The Taj Hotel attack operation black tornedo
2140 hours The Taj Palace, the iconic symbol of Mumbai, built 105 years ago in defiance to the British, was about to became the icon of Mumbai’s fall. A team of police officers had managed to enter the Taj with the help of the hotel security manager, and into the room with all the CCTV cameras. The two gunmen walked over the bodies and blood across the lobby. They were met with 2 other gunmen who joined them from the southern entry. Together they took the elevator to the 6th floor, their aim to round up as many high profile hostages as they could. Blameworthy, age 69, a banker from Bangalore started to pack his things and looked for an escape route Before he could think his door blasted open and he was taken hostage by the gunmen.
The terrorists called their handlers to give them a lowdown. The harbour craft “Vahini” arrived at MARCOS Special Forces base, INS Abhimanyu. The Marcos braced themselves for operations on unfamiliar terrain. Armed with AK-47 and MP5 sub-machine guns and holstered 9mm pistols on their thighs. Vishwas Nagre Patil was keeping watch from the control room. The terrorists had started gathering mattresses from the rooms. Patil knew something is up. He asked his senior Gafoor for permission to go in. Gafoor refused. He told Patil to wait, the navy was coming. NSG headquarters flash a code CHEETAH CHEETAH CHEETAH. The Black Cats get into their gear. The attacks began at 2120 hours on 26th November The Marcos arrived at 0200 hours on 27th November According to counter terrorist experts a task force needs to arrive no longer than half an hour after the attack. The Marines had already lost 5 hours. And the NSG would lose 12. 0100 hours, 27TH November: Indian Intelligence started intercepting the conversations between the terrorists and the handlers. The calls were being made to Karachi By then the most memorable icon of Mumbai, the Taj Palace was on fire and the terrifying visual was being reported by journalists and watched by the rest of the country. 0200 hours Location- Taj Palace. The Marcos arrived at The Taj and were given a briefing by the police. The hotel security manager handed them a blueprint of the hotel’s layout on an A4 size sheet of paper. The commando could not make sense of anything on the dense blueprint and puts it in his pocket. They would be going in blind. In silence the Marcos made their way in with the security manager. . Bursts of fire are heard coming from the kitchen.
The commandos collected around the kitchen door. The militants threw a grenade but it does not explode. The terrorists escaped from numerous exits and the Macros gained entry. The immediate priority changed to to evacuating civilians. from controlling terrorists But they needed back up there were 200 guests in the hotel. And they were only 8. Two more 8 member teams of Marcos arrived at the Taj. 2 teams were deployed to evacuate injured civilians the third to search for terrorists. It wasn’t going to be an easy task because the hotel had around 300 rooms. And the terrorists might be tracking their moves because the media was reporting everything. The Taj was a labyrinthine complex with a twenty-one story tower and a main building constructed in a U shape with varying floor plans. The havoc inside the hotel suggested a bigger contingent. The clock was ticking, Sheoran had no time. He took his men to the pavement outside the Taj, explained the layout to his commandos with twigs. Sheoran’s immediate priority was clear: evacuate ‘technical hostages’, civilians trapped in the operation zone. Sheroan split his men into 2 teams. Col Sheoran would lead the Taj team himself, with Major Kandwal and Major Unnikrishnan.
The NSG team took a handover from the Marcos. The Marcos had been instrumental in saving more than 300 lives and were now handing over the final assault to the heavier numbered NSG Major Sanjay Kandwal and Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan,. were supposed to sandwich the terrorists at the chambers The sniper team commander Major Jasrotia took a walk around the periphery of the Taj. The Gateway of India seemed like an obvious sniper perch. And thanks to an ongoing construction it already had iron scaffoldings The climb was going to be easy. God, he thought, works in small ways. Col Sheoran estimate was 2 gunmen. But his men were reporting 4 The door-to-door searches were brutal A fire choked some floors, forcing the commandos to regroup. Major Jodha found himself at the grand staircase, , a single long staircase split into a Y. His men were pinned down by bullets and grenades that rained down from multiple directions at once. Jodha was hit once, then again. Eight times in all. Maj Unnikrishnan dragged him out of the line of fire. The last words that Major Unnikrishnan’s team heard from him were, “Don’t come behind me,” As soon as the major swung around to take out the first gunman, he was surprised by a burst of fire. He buckled to the ground, squeezing off several errant rounds as he fell. The radio transmission screamed, “Unni? Unni? Sierra Leone to Commando 4” But there was only silence on the other end. 28th November 20081200 hours Kandwal and his commandos were tracking Unnikrishnan’s killers through a void that was ambush ready. Suddenly there were shots heard from the restaurant Wasabi.
The gunmen were running out of space to maneuver. Colonel Kandwal and his team finally got into the hallway that led to Wasabi restaurant. They rigged the door with explosives and blew it up. Col Sheoran threw back to back grenades into Wasabi. The liquor in the bar ignited. The terrorists started moving downstairs to break out of the windows. Shortly after dawn, one of the gunmen tried to escape through the southernmost window of the bar he was shot thrice by Major Roy from the bar door. He fell onto the pavement outside The other gunman sitting next to the window covering his escape/exit was spotted by Capt. Varun Dalal. He was shot dead by the commando. When the fires inside were finally snuffed out, the charred remains of two more accomplices lay on the floor. Major Kandwal walked through the debri. All the four terrorists were accounted for. The Taj was clear. It had finally ended.
The terrorists called their handlers to give them a lowdown. The harbour craft “Vahini” arrived at MARCOS Special Forces base, INS Abhimanyu. The Marcos braced themselves for operations on unfamiliar terrain. Armed with AK-47 and MP5 sub-machine guns and holstered 9mm pistols on their thighs. Vishwas Nagre Patil was keeping watch from the control room. The terrorists had started gathering mattresses from the rooms. Patil knew something is up. He asked his senior Gafoor for permission to go in. Gafoor refused. He told Patil to wait, the navy was coming. NSG headquarters flash a code CHEETAH CHEETAH CHEETAH. The Black Cats get into their gear. The attacks began at 2120 hours on 26th November The Marcos arrived at 0200 hours on 27th November According to counter terrorist experts a task force needs to arrive no longer than half an hour after the attack. The Marines had already lost 5 hours. And the NSG would lose 12. 0100 hours, 27TH November: Indian Intelligence started intercepting the conversations between the terrorists and the handlers. The calls were being made to Karachi By then the most memorable icon of Mumbai, the Taj Palace was on fire and the terrifying visual was being reported by journalists and watched by the rest of the country. 0200 hours Location- Taj Palace. The Marcos arrived at The Taj and were given a briefing by the police. The hotel security manager handed them a blueprint of the hotel’s layout on an A4 size sheet of paper. The commando could not make sense of anything on the dense blueprint and puts it in his pocket. They would be going in blind. In silence the Marcos made their way in with the security manager. . Bursts of fire are heard coming from the kitchen.
The commandos collected around the kitchen door. The militants threw a grenade but it does not explode. The terrorists escaped from numerous exits and the Macros gained entry. The immediate priority changed to to evacuating civilians. from controlling terrorists But they needed back up there were 200 guests in the hotel. And they were only 8. Two more 8 member teams of Marcos arrived at the Taj. 2 teams were deployed to evacuate injured civilians the third to search for terrorists. It wasn’t going to be an easy task because the hotel had around 300 rooms. And the terrorists might be tracking their moves because the media was reporting everything. The Taj was a labyrinthine complex with a twenty-one story tower and a main building constructed in a U shape with varying floor plans. The havoc inside the hotel suggested a bigger contingent. The clock was ticking, Sheoran had no time. He took his men to the pavement outside the Taj, explained the layout to his commandos with twigs. Sheoran’s immediate priority was clear: evacuate ‘technical hostages’, civilians trapped in the operation zone. Sheroan split his men into 2 teams. Col Sheoran would lead the Taj team himself, with Major Kandwal and Major Unnikrishnan.
The NSG team took a handover from the Marcos. The Marcos had been instrumental in saving more than 300 lives and were now handing over the final assault to the heavier numbered NSG Major Sanjay Kandwal and Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan,. were supposed to sandwich the terrorists at the chambers The sniper team commander Major Jasrotia took a walk around the periphery of the Taj. The Gateway of India seemed like an obvious sniper perch. And thanks to an ongoing construction it already had iron scaffoldings The climb was going to be easy. God, he thought, works in small ways. Col Sheoran estimate was 2 gunmen. But his men were reporting 4 The door-to-door searches were brutal A fire choked some floors, forcing the commandos to regroup. Major Jodha found himself at the grand staircase, , a single long staircase split into a Y. His men were pinned down by bullets and grenades that rained down from multiple directions at once. Jodha was hit once, then again. Eight times in all. Maj Unnikrishnan dragged him out of the line of fire. The last words that Major Unnikrishnan’s team heard from him were, “Don’t come behind me,” As soon as the major swung around to take out the first gunman, he was surprised by a burst of fire. He buckled to the ground, squeezing off several errant rounds as he fell. The radio transmission screamed, “Unni? Unni? Sierra Leone to Commando 4” But there was only silence on the other end. 28th November 20081200 hours Kandwal and his commandos were tracking Unnikrishnan’s killers through a void that was ambush ready. Suddenly there were shots heard from the restaurant Wasabi.
The gunmen were running out of space to maneuver. Colonel Kandwal and his team finally got into the hallway that led to Wasabi restaurant. They rigged the door with explosives and blew it up. Col Sheoran threw back to back grenades into Wasabi. The liquor in the bar ignited. The terrorists started moving downstairs to break out of the windows. Shortly after dawn, one of the gunmen tried to escape through the southernmost window of the bar he was shot thrice by Major Roy from the bar door. He fell onto the pavement outside The other gunman sitting next to the window covering his escape/exit was spotted by Capt. Varun Dalal. He was shot dead by the commando. When the fires inside were finally snuffed out, the charred remains of two more accomplices lay on the floor. Major Kandwal walked through the debri. All the four terrorists were accounted for. The Taj was clear. It had finally ended.
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