And When the Police Did Shoot the Terrorists

The real action of Mumbai police was in another jurisdiction. Senior Police Inspector Nagappa Mali of DB Marg police station acted with his colleagues to capture or kill the terrorists, who had just killed top ATS officers, entering his jurisdiction. They did both.

The duo identified as Abu Ismail (25) and Ajmal Amir Kasab, abandoned the police vehicle which they had been driving after killing its occupants, Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar and went on to carjack a Skoda Laura when they neared a police picket.

“On that night, I was about to go home when I got to know that some terrorists were headed towards my jurisdiction. I immediately formed two teams, one of which was posted at Girgaum Chowpatty and the other at the Tribhovandas Zhaveri Lane. When the Skoda neared the barricades that we had erected at Girgaum, the two men sitting inside turned their head lights to full beam, squirted water on their wind-shields and turned on the wipers in an attempt to hide their faces.

However, as we had information about the colour and make of the car, we signalled them to stop and demanded that they emerge from the car with their hands raised. Kasab who was sitting in the passenger seat came out with his hands raised but then immediately started firing from his AK-47 which he had hidden between his knees.”

When the firing started, ASI Tukaram Umble got hit even as the rest of the team pounced on Kasab and subdued him. In the meantime, Inspector Vinod Sawant who had gone to the driver’s side saw that the driver, Ismail, was also firing with his weapon and Sawant and his associate immediately opened fire on him, said Mali.

The murdering Islamic lunatic Ajmal Amir Kasab was captured and proved to be an invaluable source of information corroborating and filling in gaps missing from the intelligence already available.