Case study: political science

26/11 Mumbai terror attacks: A brief timeline:

The image of the front dome of Taj Mahal Palace hotel encapsulated with a large plume
of smoke is one that is etched into the memory of every Mumbaikar. 

india has repeatedly called upon Pakistan to take credible, verifiable and irreversible action
against terrorist networks and to bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 mumbai terrorist attacks
to justice.

Thirteen years ago on November 26, 10 LeT terrorists stormed into the financial capital of the
country with the sole aim of wrecking it to the core — for three consecutive days, the city of
Mumbai was wrapped in the grip of terror. The violence claimed lives of 166 people,
including foreigners.

Here’s what happened during the 64 hours at Taj Mahal Hotel, Trident-Oberoi,
Nariman House:

Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

The image of the front dome of Taj Mahal Palace hotel encapsulated with a large plume of
smoke is one that is etched into the memory of every Mumbaikar. For more than 60 hours the
symbol of opulence in Mumbai lay at the mercy of four heavily armed terrorists.
Heavy smoke from taj mahal hotel set on fire by terrorists.

9:38 pm: Two among the four terrorists, Abdul Rehman Bada and Abu Ali reached the main
entrance of the Tower section, having planted a crude RDX bomb in front of the police post
nearby. Armed with AK 47s, ammunition and grenades, they made their way to the lobby
area, firing on anyone and everyone who caught their sight.
9:43 pm: The other two terrorists, Shoib and Umer, entered through the La-Pat door of the
Palace and started shooting down guests in the poolside area. The fact that the terrorists were
aware of that the La-Pat door, which is generally closed to public, was open on that particular
day for a few corporate meetings and a wedding, was evidence of the intricacy in planning
that went behind the attacks.
By the poolside, four foreigners were the first to have been shot down dead by the terrorists
along with security guard Ravindra Kumar and his Labrador Retriever.
12:00 am: By midnight Mumbai Police surrounded the Taj. Many of the guests inside the
hotel were huddled up by the staff into small rooms by this time.
1:00 am: The central dome of the hotel was bombed and there was a massive fire in the
building.
3:00 am: The army and firemen arrived at the location.
4:00 am: The first round of evacuation took place. Two groups were formed by marine
commandos. The first group was out safely. The second group was spotted by the terrorists
while they were making an exit. Gautam Singh, a tandoor chef at Taj, was one of them. He
was shot dead.
November 27 (Thursday)
6:30 am: A team of 200 commandos reached Mumbai from New Delhi and took charge of
the rescue operations in Taj and Oberoi. The government gave orders to storm the building.
In the succeeding hours, evacuations took place in batches.
10:30 am: Fresh round of gun battle reported from within the building.
4: 30 pm: The terrorists set fire to a room on the fourth floor of the building.
November 28 (Friday)
14: 53- 15:59 pm: Ten grenade explosions reported to have taken place within the premises.
7: 30 pm: Another round of explosions and firing took place.
November 29 (Saturday)
8:00 am: The Indian commandos announced that the Taj had been cleared of all the
terrorists.
While the NSG and medical teams sanitised the building after complete evacuation, the fire
department was still dousing the last fires in the building. At St, George hospital and JJ
hospital body bags kept coming in. The wards were full to their capacity as patients were
lying in sheets soaked in blood and tears.
The Oberoi-Trident
The Oberoi-Trident is the other icon of luxury and opulence in Mumbai that came under the
deadly saws of the 26/11 attacks. Being much larger than Taj Mahal hotel in terms of spatial
capacity, the rescue operation at the Oberoi-Trident was extremely slow. The two hotels
being interconnected, consist of 800 rooms between them. An approximate larger number of
hostages were under siege here than at the Taj.
The Oberoi-Trident plays host to a large number of foreign tourists visiting India and it was
the case on the night of 26/11. Foreign nationals were reported to be the prime point of target
for the terrorists. By the time the siege ended in Oberoi-Trident, 143 hostages were rescued
alive and 24 bodies were recovered.
10:10 pm: Gunfire began at the entrance of Trident with the gatekeeper being the first to fall
prey. Two gunmen walked into the reception area and opened fire. Hotel staff including
bellboys and hotel management trainees lay injured as the two gunmen made their way to the
Opium Den bar, the Tiffin and later the Kandahar restaurants.
The two gunmen walked up the mezzanine level to the spa and killed two Thai masseuses,
following which they set off a grenade explosion at the lobby level.
November 27 (Thursday)

12:00 am: The Rapid Action Force positioned themselves outside the building. Friends and
kin of those trapped inside stood in the bylanes waiting to hear about their loved ones, hoping
they would be rescued.
6:00 am: The police stepped back as the NSG takes over operation at the Oberoi.
6: 45 pm: Explosions and gun battles continue throughout the day. A number of NSG and
army personnel are reported to be injured. Evacuation of hostages take place in batches. By
now a total of 31 people are rescued.
7: 25 pm: A fire is reported to have broken out in the 4th floor.
November 28 (Friday)
3: 00 pm: The rescue operation at Oberoi comes to an end and both terrorists are killed. As
reported by Ritu Sarin, at the end of the 40 hours of trigger alert at Oberoi, the site resembled
a camp ravaged.
Nariman House
This attack was distinctive in nature as it was on the Chabad House (a Jewish community
centre) run by Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka Holtzberg. The House,
located in Colaba, was frequented by large number of Jews, particularly Israeli but also from
those visiting the country from across the world.
The news of the attack on the Chabad House was quick to have international reverberations
across similar Jewish centres across the world in more than 70 countries. Never before had
Jews in India been the target of attack for any terrorist group.

Rabbi Israel kozlovsky, who now runs chabad house, said the rebuilt six-story Nariman
house would house a $2.5million jewish museum as well as Mumbai’s first memorial to those
slain in the attacks.
November 26 (Wednesday)
9:45 pm: Dinner had just ended and the Rabbi along with his wife, his two year old son,
Moshe and six guests were getting ready to go to bed when a gunshot was heard. When one
of the gunmen came upstairs, a bomb blew off at the petrol pump near the building. Seconds
later, an RDX laden device went off near the base of the Nariman House staircase. The
terrorists then charged upstairs with gunshots ringing in the air.
The Rabbi and his wife along with their guests were held hostage in the Chabad House for
the next nearly 40 hours. The couple’s son, Moshe and the cook managed to escape twelve
hours into the siege. According to witnesses, the boy’s pants were drenched in blood when he
emerged.
November 27 (Thursday)
5:30 pm: A batch of 20 commandos were sent who tried to enter the building from the
ground floor. The terrorists had destroyed the lift and the entry point to the Nariman House.
November 28 (Friday)
12:00 am: Nine hostages were rescued from the first floor.
7:30: am: Unable to enter the building from the ground floor,  NSG commandos were air
dropped onto the terrace of the building from a chopper.
1:00 pm: Firing at intervals and grenade explosions continued through the day.
3: 30 pm: A fifteen-minute shooting spree was followed by an NSG commando hanging a
red flag from the window of the fifth floor as a signal to the NSG authorities outside about
the final assault.
5:45 pm: An explosion blew up the fourth floor of the building. The eruption was strong
enough to expose the top floor staircase.
6:00 pm: One of the NSG guards went to the rooftop and showed a thumbs up sign declaring
the operation to be successful.
9:00 pm: NSG chief J K Dutta arrived at the spot and declared the rescue operation at
Nariman House to be successfully over. However, the Rabbi, his wife and five of the
hostages were found dead. One commando, Joginder Singh was killed while two others were
injured.
Cst after the carnage of 26/11 mumbai attacks.
When the media entered  the building less than 24 hours later, the site resembled much like a
global conflict zone. More than 30 grenades had been hurled. Small craters were all over the
floor and bullet marks all across the walls. The stench of decomposed bodies was unbearable.
The bodies of the two terrorists lay on the fourth floor.