Paris carnage brings back haunting memories to 26/11 victims

Mumbai, Nov 15 (PTI) The deadly attacks in Paris claimed to be orchestrated by Islamic State group, that left 129 people dead and over 350 wounded, has brought back the haunting memories of horror, pain and fear to the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai carnage.

Ten members of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based militant organisation, had carried out a series of 12 coordinated attacks lasting four days across Mumbai in November 2008, killing 164 people and injuring over 300.

Vinita Kamte, the wife of Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte who lost his life fighting the terrorists in Mumbai in 2008, said the members of ISIS, that has claimed responsibility for the attacks, should understand that instead of spreading their religion they are bringing a bad name to the followers of Islam who believe in non-violence.

"I am shocked at the magnitude of the Paris attacks. It is all the more concerning that such kind of attacks are happening in a western country that has some of the best security measures in place," she said.

Incidents like these, where innocent, unarmed people are killed, only make one wonder when will all this end, she said.

"You cannot spread your religion like this. On the contrary, these people are only causing harm because people who follow the religion but believe in non-violence also get labelled then," she said.

Kamte said though she has learnt to cope up with her loss, such incidents only bring back the bad memories, and the only solace is the good times spent with her husband.

39-year-old Shamim Shaikh, who lost six of his kin on the night of November 26, 2008, says the Paris attack has only brought back memories of fear and the pain that his other family members had to go through.

"There was a strange atmosphere that night. We were to go to our native place then, but, as soon as we entered the station, we saw that people were running helter-skelter. Till the time we understood what was happening, six persons from my family were already dead," he told PTI.