The 26/11 Mumbai attacks are best remembered for the horror they caused to those who witnessed them, but a few showed India the way through their self-sacrifice and bravery. Among the second batch was former Marcos (an elite unit of the Indian Navy similar to the US Navy Seals) marksman Praveen Kumar Teotia.
On the fateful night of the 26/11 attacks, Teotia took five bullets saving the lives of some 185 people, including Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and four parliamentarians, at the Taj Hotel, a stone's throw from the Gateway of India, where the terrorists illegally entered Mumbai.
Gautam Adani speaks during the inauguration of Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor summit in Gandhinagar, India
© AP Photo / Ajit Solanki
Sputnik India got in touch with Teotia on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the dastardly attacks to know more about the rescue mission he and his team carried out after terrorists occupied the Taj Mahal Hotel.
According to him, a four-man Marcos team was sent to conduct a rescue mission for people trapped in the Taj Hotel after receiving information about a threat to the lives of visitors.
This was the second batch of the Navy's elite Marcos commandos to be sent to the Taj after the terrorists holed up inside the hotel.
"According to the information we had, there were between 150 and 200 people in the chamber hall of the Taj Hotel, we were tasked to rescue them as the threat of a hostage situation was very high at that point," Teotia told Sputnik India.
"As we have seen in other parts of the world, once there is a hostage situation, the government of that country is brought to its knees as it is forced to meet the demands of the terrorists," he added.
Rescue Mission in Detail
With this in mind, he and three other Marcos commandos entered the Taj and found Adani, four Indian MPs, a few European lawmakers and foreigners of many nationalities trapped inside.
Teotia revealed that reaching the Taj's Chamber Hall was no easy task, as it was located on the second floor. This meant that he and his team first had to "clear the first floor" of any suspicious activity (read: terrorist movement) in order to complete their mission.
However, having cleared the first floor, they somehow managed to reach the second floor before discovering that the way to the Chamber Hall was locked from the inside.
At this point, Teotia stated that, realising the gravity of the situation, they entered the adjoining room (a sort of dining area), which was pitch dark.
Remarkably, all four terrorists were also in the same room, having arrived there about 30 seconds to 1 minute ahead of the Marcos commandos.
"If there had been even a slight delay in our arrival there, there would have been an unprecedented hostage situation," said Teotia.
He revealed that he and his other three Marcos teammates carried out the mission without being fully equipped.
"I had no bulletproof helmet, no armour and no rifle, which is a must for counter-insurgency operations," Teotia said.
As the operation progressed, his three colleagues got lost and fell back, while Teotia moved forward before exchanging fire with the terrorists.
The exchange of fire between Teotia and the four terrorists continued for at least 30 minutes, with the Indian Marcos commando injuring one of the terrorists, who eventually died from gunshot wounds sustained in the fight.
"16 hand grenades, 500 rounds of AK-47, 16 magazines, foreign currency, dry fruits, and the fake identity cards of the terrorists were later recovered from the same room where I engaged with them," Teotia stressed.
As a result, 185 people, including Adani, were safely evacuated from the adjoining room.
Meanwhile, Teotia was hit by five bullets as he moved around the hotel lobby, one of which pierced his left ear and left him with permanent hearing loss. The bullets also completely damaged one of his lungs and broke four of his ribs.
For his daring rescue, the Indian government awarded him the Shaurya Chakra, the third highest military honour in the South Asian nation.