomwall,oneoftheterroristsflungagrenadeathim. The grenade exploded onManesh’s head. It tore his steel helmet. Steelfragmentsfromtheshatteredhelmetdugintohisskull.Maneshstaggeredtothecorridor and fell. Captain Yadav pulled the wounded commando away to thesafetyofanotherpartofthecorridor.Manesh’sinjuriesseemedgrievous;itdidnotlooklikehewouldsurvive.Therewasatemporarypauseinoperationsasthecommandostendedtheirwoundedcomrade.Thecommandoshad,however,killedoneof the terrorists.At around8p.m.

Indian intelligence agencies intercepted a phone conversation betweenFahadullahandWasi.Wasi:Howareyou,mybrother?Fahadullah(soundingweak):PraiseGod.BrotherAbdulRehmanhaspassedaway.

Wasi:Really?Ishenearyou?Fahadullah:Yeah,he’snearme.Wasi:MayGodaccepthismartyrdom.

Fahadullah:Theroomisonfire.I’msittinginthebathroom.Wasi: Don’t let them arrest you. Don’t let them knock you out with a stungrenade.Thatwouldbe verydamaging.Fireoneof yourmagazines, thengrab theotheroneandmoveout.Thesuccessofyourmissiondependsonyourgettingshot.

Itwas half pastmidnight on28November.Electricity to the hotel hadbeenrestored. The lights burnt weakly through the corridors. Room 1856 and itsvicinityresembledacoalpit.Thefirehadcharredthewhitewashedwallsaroundthe room.The corridorwas indistinguishable from the black granite facade oftheelevators.Sharmawasonguardat the fireexitnear fiveo’clock.HavildarSomappaKedariandRajeshKadamwerewithhim.Rajeshsatonthefloor,hislong legs stretched out on the carpet. A four-foot-high housekeeping trolleystoodnexttohim.Hewasdazed.Thefiringandexplosionshadnumbedhim.ItwasthethoughtofseeinghiswifeSujata,thensevenmonthspregnantwiththeirfirst child, that kept him going. Sharma took stock of the situation. Fourcommandos were injured, two of them severely. His force on the eighteenthfloorhadthinnedout.Hehadtoregroupandlaunchanotherassaultontheroom.ThenashortburstofAKfireechoedthroughtheatrium.Itwasdifficulttotell

the source but the gunfire did not come fromwithin the room. It was in theatrium.‘Who’sfiring?’Sharmawondered.WasitthemarinecommandosortheMumbaipolice?Hadoneofhiscommandoscrackedunderpressure?Therewasasecondburst.This timeveryclose towherehestood.Thebulletsdrilled thewallandblastedoutpuffsofwhitedust.‘Abbeypaagalhogayahaikya?(Idiot,have you gonemad?),’ Sharma yelled as he darted back into the corridor forcover.Thefigurefiredagain,thistimefromwithinthenarrownicheoftheelevator

door.Stillunsureabouttheidentityoftheshooter,SharmaraisedhisMP5,butHavildarSomappaKedariheldhimback. ‘Sahab,’heshoutedfrantically. ‘Themanisinblack.Itcouldbeourcommando.’Thefigurecontinuedtofireandmovetowardsthem.Sharmashotaglanceout

ofhiscover.ItwasFahadullah.Hehadtakenadvantageofthelullinthefightingandbrokenoutof theroom,determinedtoshoothiswayout.Sharma’s thumbslipped hisMP5 selector to a three-round burst. Sharma aimed and fired twoquickbursts.TheMP5rattled.Fahadullahwashit intheleg.Hestaggeredandlimped back towards the elevators. Enraged, Fahadullah screamed, ‘Chhupchhup kewahan se kyamaar raha hain, agar dumhain to saamne aakar lad(Whydoyoushoothiddenthere.Ifyoudare,comeoutandfight).’Sharmashoutedback:‘Agartujhmezyaadadumhaitotusaamanekyonnahi

aata?(Ifyou’resostrong,whydon’tyoucomeforward?)’A tense stand-off ensued. Both held their positions. Sharma had run out of

ammunition.Hehad tostop themilitant fromslippingout in thedark towardsthe other side of the corridor. He quietly reached out for his radio set andwhisperedtoBharath:‘ThisisCharlieOne.Arrangeforammunition,searchlightandbamboosticks.Proceedonthedouble.’Itwasaround2.30a.m.onFriday,28November.Bharatharrivedwithboxes

of9mmammunitionfromtheMumbaipolice,andSharmaaskedhimtoflingagrenade at the terrorist from the nineteenth floor. Sharma andKedari, refilledtheirweaponswiththeammunitionandshotatFahadullah.Bharathranuptothenineteenthfloor.HehadjustoneHE36handgrenadeleft–hehadtomakeitcount.Fahadullahkeptfiringsingleshots, inaccurately,fromhishideoutintheelevator passageway.Clearly, hewaswounded.Bharath pulled the pin on thegrenadeandlobbeditintothecorridor.Itexploded.Fahadullahstoppedfiring.Atdawn, lightstreamed into theatrium.Ataround7a.m.,on28November,

close to fourteen hours after they had first made contact, Bharath spotted thebodyoftheterroristlyinginthecorridor.HeaimedhisMP5andfiredonceatit.Nomovement.Thecommandoswalkeddownthecorridor.Fahadullahlaydeadonhis back on the floor near the elevators, eyes vacantly staring.HisAK-47,twomagazines and a pistol lay beside him. Empty cartridges lay around.Hisrighthandhadonlyathumbandforefinger.Roominterventionoperationsresumedtocleartheleftcorridorandsecurethe

eighteenthfloor.CaptainYadavswungopenwhatwasleftofthedoortoRoom1856.Theroomwasacompactbattlezone.Theterroristshadusedtheroom’stwo doors as a barrier. They had used theminibar and a study table as firingpositions. Yadav stepped on hundreds of AK-47 brass empties. The windowsandthebedandasofawerehalfburnt.Thecarpetedfloorwasstillsoggyandstrewnwith shoes andclothes.Yadavaimedhisweaponat thebathroom.Thedoorwasopen.The second terrorist,AbuRehmanChhota, layonhisbackonthe bathroom floor.A bullet had passed through his right eye. The roomwasclear.The terrorists had been neutralized, but the operation did not end there.The

NSGcarried out room intervention operations in the rest of the hotel,movingfromtopdownwards.Among the remainingguests tobe rescuedwereDeepakBaglaandMichaelQueenwhohadspentfortyhoursintheirroom.TheOberoiwaseventuallyclearedofcivilians.Bodiesof thedeadcivilianswere removedby4.30p.m.on28November.Guestsfromallfloorswerethoroughlyscreenedagainandhandedovertothehotelauthorities.TheNSG’sbombdisposalsquadconductedtheirRenderSafeProcedure,sweepingthehotelforliveordnanceandammunition,andsearchingforpossibleboobytrapsbeforethesitewashandedover to the hotel authorities. At 6.30 on the evening of 28 November, thecommandos silently trooped into the lobby of the Trident. The lobby echoedwith thesoundofapplause.Hotelstaffqueuedup to lookat themen inblack.The officers walked into the porch where two black Mercedes stood in thedriveway.ItwastobetheirtransporttotheTajhotel.CaptainYadavnudgedBharath andgavehima small greeting card.Bharath

opened it and laughed heartily. ‘Life is too short,’Yadav had scribbled on it.‘Twoinchesshort.’

TaskForceNarimanHouse

Twelve hours after terrorists had laid siege to Mumbai, Lt Col Sundeep SenstoodonthetarmacattheIGIairport,NewDelhi,andinspectedthecargoholdofanIL-76.HistroopershadloadeditexactlythewaytheNSGflighthadbeenthepreviousnight.Weaponsunderanettinginthecentre,soldiersonthesides.It was, in fact, the same aircraft that had returned from Mumbai, quicklyrefuelled and furnished with a fresh Aviation Research Centre crew in thecockpit.A series of events had propelled Sen to the head of the SAG’s Counter

TerrorismTaskForce-2(CTTF-2).Thissub-unitwouldnormallybecommandedbythedeputyforcecommander,ColRathee.ButRatheehadleftforMumbaithenightbefore.Senwas thusde factoheadofCTTF-2.Heknew,ofcourse, thattheimpressiveacronymmaskedanuncomfortabletruth:theSAG’ssecondstrikeforcewaseffectivelyonlya reserveunit.Mostof the148personnel inside theIL-76 – fourteen officers, thirty junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and 104commandos–didnotsportthe‘Balidaan’badgebecausetheywerestillamonthawayfromgraduationday,the‘Balidaanparade’.Theirweaponsandequipmenttoo were second-rate. Most wore their army fatigues and the Indian Army’sModel 74 fibreglass helmet, which provided only moderate protection fromshrapnelandnoneatallfrombullets.Thepreviousnight,Senhadpackedoff thebestweaponsandequipmentand

all the night-vision devices to CTTF-1. When it was time for the reservists,CTTF-2,tomove,Senscrapedtogetheralltheleftoverequipmenttokitouthisforce.TheyhadreachedtheNSG’sheadquartersoppositetheIGIairportat2.30a.m.AsdaybrokeoverDelhifivehourslater,ColPathania,theNSG’sgeneralstaffofficer(Operations),askedSentoflytoMumbai.

This was not CTTF-2’s first deployment. When terrorists struck atAkshardhamin2002,CTTF-1wasawayinthedenseforestsbetweenKarnatakaand Tamil Nadu on the trail of forest brigand Veerappan. The poacher hadkidnappedformerKarnatakastateministerH.Nagappa.ItwasCTTF-2thatflewintoAhmedabadtoneutralizetheterrorists.Senlookedathiswatchimpatiently.Theforcehadbeenwaitingnearlyanhour

nowfortheNSG’sIG(Operations)MajorGeneralAbhayGuptatoflyintotheairport fromMussoorie.But theMi-17helicopter thatwas flyinghim incouldnotlandattheIAF’sPalamTechnicalAreabecauseofgroundhaze.Ithadbeendiverted to the IAF airbase at Hindon on the eastern outskirts of Delhi. Acommandohadtakenthegeneral’suniformandhaversacktotheIAFairbase.HechangedintohisblackNSGuniformintheairbaseandthendrove40kmtotheARCcomplexatIGIairport.Sen was two officers short that morning. But Major Manish Mehrotra had

racedbackfromabriefholidayinGurgaontorejoinhisunitinManesarafewhours ago. The other officer, Captain Mohit Dhingra, had implored himbreathlesslyhalfanhourago,‘Sir,I’monmyway.Givemeafewminutes.’Sentoldhimhecouldn’twaitevenaminute.Ifhemissedtheaircraft,Mohitcouldstaybehindandhelpattheheadquarters.Truetohisword,Sendidn’twait.AssoonasMajorGeneralGuptaboardedtheIL-76,Senlookedathiswristwatch.Itwas 10 a.m.Hegave the signal to leave.The IL-76’s hydraulic ramp creakedshut.Thecrewladderwaspulledupandthehigh-pitchedwhineoftheGajraj’sfour engines began. Mohit was a dedicated, hard-working team player. Senwouldmisshim.Theaircrafthadbeguntaxiingpasttheline-upofARCaircraftandtowardstherunwaywhenSensquintedoutofthecrewdoorandsmiled.Hesawablackdungaree-cladfigureswingingahaversack,sprintingdownthe

tarmac.ItwasMohit,runninghellforleather.Senpassedinstructionstothepilottohalttheaircraft.Thegiantaircraftshudderedtoastop.Thecrewladderwaslowered. Mohit clambered into the aircraft, panting. Tired and grateful, heslumped on a seat next to Major Manish Mehrotra. Major Mehrotra was the

senior in thecoursebut thetwoofficerswerealreadyclosefriends.‘Wereyoureallythinkingofleavingwithoutme,’heaskedhiminmockanger.‘Ha!’MajorManish snorted. ‘Who do you think kept the door open for you?’ Sen,meanwhile,walkedoverandthumpedtheyoungofficeronhisback.Thepreviousday,26November,hadbeenabigone inMohit’s life.Hehad

driven downwith his fiancéeKeshar tomeet his parents inDehraDun in theevening.Thetwohadmetatacommonfriend’sweddinginPunefouryearsagoandhadbeendatingsincethen.Hisparentsapproved.Mohitwasoverthemoon.Heheardoftheattacksafterthefamilygothomefromdinnerataround11p.m.andcalledhisfriendMajorUnnikrishnan.Somethingtold theofficerhewouldbecalledin.Mohittookhiscarandcoveredthe287kmtoManesaratbreakneckspeed.He then ran to his room in the unit to pick up his alert bag before helookedfortransport.MohitspottedacarfromtheSpecialRangerGroup(SRG)and offered a unit driver a case ofOldMonk rum if he got him to theARCcomplexinhalfanhour.Thedrivertookupthewageranddelivered.Now,Mohit sat inside the yellow interior of the densely packed cargo hold,

looking for familiar faces. Most of them were from CC 73, the commandocourse he had completed a few months earlier. Among the veterans, he sawHavildar Gajender Singh Bisht, a commando from the 10 Parachute SpecialForcesbattalion.ItwasGajender’ssecondNSGtenure.MohitrememberedhimfromhisdeploymentattheCommonwealthYouthGamesinPunethepreviousmonth.Mohithadforgottenhisboots.‘Sir,youcanwearmyshoes,’ thetoughJCO helpfully volunteered at the time. They bothwore size eight.Mohit haddeclined,buthadn’tforgottenthegesture.Intheaircraftthatmorning,henoticedGajenderworethesamepairofblackankle-highsneakers.The commandos would have to be launched immediately after reaching

Mumbai, so they used the flight time toMumbai to kit themselves out. Theyinsertedplatesintotheirbulletproofjackets,untiedandtiedtheirbootlacesandcarefullycheckedtheirsub-machinegunsandpistols.Sen, meanwhile, walked over and briefed his officers. Hostage situations

seemedtobedevelopingattheTajandtheOberoi.Theforcewouldhavetobeextremelycareful.‘OfficersandJCOswillaccompanytheirmenatalltimes,’heinstructed.At around noon on Thursday, 27 November, Operation Black Tornado’s

second IL-76 flight landed at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji InternationalAirport. It taxiedpast therowsofGulfstreamsandFalcons, theparkinglotforthecity’sbillionaires.Astherampslowlyswungdown,the150uniformedmentrudgedpurposefullydowntheramp.NisarTamboli stepped forwardandgreetedSen,makingpoliteconversation.

‘Whyareyoucarryingsomuchammunition?’heasked.‘Becausewehavenobackup,’Sensaid,hisvoicemixedwithprideandmild

annoyance.‘Ifwefail,thereisnooneelse.’AdozenBESTbuseshadbeenparkedclose to the tarmac.Themenquickly

boarded them and loaded their equipment. Sen saw an informal receptioncommittee,overahundredpersons,men,women,air-hostessesandotherairlinesemployees, lining the airport tarmac.Thewomenwere shouting ‘all the best’.Senpolitelywavedatthemashewalkedtoaprivatetaxithepolicehadbroughtalong.HeimmediatelydialledBrigadierSisodiawhoinstructedhimtoheadforMantralaya.At3p.m.,DGPAnamiRoybriefedMajorGeneralGuptaandLtColSenabout

the situation at Nariman House. The team had to shed personnel for the Tajoperation. So the main task force was further divided into two groups. Thatmorning,BrigadierSisodiahadalreadyconductedarecceofNarimanHouse.Hehad asked Sheoran for commandos. Although the colonel informed him hecouldn’tspareany,hedeputedareccegroupwiththebrigadier.

India’slandmarkhotelwasthefirstpriorityfortheNSG.Theoperationtherewas swallowinguppersonnel.Over a hundredNSGcommandoswere alreadydeployed. More men were required to rescue guests. Sisodia directed Sen toimmediately rush fifty troopers to theTajoperation.Heaskedhim to take theremainingpersonneltostormNarimanHouse.Senwasnoweffectivelycontrollingafront-lineunit.Hethenunderstoodthe

terrorists’gameplan.TheyhadknowntheNSG’svulnerability.Theycouldnotaddress more than a single location. And how could they? The half-centuryhistoryofglobalterrorismhadneverwitnessedmultiplesieges.‘Butwhywouldtheycapturearesidentialapartment?’Senwondered.Perhaps,

likeIsmailKhanandKasabwhowentonacarjackingrampage,theseterroriststoohad lost theirway. ‘Could theyhavestrayed intoacivilianareaand takenhostages?’Theunithadnonight-visiondevices,whichmeanttheycouldonlyfightduring

theday.SendeputedMajorManishMehrotra to lead theassault.Mohitwouldbeinreserve.‘Sir,’Mohitsaid,visiblydejected,‘what’sthepointofmycomingand joining the unit if I don’t get a chance?’ Sen thought for a minute andnodded.Mohitwasbackinthesquad.

SandeepBharadwaj,CEOoftheprivateinvestmentbankingfirmTowerCapitalandSecuritiesPrivateLtd, rented theapartmenton the third floorofMerchantHouse, within hand-shaking distance of Nariman House. His landlord,ManojMerchantwas theoldestof a familyof threeGujaratigarment traderbrothers,whoownedthebuilding.Theyoungest,SushilMerchantandhiswifeRitalivedonthefirstfloorandhisolderbrotherLalitMerchantandhiswifeChandaonthesecondfloor.Muscularandclean-shaven,headandall,Bharadwaj,thirty-eight,hadreturnedhomethepreviouseveningafteraheavyworkoutataneighbouringgym.HehadnothadtimetoshowerandquicklydonnedcargotrousersandaT-shirt.HisBritish-bornwife,LucyVarley,wastoboarda1a.m.flighttoLondon.

Lucy, forty, who worked as a research language editor with a city-basedsecuritiesfirm,waslookingforwardtomeetinghermotherAmandawholivedin London. The couple had met and married in the UK a decade ago whenBharadwaj was studying for his MBA at the Manchester Business School.Tonight,thecabbiewhowastopickheruphadlosthisway.Bharadwajwasonthephonedirectingthecabbiewhenahailofbulletsforcedhimtodartinside.Ataround10p.m.,amassiveblastthrewBharadwajoffhissofaandontothefloor.ItwastheIEDtheterroristshadplantedat thepetrolpumpbehindtheirhome.Theapartment’shugeFrenchwindowsshatteredandcovered thefloorof theirhome with glass shards. The front door hung from its hinges. The coupleretreatedintoatinybathroom.They pulled out a quilt and lay down; theywould spend a terrifying twelve

hoursonthecold,dampfloor.Therewasintermittentfiringeveryhalf-hour.Thecouplewincedas theyheard thescreamsof thehostagesbeing torturedby theterrorists. Lucy reached up to the counter and picked out two large kitchenknives and kept it beside them. She had been a reservist with the BritishTerritorialArmywhileincollege.Hertrainingbegantokickin.Eachtimethe terroristsfiredashot, thecrowsin theareawouldcawloudly.

Thisstop-startaviancacophonyaddedto theeeriness.Thecouplehad twogascylindersinthekitchendirectlyinthelineoffire.‘Wecan’tsithereforlong,ifabullethitsthecylinders,it’llbelikeabombgoingoff,’Bharadwajwhisperedtohiswife.Then,everythingwasquietinthemorning.‘Iwantmytea…’Lucywhispered

intohisear.Bharadwajwokeupwithastart.‘Noterroristisstoppingmefrommytea.’She reached into the laundrybasketand toreupaT-shirt, then tied itaround her knees and elbows and did an infantry low crawl across the glass-strewnfloortotherefrigeratoraroundtenfeetaway.Shecamebackwithakettleand a tetrapack of milk and oats for her husband. Bharadwaj pulled himselftogetheranddialledPuranDoshi,theformercorporatorwithadesperatepleaforhelp. ‘Canyouask thepolice torescueus?’DoshiwassittingwithACPIssaq

Bagwan just then and passed the phone on to him.Bagwan said he could notsendanypolicemen.Thesituationwasextremelydangerous.A few minutes later, Bharadwaj received a flurry of phone calls from TV

channels.‘YouareinMerchantHouse;telluswhatitfeelslike?’Fatiguedandsleep-deprived as hewas, Bharadwaj feigned ignorance. ‘I’m not inMumbai,don’tdisturbme,’hemumbled.Oneofthereporters,however,wasinsistenthespeak from his hiding place. ‘Do you want to get me killed?’ Bharadwajwhispered. ‘The terrorists are just eight feet away from me.’ The journalistbackedoffbutonconditionthatBharadwajgivehimthefirstinterviewafterhisrescue.Bharadwaj turnedhis ireon the former corporatorDoshi. ‘I askedyoufor help, instead you are having me killed,’ he said. Doshi protested hisinnocence.Bharadwajwasunconvinced.

Meanwhile, inNarimanHousenextdoor, theterroristswerealsobusyontheirphones. They were in contact with Professor P.V. Viswanath, an Indian-bornfinanceprofessor from theLubinSchoolofBusiness inPaceUniversity,NewYork.TheprofessorwasadevoutJewwhospokeHebrewandUrdu,hadbeenroped in by the Chabad-Lubavitch authorities in New York to try andcommunicate with the terrorists. This unusual channel had been establishedwhenoneoftheChabadauthoritieshadcalledonRabbiHoltzberg’sphonethatmorning.Babar Imran had answered it.He now demanded to be put in touchwiththeIndianauthoritiesandwantedthecapturedterroristAjmalKasabtobereleasedinexchangeforhisJewishprisoners.Thenegotiationswerefruitless.Inthechaosthatfollowedtheattacks, theChabadnegotiatorswerebouncedfromoneIndiangovernmentofficetoanother.Theterrormastermindswere,however,notseriousaboutnegotiations.At around 7.45 a.m. Imran’sKarachi-based handler SajidMirwho used the

aliasWassirangBabarImran’scellphone.Wassi:Keep inmind that the hostages are of use only as long as you don’t

comeunderfire,becauseoftheirsafety.Ifyouarethreatened,don’tsaddleyourselfwiththeburdenofthehostages.Immediatelykillthem.

BabarImran:Yes,weshalldoaccordingly,Godwilling.Wassi: The army claims to have done the work without any hostage beingharmed. Another thing, Israel hasmade a request through the diplomaticchannels to save the hostages. If the hostages are killed, it will spoilrelationsbetweenIndiaandIsrael.

BabarImran:Sobeit,Godwilling.Wassi:Stayalert.

Nariman House was less than 2 km down the road from the Colaba policestation.LtColSenhadvisitedthestationforintelligence,butitwasapictureofchaos.Alocalyouth,whowasat thepolicestation,guidedtheNSGofficer tothesceneofthesiege.Itwas4.30p.m.whenSenreachedNarimanHouse.Theshops along Colaba Causeway had not reopened that day and the road wasclosedforregulartraffic,butitbuzzedwiththousandsofpeoplewhohadspilledout of homes. The area had been cordoned off by loose groups of khaki-cladpolicemenandRapidActionForce(RAF)personnelcladintheirdistinctivebluecamouflageuniform.Senhadexpectedacurfew.Instead,hesawsurgingcrowdsand media. A larger force of policemen controlled this curious mob. He wasaghast.Aterrorattackhadbecomeapublicspectacle.Hisofficers,ManishandMohit,whohadreachedNarimanHouseat3p.m.,wereonthegroundanddoingadetailedrecce.NarimanHousewas located less than 100 feet intoHormusji Street just off

Colaba Causeway. It was the third building down the narrow street, after theunder-constructionKasturibuildingandthethree-storeyedMerchantHouse.Thethreebuildingsstoodsidebyside,andMerchantHousesharedaboundarywallwiththeothertwo.Thestreetwasbarelywideenoughforacartodrivethrough.NarimanHouse stoodout as aneat cream-colouredconstruction in theColaba

Marketarea,adenselypackedurbansprawlofover200three-andfour-storeyedoldbuildingsinhabitedbyover40,000middle-classpeople.TheMumbaipolicehadpulledoutciviliansfromthesebuildingsintheinitial

hoursfollowingtheattack,butgaveupandwithdrewafter theterroristgunfirebecame incessant and dangerous. Civilians were still trapped, vulnerable togunfireandcollateraldamagefromtheNSGoperation.ItwasnotjustNarimanHouse,policeandlocalsat thesite toldSen.Terroristswerealsoensconcedinthethree-storeyedMerchantHouse.Therewasnoresponsefromanyofthethreefamilies that lived on each floor of the building. The police had attempted toenterKasturibuilding,butAK-47fire fromthe terroristson the rooftopof theNarimanHouse,hadpreventedthem.Threebystandershadalreadydiedonthestreetsthepreviousevening.Therewere at least four attackers, the police informed Sen. They kept up a

steadyfusilladeofbulletsfromseveralwindowsinbothbuildings.Bulletholespockmarkedtheexteriorsofboth.PartoftheboundarywallandslidingirongateatNarimanHousehadcollapsed.Apileofbricksmarkedanexposedstairwellthat had been blasted away by terrorists the previous night. A carpet of glassshards blasted out of the windows during the previous night’s gunfight nowcovered the pavement outside the building. It alerted the terrorists to anyoneapproaching.Brigadier Sisodia’s sniper and surveillance detachment, comprising one

shooterwithaPSG-1rifleandtwospotterswitharadioset,onthefifthfloorofan under-construction building diagonally opposite Nariman House were at adisadvantage.Theycouldnotseeinsidethebuilding.ThecurtainsontheupperfloorsofNarimanHousehadbeendrawn.All itswindowswere coveredby ascreenofsimplehorizontalwrought-irongrillsthatresembledarocket-propelledgrenade (RPG) cage around US Stryker armoured personnel carriers. Thecommandoswouldfinditdifficulttoenterthroughthosewindows.The first thing they needed was an operations centre. Sen and his officers

locatedaforty-foot-widespacebetweentwosingle-storeyedbuildings,lessthan

100metresawayfromNarimanHouse.Thisspace,ringedwithbicycles,smallwatercisternsandsleepingcots,wasacommoncourtyardforseveralone-roomtenementscalledchawlsinMumbai.FromheretheycouldseethetoptwofloorsofNarimanHouse.NSGofficers requisitioned threecharpoys.Awood-toppedmetalofficetable,hastilycoveredwithabedsheet,wasplacedinfrontofadirtyyellowwallscrawledwithgraffitithatadvertisedasomewhatdubiousmassage.Theofficerssatonsixplasticchairs.ThiswasthemakeshiftoperationscentreofIndia’smostformidableanti-terroristforce.TheNSG team identified five escape routes out ofNarimanHouse.Bags of

flour borrowed from a nearby grocery store were pressed into service asimprovised sandbags blocking these escape routes. Ten commandos in buddypairswerepostedas‘stops’withlocalarmedpoliceunits.Senneededtoknowmoreabout thebuilding’s layoutbeforehesenthismen

in. Specifically, howmany flats per floor and howmany doors andwindowseachflathad.Senwasclearaboutonething:hewouldnotsendhismeninblind.At the makeshift control centre, Major General Gupta,MajorMehrotra and

CaptainDhingra racked their brains.NarimanHouse posed a problem.Localsrarelyvisitedthehouse.Externally,thebuildingappearedtohavetwoflatsperfloor.Localresidentsbroughtinamasonwhohaddonesomerepairsinsidethebuilding.Themasonsquattedonthestreetanddrewaroughsketch.Butafewqueriesfromtheofficersmadeitclearthattheworkmanwasconfused.TheNSG’strumpcardwassimultaneousmultipleentries.Commandoswould

blast downdoors andwalls to enter a room.Theywould thenuse their reflexshootingskillstonailthegunmenbeforetheycouldharmthehostages.Allthisinlessthanaminute.This‘interventiontechnique’assumedonecriticalprecept:negotiations with the terrorists were ongoing. Negotiations bought time. Thecommandos spent this time to glean intelligence about a building, rehearse onmock-upsofthetargetand,whenthegreensignalwasgiven,stormthebuildingusing the element of surprise. It was not a unique method. Every hostagesituation fromEntebbe in 1976 to Islamabad’s LalMasjid siege in 2007 used

thistechnique.There were two persons who could have provided a window into Nariman

House:SandraSamuel, thenannyof theHoltzbergs’ two-year-old sonMoshe,andQaziZakir‘Jackie’Hussein,theHoltzbergs’cook.SandraandHusseinhadremainedhiddeninthepantryofthefirstfloorwhentheshootingstarted.At11a.m.thatday,thetwohadslippedoutofthebuilding.Then,hearingthecriesofthechildonthefloorabove,Sandrahadinanactofexceptionalcourage,gonebackupstairs,pickedupthetoddlerandrunoutoftheruinedbuildingcradlinghim in her arms. TheNSG commandosweren’t aware that the duo had beenwhiskedawaytotheColabapolicestation.The commandos also did not know of the brief attempt by the terrorists in

NarimanHousetonegotiatethereleaseofAjmalKasab.ButthesewereonlythefirstofmanygapsininformationsharingthatwouldbecomepainfullyapparentastheoperationatNarimanHousebegan.ThenBrigadierSisodiaarrived from theTaj andaccompaniedLtColSen to

INS Kunjali, the naval air station less than 500 metres away from NarimanHouse. Accompanied by local corporator Vinod Shekhar, Sen and Sisodiacircledtheareainanavalhelicopter.ThecorporatorpointedoutthelocationofNarimanHouse from theair.Theofficersquickly tookstockofwhat itwouldneedtoassaultthebuilding.By6.30p.m. thatday, theNSGhadestablished its innercordonandsnipers.

FoursniperdetachmentstookpositioninfourbuildingsaroundNarimanHouse.Theywouldshoottheterroristsiftheyattemptedtofireatthecommandos.Butthey were severely handicapped. They could still not see inside the building.They could not fire and risk shooting hostages. The shadows around Colabawerealreadylengtheningby the timeSentoldGeneralGuptaofhisplan:‘Sir,we’ll start the operation tomorrow morning.’ Gupta agreed. Meanwhile, thecommandoswouldclearthebuildingsintheperipheryofcivilianstoensurezerocivilian casualties. The first building to be evacuatedwas the six-storey PremBhawan that stood directly behind Nariman House. Having successfully

evacuatedthebuilding,twocommandosquadsheadedintotheunder-renovationbuilding swathed in blue plastic sheets and extricated a family of sevenconstructionworkerswhohadbeentrappedtherewhenthefiringbegan.Around9.30p.m.onThursday,27November,nearlytwenty-fourhoursafterit

hadbeenattacked,electricitysupplytoNarimanHousewascutoff.Thehousewasilluminatedonlybytheghostlyglowofthefloodlightsoutside.Afive-manprobemadeitswaytoNarimanHouse.Thebootsofthecommandosscrunchedtheshatteredglass.Almostoncue,agrenadedroppedoutofthewindowintothenarrowgapbetweenthebuildingandthecompoundwall.Itexplodedonthered,pavedparking lot, the steelballbearings stitchinga lethalpatternon thewall.TheNSGwithdrew.Thesolegroundapproachintothebuildingwasakillzone.The building was essentially a six-storey concrete bunker with only oneapproach:therooftop.

Ataround10p.m.,IndianintelligencepickedupthisominousexchangebetweenterroristsinNarimanHouseandtheirhandlersinKarachi.SajidMir(tootherhandlers):Doyouwanttokeepthehostagesorkillthem?Voiceinthebackground:Killthem.SajidMir:Listenup…BabarImran:Yes,yes…SajidMir:Getridofthem.Firingcouldstartonyouatanytimeandyouriskleavingthembehind…

BabarImran:Insha’allah,thereisnomovementfrommysidenow…SajidMir:No,don’twaitanylonger…youneverknowwhenthefiringstartsandwhatintensity itwillbe…justmakesureyoupropthemupagainstadoorandthatthebulletdoesn’tricochetfromawall…

BabarImran:Insha’allah,Insha’allah…SajidMir:I’mkeepingonhold.Goon,doit,doit.I’mlistening…doit…BabarImran:Yes.Doit.Sitthemup,puttheirheadsfacingforwardandkeep

thegunatthebackoftheirheads.BabarImran:ThethingisthatUmarisn’tfeelingtoowell…IthoughtIwouldsleepforsometime.

SajidMir:I’llcallyouinhalfanhour.Thenyoucandoit.Anhourlater.SajidMir:Yes,brother…BabarImran:Don’tbeangry,hadtomovethingsaroundabit…SajidMir:Haveyoudonethejobornot?Babar Imran: Now. In front of you… I waswaiting for your call so that Iwoulddoitbeforeyou…

SajidMir:DoitinthenameofGod.BabarImran:Yes,hold…SajidMir:DoitinthenameofGod…[Thesoundofagunshot]SajidMir:Thatwasoneofthem?BabarImran:Bothofthem.Together.ThisconversationdidnotreachtheNSGintime.

Meanwhile, Mohit got down to choosing men for the assault. They neededtwentymenskilled in slitheringdownahelicopter.Notall theNSGpersonnelwere qualified, so the officers selected only those who had had done someslitheringinthepast.Theircanvasbagsheldtheropesalready–severalmetresof special polyester abseil ropes designed for rapid descent from helicopters,rockfacesandinurbanwarfaresituations.Butwherewerethelargeoven-mitt-sizedgloves?Withoutthem,arapiddescentdowntheropeswouldsheartheskinoffacommando’spalms.Mohitdiscovered that thegloveswere lyingwith thecommandos in theTaj.

He immediately deputed a two-man team to the hotel to locate them. Thetroopers returned an hour later.The hotelwas in a state of chaos.Therewere

hundredsofvehiclesofmultipleagenciesparkedthere.Theglovessimplycouldnot be located.Mohit put his hands on his hips, gritted his teeth and lookeddown,aswashishabitwhenhewasthinkinghard.Thenhelookedaround.Hiseyes fell on the jute bags.Theywould have to do. ‘Let’s improvise,’ he said.OnegroupofNSGpersonnelusedknivestocutthebagsupintoglovesandusedneedlesandthreadfromtheiralertbagtostitchthemup.Attheendofanhour,theteamwasgloved.MohitthenjoinedManish’ssearchofthebuildingsinthevicinity.Now,only

MerchantHouseremained.SandeepBharadwaj’sphoneblinked.‘ThisisMajorManishMehrotraoftheNSG,’thevoiceattheotherendsaid.‘I

havecometohelp.Whereareyou?’‘I’minthebathroomonthesecondfloor,’Bharadwajwhispered.‘Switchyourlighton,’Mehrotrasaid.‘Iwillflickthelightswitchonforjustaminute,’Bharadwajreplied.TheNSGofficialsawBharadwaj’sbrief lightsignal. ‘Ok,Iseeyou…wait,

we’recomingtogetyou.’Bharadwajcrawledoutofhishidingspot.HavildarGajenderSinghwavedat

him. The commandos had wedged an old door from Kasturi building as amakeshiftbridgetoMerchantHouse.GajenderSinghhadsawedoffthegrilleofa window in Kasturi building with his dagger. It had taken him nearly threehourstocutthrough.Powertoolsandgascutterscouldalerttheterrorists,thenbelievedtobeinboththebuildings.Bharadwaj’skitchenwindowfortunatelydidnothavegrilles.ThecommandosledbyMajorMehrotrausedthebridgetoentertheBharadwajresidence.Thecouple’sagonyhadended.TheoperationtoclearMerchantHousethenhitanunexpectedtwo-hourdelay.TheMerchantbrotherson the first and second floors refused to open doors to their apartments andrefusedtoanswertelephonecalls.ManishandMohitwerepreparedtoblowtheirdoorsdown.‘Iftheydon’topenthedoors,wehavetoassumethereareterroristsinside,’Manishsaid.They,however,decidedtotrythephonelinesagain.

LalitMerchantwasfinallypersuadedtoopenthedoorofhissecond-floorflat.Heshuffledout,silentandinastateofshock.HiswifeChanda,barelyfivefeettall, sobbed without respite. The commandos who escorted the couple up thestairshadtobeghertokeepquietlesttheyalertedtheterrorists.Afternearlyanhour,hisyoungestbrotherSushilMerchantfinallyansweredhisphone.Icannotleave the house, he told the commandos, I have cash and jewellery. ‘You canenjoyitonlyifyouarealive,’Manishtoldhim.SushilMerchantopenedhisdooratlast.HiswifeRita,aheavy-sethomemaker,woreamaroonsareeandheldabrown plastic bag to her bosom. It held the family’s cash and valuables. Thethirdoccupantof the flatwas their sonMitesh, twenty-three.The twofamilieswere taken upstairs for evacuation through the makeshift bridge in theBharadwaj residence. Commandos stood on both sides to help them cross theten-foot-widebridge.WhenRitaMerchant’sturncame,sherefusedtoleaveherbag. ‘Madam, you need to keep both your hands free to cross over,’Manishcajoledher.She reluctantlygavehim thebag tocrossoverbut ensured itwasquicklypassedbacktoher.Itwas 1 a.m. on 28November.Manish,Mohit and their teams had by now

pulled out a dozen families and nearly sixty persons to safety from threebuildings. Now, their target, Nariman House, stood isolated and bathed inspotlight.Mohit radioed the completion of the evacuation to Sen. By now the NSG

officerhadfiguredoutwhythepolicehadinitiallyoverestimatedthenumberofterrorists.Theychangedpositionswhilefiringfromthewindowsinthebuilding:a technique called jockeying. Itwas a simple trick that created the illusion ofgreaternumbers.Theterroristsfiredonlysingleshotstoconserveammunition.Around1.15a.m.,CaptainKushKashyap,deployedatoneofthestopsbelow

NarimanHouse,reportedawoman’scry.Itwasapiercingshriekwhichoneofthe officers mistook for that of a child. The team commanders rushed to thelocationof thestopandcarriedouta listeningdrill.ThecrycamefromwithinNarimanHouse.Thecommandoscouldnotdeterminewhereshewas.Senand

hisofficersthentrudgeduptoallthefoursniperperchestolocatethemilitantsinthebuilding.Thehousewasabsolutelystill.Noonecouldbeseenexceptthebriefblurryoutlinesofmilitants,whokeptfiringsingleshotsatregularintervalsuntil4.30a.m.FromthekitchenofSandeepBharadwaj’sflat,Senmanagedtopeepintothe

secondfloorofNarimanHouse.Hecouldmakeoutthefaintoutlineofabodylying facedown on the floor of the house. The situation was desperate, herealized. They had started killing hostages. ‘Is there anybody inside?’ SenshoutedfromtheroofofMerchantHouse.‘Pleaseshout, tellusyouarealive.’Therewassilence.TheNSGfinallydecidedtostormthebuildingfromtherooftopatdawn,now

only a few hours away. At 5 a.m., Sen briefed his men – the twenty NSGpersonnel who would go in for the operation – on the rooftop of MerchantHouse. The force was divided into four squads. Captain Mohit and MajorManishledtwosquadseach.Shortly after he had seen his commandos off, Sen’s cellphone rang. It was

MajorGeneralGupta.TheIGhadbadnews.Thepolicehadtoldhimthatthereweretwomilitantsinsidethebuilding.Theyhadkilledtheirhostages.Senfeltatingeofregret.‘Ifonlywehadknownearlier,’hethoughttohimselfwistfully.The nature of the operation had changed from hostage rescue to seek anddestroy.TheNSGwouldattempttokillthemilitantswithnolossoftheirown.Senhadestablishedhisfirebaseontheterraceofthesix-storeyPremBhawan

directlybehindNarimanHouse,fromwherehismenhadacommandingviewoftheir objective.He stood on the roofwith nine commandos, safety catches oftheirMP5sswitchedoff,fingersonthetriggers.ThreeofthemcarriedAK-47sborrowedfromtheMumbaipolice.Two84mmCarlGustavrocketlauncherssatattheirfeet.Iftheterroriststriedtofireonthehelicopter,theRLwouldbefiredintotheirhideout.At 7.05 a.m., a grey IAFMi-17 helicopter appeared, kicking up the clothes

lines. It was an extremely short flight – the chopper had taken off from the

Kunjali naval air station less than 500 metres away. A frisson of excitementcoursed throughColabamarket.Thecloudof fear thathadhungover theareafor two days vanished. It was replaced by hype and insatiable curiosity. Sencould seeTVcameras and journalists perchedprecariously on rooftops.Therewerehundredsoflocalresidentstoo.Theyloungedonwatertanksandbeneathcellphonetowers.Acuriousresidentevenproducedapairofbinoculars.Somerelayed the news to friends on their cellphones, real time. They had ringsideseatstotheworld’sultimaterealityshow.‘It’slikethey’rewatchingacricketmatch.’Senshookhisheadinannoyance.

Abullet from the terrorists could hit the peoplewatching the spectacle.But aring of snipers had kept the heads of the terrorists down. The NSG sniperschecked theirammunition,cocked their riflesandpeereddowntheirHensoldt-scopes,crosshairsfirmlyonthebarredwindowsofthebuilding.TheywaitedforSen’scommandtoblastawayatthewindows.From the roof of Batra House, the commandos saw the helicopter take off,

clatter out into the sea over the harbour and then swing around back towardsthem.Theclamshellcargodoorsthatopenedoutattheaircraft’srearhadbeendetached even before it arrived in Mumbai the previous day. The NSGcommandosnowstoodinsidequeueduponthesides.Thepilotpointeditsnoseintotheseawind,liftedthecollective,theleverthatcontrolledtherotorspeed,about two-thirds of thewayup, pushed the right rudder pedal to nearly three-fourthsofitsfulltravelandtiltedthecyclic(joystick)slightlytotheright.Thetwelve-tonmachinehoveredover thebuilding.The roarof the rotorshadnowturnedintoadistinctivechik-chik-chiksound.Anairforcecrewmanthrewoutasingleropethathadbeentetheredtoaboom

abovethecargorope.ThecommandosreachedoutwithbothhandsfortheropeandeffortlesslysliddownontoNarimanHouse.Thedropzonewastheterraceof the building, an area less than 150 square feet. It looked easy, but theoperation was fraught with risk. A lattice of thin wires criss-crossed thebuildings around Nariman House. These wires could snag the weighted rope.

TheMi-17 was not the ideal platform for lowering commandos into built-upareas. Its rotors generated a tremendous prop wash which scattered debris,posingathreattotheaircraftitself.Inlessthanaminute,twentyBlackCatshadslithered down aweighted thirty-metre-long rope. Their boots thudded on thewhite-and-bluetiledroof,theirMP5sattheready.Theyweren’ttheonlyoneswatching.BackinthecontrolroominKarachi,the

LeT’shandlerssawthehelicopteratopNarimanHouse.Handler:Heliaagayaoopar?BabarImran:Humareooparheliaagayahai.Handler:Fire,fire,fire…BabarImran:Fireshuruhogayahai,fireshuruhogayahai…barabarsefireshuruhogayahai.Umar!Coverlo,coverlo.

BabarImran:Humarekamremeinfireshuruhogayahai,humarekamremeinfireshuruhogayahai…

Thelivetelecastoftheoperationputboththechopperandthecommandosatrisk.Itrevealedthenumberoftroopersandtheweaponstheycarried.Atrainedmilitaryhandknowswhattosee.ThehandlersinPakistandutifullyrelayedwhatthey saw to the NarimanHouse attackers. They instructed the duo to assume‘cross positions’ within the 300-square-foot living room. The terrorists knewwhat thismeant.Theymovedsofasandrefrigerators toformbarricadesat twoendsoftheroom.Theysatbehindthis.Onlytheirriflebarrelspokedoutofthesemakeshiftbunkerscovering thedoorfrombothsides.Theonlyentrance to thefourthfloorwasadeadlyfieldoffire.Major Manish led his commandos down to the building. They carefully

descendedinasinglefiledownafifteen-foot-longnarrowmetalladderthatledto the floorbelow.Acommandoreachedfor thesingle roomon the terraceofthebuilding.Hetossedaflashbanggrenadeinside.Itexplodedwithanorangecrack. The commandos entered cautiously. The room was empty. Manishquicklytookposition.Heshoutedandtriedtoconfirmthepresenceofciviliansonthesixthfloor.Therewassilence.

Swinging theirMP5s in front, they walked down the door that led into thebuilding.Thegreengranite–coatedstaircasewasnarrow.Barelywideenoughtoallowtwopeopletowalkabreast.Thecommandospaddeddownnoiselesslyinasingle file, two feet apart, slightly crouched. The black file entered the fifthfloor.Thedoorwasslightlyajar.Theytossedinanotherflashbanggrenadeandswiftlyentered,theirweaponscoveringallthecorners.Therewasnooneinside.Theroomwasclear.Itwasaguestroom.Manish took out a white handkerchief and waved it in the window. A TV

channelpickeditup.‘TerroristsinNarimanHousearesurrendering,’oneofthechannels reported. Sen’s phone rang. It was Major General Gupta. ‘Who issurrendering,’ he wanted to know. An exasperated Sen told him it was aprearranged signal. Snipers were poised on their perches around the buildingwiththeirfingersonthetrigger.Sendidnotwantthemshootingtheircomrades.The commandos descended to the fourth floor of the building. Thewooden

elevatordoorhadbeendestroyedinthestairwellblastandhunglimplyovertheshaft.Thedoortotheflatwasshut.Therewassilence.Thecommandosstoodononesideandgently turned thesteel-knobbeddoor lock. Itwas locked.Manishdecidedtoblastitopen.Hecalledforthebreacher,V.Satish,asapper,wholaidtheexplosivecharges.

Captain Mohit stood with his squad mates, Havildar Hira Lal, HavildarAnthonySamy,NaibSubedarRasoolMohammadandHavildarRamNiwas,onthelandingjustabovetheflatasSatishwalkeddownandplacedapolechargeon the door. This was a five-foot-long bamboo stick packed with plasticexplosives, ideal forsmashingwoodendoors.As thecommandosmovedback,Satishexpertlydrewanelectricalwire attached to thepole anddrew it up theflightofstairs.Thecommandostensedthemselvesalongthecorridor,weaponsatready.Satishhookedthewiretoasimple12-voltbatterythathepulledoutofhis pocket. In amicro-second, an electric current surged through thewire andintothedetonator.Averticalsectionoftheplywooddoorblewintotheflatwithacrackle.Evenbeforethesmokehadsettled,thecommandosmovedin.GajenderSingh

Bishtchargeddownthestairsthroughthesplintereddoor.AnAK-47openedupfrominside.Crack!Crack!Crack!Bishtcollapsedon thefloor justoutside thedoor. It was Abu Umar behind a small refrigerator that had been laid downacross the floor, his body expertly wedged between the kitchen door and theliving room. Only his AK-47 peeped over the top of the fridge. A grenadeexploded in the confines of the stairwell. The noise was deafening. Manishimmediatelywithdrewupthestairs.HiraLaltookcoverinsideasmallbathroomoutsidetheflat.Sen,ontheroofofBatraHouse,heardthestaccatoexchangeofgunfirewith

concern.TherewasthesharpcrackleoftheAK-47andthetat-tat-tat-tatsoundofMP5s.Hismenhadmadecontact.A fewminutes later,Sen’swalkie-talkiecrackled. ItwasMajorManish. ‘We’ve been hit.We’ve been hit. Commandodown.’Inthemeleeofsmoke,dustandgunfire,itwasn’tclearwhowashit,Gajender

orHiraLal.Mohitrandownthestairstocheck.Thecommandowaslyingfacedown.Apoolofbloodspreadaroundhimonthegreengranitefloor.Mohitsawthe black running shoes. His heart sank. ‘Gajender …’ Havildar Gajender’sblackdungaree-cladbodylaymotionlessinwhattheNSGcalledthe‘funnelof

death’,anareacoveredbytheadversary’sguns.Justoveranhour into theoperation,andtheyhadsufferedaserioussetback.

Casualtieswereunacceptable inaseek-and-destroymission.Nooneknew thisbetterthanLtColSen.HeslunghisMP5overhisshoulderandscrambleddownthestairsofBatraHouse.Hesawagroupofpolicemensittingaimlesslyatthefootof thebuildingand losthiscool. ‘Whatareyoudoinghere?’heyelledatthem.‘Whatiftheterroristsgetaway?’ThepolicemensprangtotheirfeetevenastheofficerdashedtowardsMerchantHouselikeamanpossessed.Meanwhile, on the fourth floor of Nariman House, Major Manish, Captain

Mohit andRamNiwas fired at the unseen terrorists inside.Their low-velocityMP5bulletscouldnotpenetratetheimprovisedpillboxesthattheterroristshadsetup.TheyalsohadtoextricateHiraLal–whostoodintheterrorists’lineoffire – from the small bathroom.Taking advantage of a lull in firing,HiraLalsprinted up the stairs.A second grenade sailed out of the room and explodednearMohit. ‘Sahab!Grenade…’RamNiwasgrabbed theofficerby thecollarandpropelledhimupstairs.Thegrenadeexplodedwithanear-splittingblast.Itpeppered their bodieswith steel ball bearings.Slivers of pain shot upMohit’sleg.Helimpedupthestairsandtowardstheterrace.Manish detailedRasoolMohammad andRamNiwas to cover the stairs and

keep themilitants pinned down. The rest of the teamwas reorganized.Mohitwas left on the terrace under the care ofHavildarRajendra. The squadswereredistributed between the terrace and fifth floor. The priority was to retrieveGajender’sbodyandthefourgrenades,anMP5withfivemagazinesandapistolthathecarried.Manishdidnotwanttheterroriststoreplenishtheirarsenal.Ashe clamberedup the rooftopofMerchantHouse, theusually unflappable

Sen shouted over his walkie-talkie. ‘Save Gajender.’ His concerns weredifferent.Hehad seen theTVcameras that encircledNarimanHouse.What iftheterroristscapturedhiscommandoalive?WhatiftheystrunghisbodyoutsideNarimanHouse for theTV cameras?The thoughts raced throughSen’smind.‘All units, fire karo,’ he shouted into his walkie-talkie. NSG men fired at

Nariman House from three directions using AK-47s, MP5s and sniper rifles.‘Theymustnotgethim,’Senshoutedtohismen.The Merchant House terrace was crowned by a three-foot thick concrete

crenellationwithafalserosewindowinthecentre.Senandhissupportweaponsquad now took shelter behind this. He took a Franchi Spas gun from theengineers.This Italian-madeweapon resembles an assault rifle. It is a twelve-gaugesemi-automaticshotgunthatfiredbreachingroundsthatcanbeplacedjustsix inchesaway fromdoorhingesand locks toblast themaway.Thegunalsohad tear gas rounds. Sen loaded six of them into the boxmagazine. He thenaimedatthegapinthewindowsandfiredoneaftertheother.Buttheshellswereineffective.Heneededsomethingbigger.Hepulledoutthewalkie-talkieclippedontohisleftepauletteloopandhailedtheoperationscentre.‘Bhandari,sendmeteargas…totherooftopofMerchantHouse.Over.’The fusillade of bullets from the commandos had hit at least one of the

terrorists.Now,hecontactedhishandlerinKarachi,onelasttime.BabarImran:I’vebeenshot,prayforme…Handler:Kahaanlagahai,kahaanlagahai?Kahaanlagahai?BabarImran:Oneinmyarm,oneinmyleg…Handler:Godprotectyou.Didyoumanagetokillthem?Babar Imran:We killed the commandowhowas entering… pray that Godacceptsmymartyrdom…

Handler:AlHamdullah…AlHamdullah…mayGodkeepyouwithhim.In a fewminutes, an elderly, bespectacled police constable appeared on the

roof ofMerchantHouse, carrying an ancient tear gas gun,which resembled asawn-off folding shotgun, and a square box that carried a dozen rounds. Heexplained the use of the tear gas gun. It was like a shotgun. Sen cracked thebreech open and loaded the first round and aimed towardsNarimanHouse. Itdidn’tfire.Senbrokeopenthebreech.Thegunhadnofiringpin.Theconstablemumbledanapologyanddisappeared.Then, an object flew onto the terrace of Merchant House between the

commandos.Ithitthecementfloorwithadullthunk.‘Oteri…’themenswore,splitandthrewthemselvestotheirsides,headsdown.Itsoundedlikeagrenade.After five seconds, Sen looked up at the ‘grenade’. It was a small packet ofbiscuits,tossedhelpfullybyoneofthepeopleonthebuildingsnearby.Senwaslivid.‘Don’teverthrowanythingatus…’headmonishedthem.Meanwhile, the elderly police constable reappeared. He wore a grin of

satisfaction.Hehadaworkingteargasgun.Senloadedupandbeganfiringteargas shells intoNarimanHouse. Therewas a half-hour lull.A thick gas cloudfilled theroom.Senstoodon the ledge,peering in, trying togetacloser look.Suddenly, ImranBabar rushed to thewindow, his face coveredwith awater-soakedpillowcase.Babarwielded anAK-47.Sen could see thewhites of hiseyes.Hestoodatleastfivefeetawayfromthewindow,andblastedsingleshotswith his rifle at his tormentor. Blue sparks ricocheted off the grille. Sen tookcover, then got up to fire another tear gas round.The shell knocked the grilledown.‘Laddoolao,’heshoutedtohismen.TheyreturnedwithaboxofIndianArmy–issueHE36handgrenades.TheHE36wasaWorldWarIIvintagehandgrenade,notoriouslyunreliable.Senpulledthepinoutofagrenade.Hetosseditin like he would chuck a cricket ball. The grenade exploded inside with apiercing roar. In a little over thirtyminutes, the officer threw in over a dozenhandgrenades into the room–a seriesofdeafeningexplosions rent the room.Oneof thegrenadesfell into thegapbetweenthebuildings.Fortunately, itdidnotexplode.This explosive distraction was what the commandos at the other end were

waiting for. Havildar RamNiwas threw a fire hook onGajender’s body. Thecommandos thengentlypulled theircomradeup thestairs.Theyfelthispulse.Hewasdead.Hisrifleplatehadstoppedabullet,buthehadbeenhitintheneckandleftflank.Thetrooperssolemnlycarriedtheirfallencomrade’sblood-soakedbodytothe

terrace.Hewasplacedinsidethesolitaryroomontherooftop.Theytookabedsheet from the room and covered his body. Gajender’s MP5, with its NSG

inventory number ‘279’ hand-painted in white near the selector switch, wasplacednearhisbody.Thefourthfloorhadbynowfilledwithteargassmoke.Thecommandoscould

notsee.Theireyeswere redandwatering, theycoughed, theirmouths randryandtheyfeltnauseated.Themencoughedandwheezedastheywithdrewtotheterrace.‘Sahab,’HiraLalcoughedandpointedatMohit’sleg,‘khoonnikalrahahai.’

Mohit rolled up the leg of his trouser.Grenade shrapnel had dug holes in hiscalf. Blood flowed down his leg. Therewas no field dressing kit in sight, soMohit asked the engineers to throwhim some black duct tape.Hewrapped itaroundhisleg.A funerealgloomhungover theBlackCatswhosaton the roofofNariman

House. Most had rolled their balaclavas over their heads like black funeralbands.Theseweremenwhohadpassedsomeofthetoughestphysicalcoursesinthe country. But that didn’t inure them to the pain of losing a comrade.Gajender’s body was mute testimony that perhaps they had failed him. Theworstmightyetbetocome.Mohit’scellphonerang.Hepulleditoutofthepocketofhisdungaree.Itwas

Keshar,hisfiancée.Hetookthecall.‘Mohit…’shesaidhesitantly,‘Sandeepisdead.’Thenewshithimlikeaboltoflightning.Hewasshockedandspeechless.HequietlyaskedManishtoaccompanyhimtothefifthfloor.Themencouldnotbe told of this – it was bad for morale. As he broke the news of MajorUnnikrishnan’s death, tears streamed down Mohit’s cheeks: ‘Sir, inko nahinchhodoonga.I’mgoingtogetthem.’Manishheldhisshoulders, lookedathimstraightintheeyeandshookhim.‘Mohit,tuultakaamnahinkarega…’Mohitwasanengineerofficeror ‘sapper’ondeputation.Commissioned into

theMadrasEngineerGroup,hepridedhimselfonhavingenteredtheNSGonageneral duties vacancy after competingwith infantry officers.Now, hewouldusehisskillsasasapper.Heswitchedhis radiosetoffand thought fast.Theyneededanewentry into the flat. InhisbriefNSGstint,Mohithadmadeover

200 shaped charges. Varying quantities of plastic explosives designed to cutthroughairplanedoors,concreteandmachinery.Manishaskediftheycouldblowupthefloorofthefifthfloor,landing,quite

literally, on top of the terrorists. Mohit disagreed. Nariman House was areinforcedcementconcrete(RCC)structure,heexplained.Ifoneslabcollapsed,it might threaten the next one too. Then,Mohit looked at the walls. ‘But thewallsaremadeofbricks…’Thebrickwallwasn’tmorethannineinchesthick.Aplanhadbeguntakingshape.Itwas4.30p.m.Hiscellphone rangagain. ItwasSen. ‘Chhote, tera radiokyonoffhai?’Sen

asked,hisvoicecalm,histoneavuncular.‘Sir,’Mohitbegan,‘Gajenderisdead,andthere’salotofpressureonus.’‘Don’tworry,’Sencounselledhim.‘Gajenderdidwhathehadtodo,nowyou

doyourduty.’Sen’svoicemaskedhis apprehensions. If the terroristsheldoffuntilsunset,Senknewthesiegewouldcontinueuntilnextmorning.Butnow,Mohithadaplan.Sen listenedandapproved.AtH-hour, theexact

timeatwhichMohitwouldenterthefourthfloor,CaptainKushKashyapwouldleadtheremainingcommandosupNarimanHouse.H-hourwasfixedat5p.m.IttookMohithalfanhourtoshapea2-kgslabof

PEK. The plastic explosivewas black and easilymoulded, like a child’s claydough.He packed the clay into the hollowof awooden ‘door frame’ that theNSG carried with them, and wrapped the gunny sacking around to hold theexplosiveinplace.Mohitthenplungedapencil-sizeddetonatorintoitanddrewthe electrical wire from it. That done, he wiped his greasy hands on hisdungareesandsurveyedhishandiwork.‘We’rereadytorock,’hetoldManish.Sen, meanwhile, had decided to blow down the windows. If the house was

dark,thecommandoswouldhavetroubleadjustingwhentheybrokeinside.Heclimbedatwo-storeytenementthatoverlookedNarimanHousejust100metresaway.Twosoldiersfromthemilitaryunit inColabawerepostedthere.OneofthemhadhishandspoisedoveranAGS-17automaticgrenadelauncher(AGL).TheAGLwaskeptonametaltableborrowedfromatenantofthebuilding,its

stubbybarrelalittlebehindatwo-foot-widewindowcutintheconcrete.Agreendrummagazineheldtwenty-ninegrenades.ThetroopershadplacedsandbagsaroundtheAGL’smetallegstostabilizeit.

Sendirectedthefire.Heknewthesoldiershadneverfiredashotinthemiddleofacity;forthatmatter,neitherhadhe.Thegrenadiercurledhishandsoverthetwinmotorcycle-likehandgrips, thumbson the twin triggersat thebackof theweapon.Hepeepedthroughtheironsightssetslightlyofftotheleftofthebarrelandaimedtheweaponattheorangecurtains.TheAGLjerkedandrearedonitsforelegslikeahorsebeforeitbelchedoutsixrounds.Afewshellscrashedintothe concrete just below the fourth-floor window and exploded, others hit thegrilles.The curtainswere destroyed, thewindow frameburst andhung limplyoverthebuilding.Sunlightstreamedintotheshatteredbuilding.Snipersnowhadaclearfieldoffire.Asthegrenadeshellsthuddedintothebuilding,Mohitstoodupandaskedfora

volunteer. The explosive would breach the wall, creating a gap for just twopeople toenter.Anymoreand themen risked takingcasualties. ‘Whowillgowithme?’helookedaroundthetroopers.Ahandshotup.ItwasLanceNaikV.Satish, one of the two sapper commandos in the group. ‘Sahab, take aninfantryman or a para-SF guy along,’ one of theNSG commandos suggested.Satish seethed at the suggestion, but didn’t react. He was determined to go.However, the Spas shotgun he had was useless in a firefight. He needed aweapon. Troopers are usually reluctant to part with their personal weapons.Satishknewwhathehadtodo.HecalmlywalkedovertoGajender’sbody,bentdowntopickuphisMP5,insertedaclipintoitandcockedtheweapon.‘Let’sgosir.’Thetwomenheadedbackintothebuilding,carryingtheshapedcharge.At 5 p.m., a thunderous explosion shook Nariman House. The door frame

charge punched a three-foot-wide hole into the wall of the fourth floor. Thepressurewavefromthebackblastsimultaneouslyslammedanidenticalholeintheouterwallofthebuilding,throwingdebrisonthered-tiledroofofthethree-

storeyedAbdulbhaiKarimjibuildingnexttoit.Thickwhitesmokeandreddish-brown brick dust covered the stairwell. Satish leapt into the breach. Mohitfollowed.Manishcoveredthedoor.ImranBabarwassittingagainstthewall.Hehadbeenstunnedbytheforceoftheblast.Hisfacewascoveredbyredandgreybrick andplaster dust.But hehad levelledhisAK-47 at theyawninggap.Hesaw Satish’s black-dungareed figure leap into the hazy room. Babar stood upfrom behind the sofa, ghost-like. Satish was barely five feet away from him.Babarfired.Andmissed.Satishturnedaroundinasplitsecondandfiredaseriesofsingleshots.Hedidnotmiss.Babarcollapsedandfellbackwards.TheAK-47droppedfromhislifelesshands.TheinertbodyofAbuUmarlayacrosstheroom,hisrightlegfoldedunderhis

body.Hehadfallenbackwards,violentlytwisted,historsoseverelyburnt.Bothterroristssportedthered‘kalava’threadsHeadleyhadboughtforthem.The commandos quickly entered the room. They kicked the AK-47s away

fromthebodiesofthetwolifelessterroristsandheadedinside.Itwasaslaughterhouse.Theysawthebodiesofthetwohostagesonabedinsidethefourthfloor.Rivka

HoltzbergandNormaShvarzblat-Rabinovichlaywheretheyhadbeenexecuted,bound and blindfolded with strips of cloth. Their faces and bodies weremutilated. The bodies of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, Yocheved Orpaz andBentzionChromanwereonthesecondfloor.InthesmalllibrarylaythebodyofRabbiLeibischTeitelbaum,bloatedandfacedown inapileofblackooze.Hehadbeenshotinfrontofthebookshelvesfilledwithleather-boundJewishtexts.When the restive crowds outside heard the explosion, there was a mad

stampedetowardsNarimanHouse.Thecrowdssurgedforwardandswampedthepoliceunitsandlaterthearmyunitswhohadcordonedoffthehouse.Thematchhadended.Thefanswereswampingthecricketground.A policeman ran frantically to Lt Col Sen. ‘Sir, please fire.’ Sen didn’t

understand.

Thepoliceofficerwasdesperate.‘Pleasehelpus.Pleasefire,ortherewillbeastampede.’Sencockedhisheadsidewaysandspokeintohiswalkie-talkie.‘Throwastun

grenade.’ An officer complied.Amuffled blast was heard through the house.Thecrowdsstoodback,atrifleconfused.Perhaps,theoperationswerestillon.Theyheldback.Senallowedhimselfasmile.Hisprobationershadpassedtheirtest.

Epilogue

InJune2014,MohammedNaveedJutt, aPakistani terrorist fromMultan,whowas arrested from south Kashmir, made an interesting revelation. He told hisinterrogatorsfromtheJammuandKashmirpoliceofhowLeTinstructorsattheMaskar Aksa training camp in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir cautioned recruitsagainst repeatingAjmalKasab’smistakes.These includeda failure to sink theMFV Kuber, destroy a satellite phone, and, finally, compromising the entireoperationbybeingcapturedalive.Whatwould the aftermath have looked like hadKasab and his comrades in

mayhemfollowed their instructions toaT?TheKuber,and itshaplesscaptainSolanki,wouldhavesilentlydissolved into theArabianSea flooroffMumbai.The Mumbai police would have been left with an inflatable boat, tenunidentified bodies from four bloody sieges including one at the CST stationbuilding.Ahostofredherrings–redthreadsandstudentIDcardsfromcollegesin Hyderabad, and the reference to a ‘Deccan Mujahideen’ would spawnconspiracytheoriesoftheattackersbeingdissatisfiedIndianyouth.But,fortuitously,theenormouselectronicandmaterialfootprintleftbehindby

the perpetrators, averted what the spy world calls, a ‘plausible deniableoperation’. The testimony of the sole surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab, fromOkara village in Faridkot, Pakistani Punjab (executed in Pune in November2012), and accounts from the LeT scout David Coleman Headley and AbuJundal,anIndianwhomotivatedtheattackersfromaKarachicontrolroom,havesince peeled away the complex, multi-layered 26/11 plot. The weight of theevidence conclusively indicate Pakistani support, even sponsorship, of theattacks.Most of their leads end at the grey headquarters of the Inter Services

IntelligenceDirectorate,orISI,onIslamabad’sKhayaban-e-Suhrawardyavenue.Predictably, ISIofficialswhobriefedforeign journalists in2009 insinuated theattackswerestagedbyIndianofficialstocoverupaprobeintoattacksbyHinduextremists. On 25 November 2009, Pakistan’s Federal Investigative Agency(FIA)chargesheetedsevenprimeaccused for the26/11attacks.They includedZaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Mazhar Iqbal alias Abu al-Qama, AbdulWajid alias Zarrar Shah, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmad andYounasAnjum–andtwentyotherswhosetuptrainingcampsatYousufGothinKarachi andMirpur Sakro in Thatta in Sindh province and obtained firearms,grenadesandexplosivesforcarryingouttheattacks.Five years later, however, the trial drags on. As of September 2014, seven

hearings of the case inPakistan’s anti-terrorism court inRawalpindi had beenpostponed. Very clearly it had to do with the spectre of death that hauntsprosecutors. On 3 May 2013, Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, chief prosecutor in the26/11casewhopromised‘toleavenostoneunturnedtobringtheperpetratorstojustice’wasgunneddowninIslamabad.LeTsupremoHafizMohammedSaeed,whoKasabsaidsawoffthetenterroristsastheysailedoutofKarachi,continuesto roam free in Pakistan. The LeT’smilitary commander Lakhvi continues todirectoperationsandfundraisingactivitiesfromwithinLahore’shighsecurityAdialajail.Pakistan, has refused to hand over voice samples of Lakhvi and other LeT

plotters which could be matched with the telephone intercepts of the 26/11controllers.Islamabad’sinactivityisthelatestinalonglineofunresolvedissuesbetween the two countries including the 1993 Mumbai blasts and the 1999hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 to Afghanistan. Pakistan’s officialline,thatmoreevidenceisneededtoconvictthe26/11plotters,hasfailedtocutice.RespondingtoonesuchstatementbythePakistanForeignOfficestatement,India’sforeignministryspokespersonSyedAkbaruddinsaidthison26October2013:

TheentireplanningofthedastardlyMumbaiterroristattackwashatchedinPakistan,thetrainingoftheterroristswholaunchedthatattackwasundertakeninPakistan,thefinancingoftheconspiracywasinPakistan. It, therefore, follows that 99 per cent of the evidence will be available in Pakistan. It isincumbentontheauthoritiestheretopresentthatevidenceinordertobringtobooktheperpetratorsoftheMumbaiattacks.

TheNarendraModi government lodged India’s diplomatic protests over theslow-movingtrialwithIslamabadtwomonthsafteritwassworninonMay26thisyear.AsGujaratChiefMinister,Modigrasped thechangeddimensionsofthe26/11attacksanditsglobaldimension.‘ThisisforthefirsttimePakistanhasallowed use of sea routes to further terrorism against India,’ he said at theOberoi-Trident hotel on 28 November as the hotels were being cleared bysecurityforces.‘TerroristshavetargetedUS,BritishandIsraelicitizens.’HisgovernmentnowhastodealwithPrimeMinisterNawazSharif,sworninto

office in June 2013 after Pakistan’s first ever electoral transition. The SharifgovernmenthasshownlittleinclinationtocomplywithalistofIndiandemands:hand over the 26/11 conspirators to India, extradite previous conspirators likeDawoodIbrahimordismantletheinfrastructureofterrorism.Pakistan’spoliticalleadershiplivesintheshadowofthearmythatcontrolsforeignpolicyasfirmlyasitdoestheworld’sfastest-growingnucleararsenalandacovertforceofnon-stateactors.‘It’s like thatold story,’USSecretaryofStateHilaryClintonsaidatapress

conference in Islamabad on October 2011, ‘you can’t keep snakes in yourbackyardandexpectthemonlytobiteyourneighbours.Eventuallythosesnakesaregoingtoturnonwhoeverhastheminthebackyard,’toconveydismayoverPakistanshelteringinsurgentgroupstodestabilizeAfghanistan.ThePakistanarmy’sbewilderingarrayofpoisonoussnakes includes theLeT

andalsoSikhseparatistleaderslikeWadhwaSinghandParamjitSinghPanjwar.This, even as the army battles what its 2012 assessment called an internalsecurity situation thatpresents itsgravest risk to its existence.Since2007, thedeadlyTehrik-i-TalibanPakistan(TTP),hasunleashedawaveofsuicideattacks

on airports, military installations and cities, forcing the army to attack TTPsanctuariesinNorthWaziristan.ThedepartureoftheUSandNATOforcesfromAfghanistaninlate2014,and

theremovalofitspanoplyofsurveillancecapabilities,willhavetheeffectof,inthewordsofoneIndianintelligenceofficial,‘turningthelightsoffinanuclear-armed sub-continent’. Itwill add another element of dramatic uncertainty in aregion crawlingwithnon-state actors and ambitious armies. Indian leaders areclear that future attacks will not go unpunished. Speaking at the India Todayconclaveon12March2012, thethenhomeministerPChidambaramruledoutwar as anoption againstPakistanbut said, ‘If it is reasonably established thatany26/11typeattackinfuturehasitsorigininPakistan,India’sresponsewillbeswiftanddecisive.’But what of the lessons learned from the attacks? The Kargil war between

IndiaandPakistaninthesummerof1999promptedthesettingupoftheKargilReview Committee headed by defence expert K Subrahmanyam in 2001, thefirst ever such publicly disseminated inquiry. The 26/11 attacks led to theconstitution of a High-Level Inquiry Committee headed by former homesecretary Ram Pradhan and including IPS officer V Balachandran. The two-member committee submitted a ninety-page report to the Maharashtragovernment,making theattacksseema localizedevent.The two-memberstateinquirycommitteehadnojurisdictionovertheCentralforces.Acomprehensiveinquiry would have established, for instance, why a battle-hardened armybattalion,basedjusttwokilometresaway,wasusedonlyasaperimeter-guardingforce;whythecrisismanagementteamoftheCentralgovernmentdidnotmeetuntiladayaftertheattacks;whythe51SAGtooknearlytwelvehourstoarrivefromDelhiwhen a fly-away teamof 150 commandoswas kept on round-the-clockalertwithanaircraft.WhytheIndianNavyandtheCoastGuarddidnotrespondto intelligencealertsandfailedtoprevent theattacks, justas thearmymissed the stealthy insertion of an entire Pakistani brigade disguised asinfiltrators,ontheKargilheightsin1999.

TheNSG’s51SAGfounditselftestedbythefirst-everuseofmultiplesieges,and commendably handled what was a nightmare scenario for any counter-terrorist force. But its forty-three-page internal after-action report does notappearcomprehensiveenoughforanyseriousunderstandingoftheoperation.What did happen, in the aftermath, however, were spurts of hardware

procurementandexpansionof forces.TheMumbaipolice ‘ForceOne’SWATteam raised a year after the attacks equipped itself with a dazzling array offirearmsbuthashadinadequatefiringpractice.Weaponsalonemaynotbethesolution.JusttwooftheterroristswhorampagedthroughCSTstationandonthestreetsoutsideonthenightofNovember26,accountedfornearlyathirdofthe166 fatalities in the attack. Just onewell trainedpolicemanwith a functioningbolt-action rifle couldhave averted this catastrophe.Thepolice force, the firstresponders to a crisis, still suffer enormous deficiencies in manpower andtraining,factsnotedbysuccessivepolicereformcommissions.Indiahasjust134policemenper100,000people.TheUSandtheUnitedKingdomhaveratiosof248and301policemenrespectivelyforsimilarnumberofpeople.Procurementscontinueataslow,bureaucraticpace.InJuly2014,theMaharashtragovernmentinvited tenders to install5,000CloseCircuitTVCamerasatvital locationsalloverthecity,thefourthtimesuchtenderswerecalledforinsixyears.Theattackswerenotnovelasfarasfightinginbuilt-upareaswasconcerned.

Thesehavebeenaconstantfeatureofmostcounter-terroristoperationssincethe1970s.Therealchallengeswerethoseofcommandandcontrolandmobilizationof resources to deal with a multi-site attack. The marine commandos, forinstance, were inducted early on only because a senior bureaucrat learned oftheir existence from a friend. European Union countries are believed to beworking on pan-European level tactical cooperation in such a crisis. Severalglobal police forces and SWAT team sent in their operators into Mumbai tolearn how to counter such attacks and have even rehearsed responses to suchscenarios. The Delhi-based Bureau of Police Research and Development isbelievedtohaveputtogetheramanualontheresponsetosuchacrisis,buttill

date,thereisnoevidencethatithasbeenrehearsedinanyIndiancity.The home ministry’s Multi-Agency Centre (MAC), an Intelligence Bureau-

manned forum, now sees representatives of all India’s twenty-three Centralintelligence agencies meeting every day to pool leads. The MAC, however,suffersfromashortageoftrainedanalystswhocouldjointhedotsonemergingthreats.TheNSGhasdoubledinsizetoover12,000personneltomanhubssetup in Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai to provide aquicker response to Mumbai-like attacks. This dispersal does not, however,addressitsfundamentalflaw,thelackofapermanentcore.Theforceisstaffedbypersonnelondeputationandremainsseverelyconstrainedbylackofproperequipmentandtraining.TheNSG’s counter-terroristwing, the 51 SAG, and its counter-hijackwing,

the52SAG,arestaffedbypersonnelloanedbythearmy.Aspecialistethos,itcan be argued, cannot be driven without a permanent structure and longertenures. A proposal made by its founders nearly three decades ago for apermanent25percentstaffcomponenthasstillnotbeenimplemented.Thishasresultedinanorganizationwhichisacurioushybridofpolice,paramilitaryandarmywhosestandardblackfatiguesbarelydisguise internalcontradictions.Allthe51SAGveteranswhosawactionin26/11aregone,theiruniqueexperiencesubsumedintheoceanoftheIndianarmy.Whenitcomestoprocurements,theNSG’scontradictionsturnedintoathree-

legged race that also included the home ministry’s civilian bureaucrats. Theforcetrainsinisolation,withoutmanualsandwithlittleimprovementsondrillshandeddownfromonetrainingofficertoanotherforovertwodecades.TheSAG’sthreecriticalsupportarmshaveatrophied.TheElectronicSupport

Group cannot intercept communications or set up a mobile command post toguideoperations, theTechnicalSupportGrouplacksequipment tosnoopinonterrorists and the Support Weapons Squadron is still bereft of specializedequipment to swiftly breach targets. Bafflingly, it does not even have basicequipment like armoured shields that could save lives of troopers storming

defendedrooms.The NSG’s high point each year continues to be the annual raising day

celebrationevery17OctoberattheirsportsstadiuminManesar,Haryana,whichclaimsmoney,timeandeffort.CommandosstormgarishBollywoodmoviesets,shootclaypotsfilledwithcoloredwaterbeforecheeringhomeministryofficials,theirfamiliesandthemedia.TheSpecialRangerGroup,staffedwithvolunteersdrawnfromhomeministry

forces, usually travelled with the SAG. In this instance, they had been takenawayby thehomeministry toguard India’sgrowingnumberofVVIPs.Blackdungareecladcommandoscontinuetobeapolitician’smostsoughtafterstatussymbol.OnechiefministershooedherpoliceguardsawayanddirectedshebeflankedbyherNSGcommandosforamagazinecovershoot.TheIndianarmy’splantoequipallits‘ghatakplatoons’,acommandounitin

allinfantryunitswithSWATtools–doorbreachinggrenadesandsub-machineguns–forMumbai-typeoperations,isstuckinabureaucraticmaze.TheIndianNavy now polices the brownwaters off the Indian coast, buying small patrolcraft and raising defensive forcesNaval brassworry about the impact of suchdeploymentsontheirbluewaterambitions.Mostof theNSG’s51SAGofficersandmencontinue toserve in theIndian

Army. Some with medals, others with memories of those fateful 48 hours inMumbai. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Havildar Gajender Singh wereposthumously decorated with the Ashok Chakra, India’s highest peacetimegallantry award. (Also posthumously awarded to Mumbai police officersHemantKarkare,AshokKamte,VijaySalaskarandTukaramOmble.)LanceNaikV.SatishwasawardedtheKirtiChakra;CaptainA.K.Singhand

Naik P.V. Manesh were decorated with Shaurya Chakras. Major SanjayKandwal,MajorManishMehrotraandMajorSaurabhShahweredecoratedwithSenaMedals, for ‘exceptional duty and courage’.CaptainMohitDhingrawasgivenanNSGDirectorGeneral’scommendationcardandnowsportsatattooonhischest,justabovehisheart:Unni.

‘Mumbai-style attackswill inevitably be repeated.Terrorist groups and theirstate sponsors have been quick to realize the benefits of such high-visibilitystrikes.Four al-Shabaabgunmen carried out aMumbai-style attackduring theSeptember 2013 four-day siege of the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi,Kenya in which seventy-two civilians were killed. At a time when insurgentgroupsliketheIslamicStateofIraqandAlSham(ISIS)havedemonstratedtheirabilitytocaptureandholdterritoryfromstatesandareattractingglobalrecruits,swarmattackslikethoseinMumbaicouldprovetobetheirweaponofchoicetoinflict terror. TheMumbai attackswere amonumental tragedy. The failure tolearnfromitwillbeabiggeroneyet.

AuthorBioSandeep Unnithan is currently Deputy Editor with India Today magazine in New Delhi where hewritesonsecurityrelatedissues.HehailsfromMumbaiandhasaBachelorofArtsinAncientIndianCulturefromStXavier’scollege.

Acknowledgements

ThisbookbeganasamagazinearticleinacoffeeshopinConnaughtPlace,NewDelhi,someyearsago.ANationalSecurityGuardofficer,whoisstillinserviceand hence would like to remain anonymous, gave me a peep into OperationBlack Tornado. When he had finished, I was clear the story of this unusualoperationextendedbeyondtheconfinesofamagazinearticle.Thatvisioncouldnot be realized without the Indian Army’s Additional Directorate General ofPublic InformationparticularlyLieutenantGeneralS.L.Narasimhan,BrigadierSandeep Thapar and Brigadier Hitten Sahni and Captain PVS Satish, publicrelationsofficer, IndianNavy.Mydeepestgratitude to them for settingup theinterviewswithservicepersonnel.ItwasalsothankstothemthatImetasetofremarkable individuals in uniform, theMARCOSand the officers andmenofthe51SAG.DanReed’ssuperb2009documentary, ‘Terror inMumbai’, foraclinicallypreciseaccountoftheattacks.Someother friendshelpedcomplete thenarrative.Myfriend from thecoffee

shop remained a sentient presence all through its writing. Another, ‘RomeoLima’,offeredmeahands-onintroductionintotheworldofthe51SAG,wartsandall.MyfriendCaptainAarunikantSinha(retired),whosetupthefirstbookmeeting,joinedmeinmonsoondrivesthroughMumbaiaswemetsomeofthekeypeopleinthestory.Iamthankfultoallofyouandvalueyourguidanceandfriendship.Agents ‘A’ and ‘K’, I am indebted for your time and insightful deep

backgrounders;‘LoneWolf’,anislandofuncompromisingexcellenceinarigidestablishment,mayyourtribeincrease.Special thanks toV.K.Karthika, chief editor and publisher atHarperCollins

India,forseeingabookinthebarebonesofanidea.

ThanksareduetomyformercolleagueandAccidentalIndiaauthorShankkarAiyarforneverbeingmorethanaphonecallaway.MyfriendBrigadierXerxesAdrianwalla (retired), for his critical inputs; Brigadier Govind Singh Sisodia(retired), theman in thecentreof theTornado, forhisunique insights into theoperation.Several other officials helped fill the run-up to the deployment of theNSG.

FormercabinetsecretaryK.M.Chandrasekhar,MaharashtrastatechiefsecretaryJohnyJoseph,SpecialSecretary(InternalSecurity)M.L. Kumawat, former DG NSG J.K. Dutt, IG (Ops) Major General AbhayGupta, former secretary ARC Sanjeev Tripathi and Colonel Arun Sharma,former commanding officer of the 2 Grenadiers and former special secretary,cabinetsecretariat,VappalaBalachandran.Iamgratefultoallofyou.IwouldalsoliketothankcolleaguesatmyworkplaceIndiaToday.Myeditor-

in-chiefAroonPuriewhohasbeeninspirationalpartofmyprofessionallifeforfourteen years. My former editorial director M.J. Akbar; my editor KavereeBamzai forgrantingme frequent leaveofabsence to finish thebook.The lateBhaskar Paul andMandar Deodhar for their photographs; the wildly talentedSaurabhSinghforthecoverimageandgraphics.ThisbookwouldhaveremainedincompletebutformyfriendsinMumbai:my

former colleagueKiran Tare for his inputs onDavidHeadley. Hussain Zaidi,author, friend and former Indian Express colleague, for his scholarly supportthrough the writing. I’m also grateful to a set of exceptional individuals forrelivingtheagonytheyunderwent:SandeepBharadwaj,PriyaFlorenceMartis,Deepak Bagla and Pradeep Bengalurkar, Bhisham Mansukhani, PrashantMangeshikar, Commander Sushil Nagmote and Rajesh Kadam of the Oberoi.Thisbookisasumofallyourexperiences.Special thanks to the two most extraordinary anchors in my life: My wife

Lakshmi Iyerwho proddedme to finish the book andmy father,CommanderGVKUnnithan,IndianNavy(retired).Thanksforbeingthere.

FirstpublishedinIndiain2014byHarperCollinsPublishersIndia

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P-ISBN:978-93-5029-601-1

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