'How we caught the fidayeen alive'

T he first thing you notice as you enter D B Marg police station in south Mumbai is the photograph of Tukaram G Omble, who died battling terrorists early on the morning of November 27.

The assistant police sub-inspector had grabbed a terrorist's AK-47 and did not let go even as six bullets ripped through him. Omble knew that if he let go his comrades would also die. His heroic action helped his colleagues kill one terrorist and nab the other -- Ajmal Qasab.

Senior Inspector Nagappa R Mahale is the man in charge of the D B Marg police station. He was on duty when he heard that terrorists had attacked south Mumbai. "The first thing I did was put up nakabandi (police blockades) at two places. There were the two roads that led from south Mumbai to our area."

"When we heard that a Skoda car was heading with two armed terrorists towards Girgaum Chowpatty, I immediately told my men to seal the road and put up two barricades. I did not want them to try and crash through."

"At 0015 am we got the message that the Skoda had entered Marine Drive and was coming towards us. At 0030 the Skoda stopped 50 feet away from our barricades. They knew that they could not go through."

Image: A photograph of Assistant Police Sub-Inspector Tukaram Omble at the D B Marg police station.