New Delhi: The iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus(CST) in Mumbai was today illuminated in colours of the French flag in solidarity with the victims of Paris terror attacks.
The deadly attacks in Paris on Friday night claimed by the dreaded Islamic State left at least 129 people dead and over 350 wounded.
Many Mumbaikars recounted their horror when the city faced similar attack on 26th November in the year 2008.
Our heartbeat almost stopped,” said a Mumbai attack survivor who lost six of his kin in the terror strike, as the Paris carnage brought back haunting memories of horror, pain and fear today to 26/11 victims.
Ten members of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based terror outfit, had carried out a series of 12 coordinated attacks lasting four days across Mumbai in November 2008, killing 164 people and injuring over 300.
39-year-old Shamim Shaikh, who lost six of his kin on the night of November 26, 2008, said 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.
“As soon as we heard that such an attack has happened in Paris, our heartbeat almost stopped. We get this feeling again and again that we should not live in big cities. It is better to live in our village, eat once a day, but at least live safely,” Shaikh said.
He said that those spreading terror in the name of Islam are not really Muslims, because the religion stands for peace. “Islam advocates peace. It never teaches us to be terrorists. Such people have no relation to Islam except that they bear our names. A Muslim can never be a terrorist,” he said.
Vinita Kamte, the wife of Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte who lost his life fighting the terrorists in Mumbai in 2008, 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.
“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.
Santosh Singh, whose wife and seven-year-old son suffered serious bullet injuries at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, said only those who have been through “hell” can understand the plight of the families whose members have been killed in Paris.
“The Paris attack has made us relive those moments. Only we can feel what they are going through right now. People who have not gone through hell can never understand the pain of those who have lived through the carnage,” he said.
“I fail to understand what do these terrorists get by killing innocent people? My wife and my son remained in the hospital for three months after the incident. Even today she is grappling with stomach complications. She cannot even go out on her own, someone has to assist her, lest she falls down,” Singh said.
(With PTI Inputs)
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