The closest encounter with tackling terror

Dubai: Arun Jadav has seen terror from possibly the closest quarters — as close as he could hear and touch the two gunmen who shot down hundreds of innocents at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus last November.

Shot at and crushed under the bodies of his two colleagues, the policeman was in the same vehicle that Ajmal Kasab and Abu Esmail hijacked, after killing the city's three top cops on November 26 last year.

A year on after the horrifying incident that shook Mumbai, Jadav is slowly putting his life back together. He returned to the Mumbai crime branch in May, after spending six months in hospital.

The pain on his shoulders where he sustained three bullet injuries, still bothers him but not as much as the loss of his long-time boss, Vijay Salaskar. The encounter specialist was shot at point-black range along with anti-terror squad chief, Hemant Karkare and additional commissioner Ashok Kamte who were travelling in the same vehicle with Jadav and other two constables sitting behind.

Absence

"I miss my boss. I feel his absence every day. I had been with him in all major encounters. When he was shot right in front of my eyes, I could not do anything," Jadav said.

He has only one regret — that he could not kill the two gunmen. "I wanted to reach my gun and kill them. But I could not move my hands as I was shot on my shoulders," he said.

Jadav played dead till the terrorists abandoned the vehicle after one of its tyres burst. Jadav called the police control room and helped police intercept the terrorist midway.

"I am happy that I could do that much. I wanted to kill them. But at least I could facilitate the arrest of Kasab," Jadav told Gulf News over the phone.

He said he is thankful to God that he is alive when hundreds lost their lives in the terror attack. "I am an ordinary man. I want to continue serving my country. I want to be part of the fight against terrorism. You cannot be scared and keep away," he said.

Jadav said his family — his wife and three children — are still haunted by the tragedy. "They call me at least ten times a day to make sure that I am fine. If I get late from work, they panic," said Jadav.

But Jadav finds solace in the fact that things are changing in Mumbai police as the force is better equipped. He and his colleagues did not even have bullet proof vests when they set out to take on the terrorists.

"Now policemen like us who take part in encounters have bullet-proof jackets and better pistols."

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