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Akshardham echoes------------ a year later
By: Pankaj SharmaTelecast: Saturday 20.09.03 at 7:30pm Repeat: Wednesday 24.09.03 at 11:30 am
By: Pankaj Sharma
Telecast: Saturday 20.09.03 at 7:30pm
Repeat: Wednesday 24.09.03 at 11:30 am A year after the ghastly terror attack on Akshardam temple in Gujarat, remembrance of the incident continues to send a chill down our spines. The memories of the victims themselves and those who lost their loved ones are still fresh and any kind of recollection brings with it only trauma.
It was the normal day at the holy shrine on Sept 24 2002, when two terrorists armed with AK-56 Rifles, 26 grenades and 300 rounds of ammunition entered the temple and started indiscriminate firing.
The gruesome siege of the temple claimed 37 lives and left 81 persons injured. The temple could be liberated only after a 15 hour operation by the security forces. The height of the temple wall has been increased to 20 feet and barbed wires keep prowlers away. Barricades have come up around corner gates. Vigilance has increased at entry points and people are allowed in only systematically.
But when Zee Follow Up team met up with those who were present throughout the entire episode, the fear in the eyes is palpable. 30 years old Jitendra R Shah, who is a guide at the Akshardham Temple, remembers those 10 horrific minutes when the terrorists held him at gunpoint and asked him to show the way around. When he first heard a shot, he felt a brawl had broken out. When he turned around he was shot in the foot and confronted by terrorists. Shah recollects the horror of those few minutes when he felt his life had reached close to the end.
Terror was not limited just within the vicinity of the temple. Houses very near the temple were immediately evacuated. Dr Gajendra Singh Achawada recounts how he heard rapid bullet shots and how the police rushed to them and asked them to leave their houses. Those were moments of dread that he cannot ever forget in his life. Sumita Sukhida, whose husband and daughter were killed in the episode, says her entire life has been devastated. She feels common man’s life holds no value, as innocents are increasingly becoming targets and authorities remain unruffled. “It’s the police force that can’t protect lives of devotees. Being informed of terrorist threats in advance, the police should have made adequate security arrangements and increased vigil,” she says.
But Gujarat Police has a very different view. SP, Gandhinagar, R.B. Brahmbhatt says, “ It is not only civilians who have lost their lives. Brave soldiers of the police force too were martyred. I myself battled the terrorists alone till reinforcements arrived.” Though a year has passed, lessons remain to be learned. Conflicting versions of the heinous conspiracy continue to make headlines. There have been claims to cracking the case and booking culprits, but truth might just be the casualty.
Telecast: Saturday 20.09.03 at 7:30pm
Repeat: Wednesday 24.09.03 at 11:30 am A year after the ghastly terror attack on Akshardam temple in Gujarat, remembrance of the incident continues to send a chill down our spines. The memories of the victims themselves and those who lost their loved ones are still fresh and any kind of recollection brings with it only trauma.
It was the normal day at the holy shrine on Sept 24 2002, when two terrorists armed with AK-56 Rifles, 26 grenades and 300 rounds of ammunition entered the temple and started indiscriminate firing.
The gruesome siege of the temple claimed 37 lives and left 81 persons injured. The temple could be liberated only after a 15 hour operation by the security forces. The height of the temple wall has been increased to 20 feet and barbed wires keep prowlers away. Barricades have come up around corner gates. Vigilance has increased at entry points and people are allowed in only systematically.
But when Zee Follow Up team met up with those who were present throughout the entire episode, the fear in the eyes is palpable. 30 years old Jitendra R Shah, who is a guide at the Akshardham Temple, remembers those 10 horrific minutes when the terrorists held him at gunpoint and asked him to show the way around. When he first heard a shot, he felt a brawl had broken out. When he turned around he was shot in the foot and confronted by terrorists. Shah recollects the horror of those few minutes when he felt his life had reached close to the end.
Terror was not limited just within the vicinity of the temple. Houses very near the temple were immediately evacuated. Dr Gajendra Singh Achawada recounts how he heard rapid bullet shots and how the police rushed to them and asked them to leave their houses. Those were moments of dread that he cannot ever forget in his life. Sumita Sukhida, whose husband and daughter were killed in the episode, says her entire life has been devastated. She feels common man’s life holds no value, as innocents are increasingly becoming targets and authorities remain unruffled. “It’s the police force that can’t protect lives of devotees. Being informed of terrorist threats in advance, the police should have made adequate security arrangements and increased vigil,” she says.
But Gujarat Police has a very different view. SP, Gandhinagar, R.B. Brahmbhatt says, “ It is not only civilians who have lost their lives. Brave soldiers of the police force too were martyred. I myself battled the terrorists alone till reinforcements arrived.” Though a year has passed, lessons remain to be learned. Conflicting versions of the heinous conspiracy continue to make headlines. There have been claims to cracking the case and booking culprits, but truth might just be the casualty.