26/11, a grim reminder of our perilous neighbourhood: Antony

NEW DELHI - Defence Minister A K Antony on Friday reiterated the nation’s resolve not to allow a repeat of 26/11, which he described as a type mayhem by terrorists in the country.

In a message on the second anniversary of the terrorist attack on Mumbai, Antony said: “It is a grim reminder of the volatile and perilous state of our neighbourhood, and thereby, the need for constant vigil.”

He said that his thoughts go out to the families of the victims and the extraordinarily brave security personnel who lost their lives in the carnage.

Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram paid tribute to those killed in the 26/11 terror attacks by laying a wreath at the martyrs’ memorial at the Police Gymkhana in South Mumbai.

On the occasion, Chidambaram said that Pakistan was yet to fulfil its promise of bringing the perpetrators of the crime to justice.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and state Home Minister R. R. Patil also paid tribute to the martyrs.

The Maharashtra Police took out a parade from the Oberoi Trident Hotel, which was one of the sites attacked by the terrorists.

Teams of Force One, Quick Response Teams (QRT) and Mumbai Police took part in the parade after saluting Chief Minister Chavan.

Besides the official functions, several other memorial services were held during the day in the city.

Prayer meetings and commemoration services at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Hotel Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and Hotel Trident-Oberoi were also held.

P Unnikrishnan, the father of martyred National Security Guard (NSG) commando Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who has undertaken a cycle tour from India Gate in Delhi, joined a peace march at the Gateway of India in Mumbai.

A candle-lit silent prayer rally was organized by the College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan, and the family members of 26/11 victims, from Cama Hospital lane to St Xavier’s college in South Mumbai.

Mumbai was turned into a virtual fortress, with the authorities stepping up security and increasing vigilance. Several patrol units have been set up to increase surveillance in order to thwart possible strikes by sleeper cells of militant groups.

Several mock security drills were carried out at vital places in Mumbai, while traffic policemen were directed to routinely conduct surprise checks to verify passenger credentials. (ANI)