Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday paid floral tributes at the city police headquarters to those who made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting terrorists during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Banerjee, on a visit to Maharashtra, was scheduled to meet Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray earlier, but as he is unwell, she met his son and minister Aaditya Thackeray, sources said.
Mumbai Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar and Assistant Sub-Inspector Tukaram Ombale, apart from National Security Guard commandos Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Havildar Gajender Singh too would receive the medal posthumously for their acts of bravery during the November Mumbai attacks. Delhi Police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, who died fighting terrorists in the Batla House operation in the capital in September last year, has also been named for the award.
A memorial for the security personnel killed in the 26/11 Mumbai attack was unveiled at Bhuinj in Maharashtra's Satara district on Moday in the presence of family members of the martyrs who demanded "immediate" execution of Ajmal Kasab. The Shaheed Smriti Udyan was unveiled in Bhuinj in Satara district, from where braveheart Tukaram Ombale hailed. Ombale's daughter, Vandana, said the memorial is a permanent tribute to the martyrs.
The family of slain assistant police sub-inspector Tukaram Ombale, who caught Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab alive during the 26/11 terror attacks, expressed satisfaction with the terrorist's conviction but demanded that he should be given the death penalty. "It is good to hear that Kasab was found guilty. We were eagerly awaiting this news since morning. He should be given the death penalty," said Vaishali Ombale, daughter of the policeman.
A memorial for 26/11 braveheart Tukaram Ombale and other 26/11 martyrs will be unveiled on Monday at his hometown Bhuinj in Satara district of western Maharashtra.
In his latest antic, Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab chose to answer in Marathi most of the questions put to him by the trial court on Wednesday as he continued to deny his involvement in the 26/11 terror attacks.
"It would be insulting to our martyrs if Ajmal is let off on humanitarian grounds without any punishment," Vaishali, daughter of Tukaram Ombale who was killed during the terror siege, said in an interview to Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna on Friday
"A Hero is only necessary when systems fail." This was how young Congress leader Rahul Gandhi put it while attempting to suggest that loss of lives among security forces could have been perhaps avoided during the Mumbai terror attack if the system had not failed.
Among those who remembered the slain bravehearts, who fell to bullets of Pakistani terrorists while repulsing the deadly attack on this day 11 years ago, were their kin, politicians, government officials, sports persons and common citizens.
In the audio clip, he is heard directing the attack on Chabad House during Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks.
While describing LeT's plan to project the 26/11 attack as "Hindu Terror", Maria wrote, "If everything went according to plan, Kasab would have died as Chaudhari and the media would have blamed 'Hindu terrorists' for the attack."