'It was apparent that most of the dead were tortured. What shocked me were the telltale signs showing clearly how the hostages were executed in cold blood.'
The terrorists achieved what they wanted to and have managed to send out panic waves across the country though they were defeated at the end.
One of the commandos, who was part of the action in Taj Palace hotel, described to rediff.com how the drama unfolded and the ordeal they underwent to flush out the terrorists who had held the entire city ransom.
Pakistan will have to face the consequences if the ISI does not explain properly its stand on terrorism and its position on the fidayeen attack on Mumbai, former joint director, Intelligence Bureau, M K Dhar told rediff.com.
Security forces recovered 40 bodies in the first four floors of the six-storeyed Taj Hotel. National Security Guard sources add that four fidayeen (suicide bombers) have been killed in the assault. National Security Guard commandos and personnel of the Mumbai Police are carrying out systematical floor-to-floor cleaning up operations. Most of the hotel has been sanitised by now.
A day after a Thai shipowner claimed it was his trawler with 15 men on board that the Indian war ship INS Tabar had sunk off the Gulf of Aden last week, the Indian Navy on Wednesday maintained that it was a pirate ship that the Tabar had sunk. "The navy's stand is the same," a spokesperson said. Asked if the navy had any details about the hijack claim of the Thai company, the spokesperson said: "See there are no special pirate ships. When they capture a ship, they use it."
Modi, who was in Delhi to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly election, went to the RSS office before kick-starting his road show and public meetings, sources said. Though RSS chief R Sudarshan was not part of the meeting, Modi held long discussions with other senior functionaries and discussed the arrest of the sadhvi and how to handle the issue.
42 of the candidates contesting in the second phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly election have declared assets of over Rs.1 crore, statistics released by the Chhattisgarh Election Watch reveal.
Polling in sensitive areas in Chhattisgarh's Maoist-dominated Bastar region, where the first phase of Assembly elections were held on Friday, was closed by 3 pm so that the Election Commission officials could wrap up and reach their respective district headquarters by Friday night.
United States President George W Bush will sign the law on the India-US nuclear agreement very soon, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in New Delhi on Saturday.Addressing a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Rice assured that the US will keep its commitments both to the 123 agreement and the Hyde Act while implementing the nuclear deal with India.Rice added that the Hyde Act was consistent with the 123 agreement.
"The special cell got information from the control room and came here to nab the men. From the information we have now, two persons were killed and two of the special cell officers have sustained bullet injuries," Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) HGS Dhaliwal. Though the area falls under his jurisdiction, the operation was carried out by the special cell of the Delhi police, which handles high profile criminal and terrorism cases.
Purnea town is Bihar has given refuge to thousands of flood-affected victims in the last few days. While the town has remained untouched by Kosi's rampage, most areas surrounding it have been flooded."The last time we witnessed floods in Purnea was in 1987. All the surrounding areas were also flooded. But we haven't experienced floods since then," says Manoj Chaudhary, a resident of Purnea.
"We had never experienced floods. My parents used to say the 1946 floods were the worst. That was before I was born," said Ram Yadav, an elder shopkeeper in Supaul's market. "But, people older than me are saying this was the route of Kosi-ji some 200 years ago, before man made structures and dams altered its course. Isn't it natural that she would one day take her normal course? We are nothing in front of nature," he said.
At least two persons were killed and two injured when police opened fire on Tuesday to disperse a mob attacked places of worships, prayer halls, houses and shops at Barakhama in Orissa's Kandhamal district rocked by violence in the wake of the killing of a VHP leader.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of the hardline faction of the All Party Hurriyat Conference, on Tuesday demanded the immediate withdrawal of security forces from the Kashmir Valley. Addressing a mammoth gathering of over 1,00,000 people at Srinagar's Tourists Reception Centre Grounds along with fellow leaders Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Shabbir Shah and Yasin Malik, Geelani laid down its immediate demand: The withdrawal of security forces.
The presence of security forces in the Sonwar area, housing residences of almost all mainstream politicians and top civil and police officers is marked by heavy deployment to foil any untoward incident.
Agitations in Kashmir are no more about the Amarnath land row or the alleged economic blockade imposed on the Valley, hitting the fruit industry. From the silent merchant, who sports a black flag on the counter, to the slogan-shouting masked youth driving around town with green flags, the protests are all about freedom now.
In Kashmir, due to the long history of mistrust towards Delhi, the Centre gets blamed for everything that happens there. The inability of the Centre to take up issues of the Valley and the inability of the state leaders to handle the situation there has led to this environment.
Seven persons have been killed in firing by security forces on protestors in Kashmir Valley, where an indefinite curfew has been imposed. Police said 80 persons, including police and paramilitary personnel, were injured in Tuesday's violence.
Just as the first reaction of the man on the street is unanimous, there are no two opinions when it comes to identifying the culprit who caused this deterioration: the government.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances