26/11 Attacks Survivor Recalls Horror, How He Escaped Death

Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a terrorist who was jailed in the US for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has been extradited to India and will be put to trial for his role in the attacks that shook the nation to its core in 2008. 

Sixteen years after the attacks, survivors recounted the horror they experienced on the night of November 26. Ajay Bagga, a startup mentor and a long-term investor, recalled what happened inside the Taj Hotel when he and his wife, Rajita Kukarni, were caught in the line of fire. 

"Rajita and I were at the Taj at the Masala Craft restaurant. One of our friends, a German member of the European Parliament, was visiting with a big parliamentary delegation."

"We were just starting dinner at about 9:30 pm, the first firing started, and I just looked out and I saw somebody shooting into the Golden Dragon restaurant, which is about 30 meters from where we were. Luckily, that door used to look like a steel wall, and there was no latch inside. I just tied up the door with napkins, tableware, and people were not ready to move. We were told there is a shooting outside."

Read more: "Bringing Back Memories": Survivor Spots Herself In NDTV's 26/11 Footage

Mr Bagga told NDTV that his friend had been in a terror hostage situation in Sri Lanka earlier. So she was well trained and told them that "It is now becoming a hostage situation."

'People Killed On Both Sides'

Mr Bagga and his wife were spotted in the NDTV footage from 16 years ago, which was taken shortly after the firing began.

"On both sides, there were people killed. On the right was the Shamiana 24/7 coffee shop, and on the left was Golden Dragon. There was nobody who survived. Everyone was killed there," Mr Bagga told NDTV. 

"We were providentially safe in Masala Craft. And then after two hours, the hotel moved us to the chambers through the basement area of the staff entrance. We were moved out to the chambers, and we were there. About 200 people were there.  A politician gave a media interview, and he said 200 CEOs and very senior people of Mumbai are trapped here in chambers... They entered chambers and opened fire," he recalled.

"Just then, our evacuation started from the fire escape. One old woman fell. I bent down to pick her up, and I told my wife that we would not push. People were pushing and running down. I said, we'll not push. We'll wait for our turn, and all of a sudden, in front of us, there was nobody alive."

'Taj Staffer Saved Our Life'

Mr Bagga, who was stuck in the Chambers and was awaiting his turn to get rescued, said a staff member from the Taj saved his and his wife's lives. Mr Bagga said, the staffer "Took bullets in his back and we hid in a conference room, lying on the ground for the next about seven hours. Through the night, he (the staffer) was crying. We had nothing but aspirin and whatever people had. There were two doctors with us.

"We tied up his wounds as well as we could, and he made it to the hospital, but he did not survive."

"We were all lying down in the room and the other conference rooms. I thought it was over because huge smoke started coming in. They were throwing grenades from the top to try to break the building...very heavy smoke came in, and we couldn't breathe. I thought it was over because there was a flimsy door between us and them,"

"The National Security Guard (NSG) came at 10," Mr Bagga said, adding that the gunfight continued between the commandos and the terrorists, and "somehow the god was kind" and he was out of the danger zone by 10 pm.

'We Hugged Taj Employees Who Survived'

Mr Bagga said he had to go back to the Taj hotel after a month since he was a member of the chambers and relive the near-death experience he had inside the hotel.

"I went through the entire route that we had taken, right from Masala Craft, through the basement, the staff entrances, and to the chambers. And we went and hugged all the employees who survived. A lot of Taj employees gave up their lives to save us."

He recalled that when the NSG came to their rescue, they didn't know if it's the terrorists pretending to be "the Black Cat commandos or it's really the NSG but then they said, stand back. We are breaking through."

"They (NSG) had to break the door because we had tied it up with all the tablecloths. There were no latches in any of the doors," he added.

Mr Bagga's wife, Ranjita Kulkarni, also spoke to NDTV and said, The extradition of Rana is a "monumental achievement for our country". She thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, US President Donald Trump and the US Supreme Court for making this possible. "I am quite sure it will bring justice. This is a huge day for all martyrs who sacrificed their lives, survivors and their families," she said.

Tahawwaur Rana's Role In 26/11 Attacks

The former Pakistan Army doctor provided logistic, financial and other assistance to David Headley -- a key conspirator in the terror attack. Rana is charged under sections relating to criminal conspiracy, waging war against the government of India, murder and forgery and relevant sections under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He also travelled to various places in India as they identified targets to strike, the chargesheet says.