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INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - November 16th December 31st 2008
MUMBAI UNDER ATTACK, OVER 60 DEAD, 200 INJURED IN SHOOTOUTS & EXPLOSIONS
MUMBAI, the commercial capital of the country, came face to face with terror again late on the night of December 26, 2008. The city was rocked by at least seven incidents of near-simultaneous firings and explosions, mainly in south Mumbai. More than 60 people were reportedly killed and at least 200 injured, including many foreigners, in what appeared to be co-ordinated attacks on or near prominent landmarks.
The city landmarks under attack included the Taj and Oberoi hotels, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal (CST) station (also known as VT) and the well-known Leopold Cafe in Colaba. Sounds of explosion and firing could be heard from CST, opposite the Times of India building. There were incidents of firing at the JW Marriot hotel and the Vidhan Sabha.
According to television reports, two terrorists were killed at Girgaum Chowpatti. People injured in the shootout near the Trident hotel, formerly Oberoi, in south Mumbai were taken to a nearby hospital in police vans and ambulances. The dead and injured were brought to St George’s Hospital.
A red alert was sounded across the state as more incidents were reported from other parts of the city. A blast was reported in a taxi under a flyover in Vile Parle, with talk of another blast near Santa Cruz. There were also reports of similar incidents near Mazgaon, BPT Colony and Dockyard Road.
It was chaos on the streets outside CST station, as commuters, who were heading home after work, rushed out to escape the firing inside. The police immediately cordoned off the area and asked buildings around the station to down shutters as the firefight continued inside. It was later reported that the RAF (rapid action force) had moved in to take on the terrorists holed up inside the CST station, the Taj and Oberoi hotels.
Armed with AK-47 rifles and grenades, a couple of terrorists entered the passenger hall of the crowded CST railway station and opened fire and threw a grenade, killing at least three persons, Mumbai General Railway police commissioner AK Sharma said. He did not give details.
Mr Sharma, however, said 10 persons, including a policeman, were injured in the CST incident.
Eyewitnesses said some terrorists entered the CST building from outside the reservation counter and opened fire indiscriminately. Two explosions also went off outside CST and eyewitnesses reported they heard gunshots outside the railway station building. A police official said he saw two people, armed with automatic weapons, at CST. “They opened indiscriminate fire and fled inside. They are reported to be holed up between platform seven and eight,” he said.
There were also reports of four suspected terrorists holed up at Nariman House near CST. Two explosions were also heard outside CST with eyewitnesses reporting hearing gunshots outside the railway station building.
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