Additional Commissioner of Police Sadanand Date has a 4-mm shrapnel in his right eye from grenades lobbed by surviving terrorist Qasab
Additional Commissioner of Police Sadanand Date has a 4-mm shrapnel in his right eye from grenades lobbed by surviving terrorist Qasab
Nearly a year after 26/11, Additional Commissioner of Police Sadanand Date continues to carry a 4-millimeter shrapnel behind his right eyeball from the grenades lobbed by terrorists Mohammed Ajmal Qasab and Abu Ismail in Cama and Albless Hospital.
On the fateful night of 26/11, Qasab and Ismail had riddled the area surrounding the lift on the fifth floor of the hospital with bullets and lobbed grenades.
Such was the impact of the grenade blasts that some of the shrapnel was found 50 metres across the corridor.
While shrapnel lodged in his knees was removed surgically, the metal in the eye continues to remain embedded. The attacks also left a big wound on his ribs, which he sees every morning in the mirror.
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On the night, I had asked my men to hold their fire, as I did not want any patient to be injured," said Date.
Date lay injured on the floor a few metres from Qasab and Ismail. Luckily, for the police officer, the heavily armed terrorists did not turn and fire at him.
A few moments later, on the orders of former Joint Commissioner K L Prasad, ACP Sunil Temkar evacuated Date to the emergency ward of KEM Hospital in Parel. He was discharged four days later.
"The shrapnel in his eye is liable to get infected. It should be removed soon," said Dr Keki Turel, head of department of neurosurgery at Bombay Hospital.
At CAMA that day...
Cama Hospital had already closed the main gates after hearing news of firing at CST.
However, a small gate at the back was still open, which was used by Qasab and Ismail to enter the hospital after they shot dead a GT Hospital sweeper at his quarters behind Cama. They had asked the man for water before putting a bullet through his head.
The terrorists then shot the two watchmen dead and ran up to the sixth floor, shooting in all directions, even slashing a patient's throat and shooting him in the back.
The hospital had nearly 180-odd people on the premises that night, including commuters who had fled from CST.
Mothers were instructed to breastfeed their babies to keep them from crying out and mattresses were stacked up against doors to ensure that the terrorists did not break through.
In Viju's room, eight people, including her five-year-old son, husband, sister and two CST commuters, were herded in to escape being shot at in the corridor.
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