Finally, The Dawn

Updated: Sunday, November 30, 2008

Home Minister Shivraj Patil resigns over Mumbai attacks, taking moral responsibility for it.
P. Chidambaram to replace Patil
National Security Adviser M K Narayanan's resignation has been denied by the PMO.
'Come to Leo with hugs and smiles'. Three days later Mumbai limps back to normalcy as the famous 'Cafe Leopold' reopened with this slogan.
Mumbai attackers trained by special forces: Russian expert
FBI team to help in probe into Mumbai terror strikes, Israel to send anti-terror, forensic experts to India
LeT militants seemingly learnt Hindi prior to the attack. Words like 'kriya' (action), 'pratikriya' (reaction) and 'udhaharan' (example) were used in the email thatclaimed responsibilty for the attack.

Saturday, November 29,2008

Missing journalist Sabina Sakia found dead at the devastated sixth floor
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister RR Patil says two boxes containing eight kg RDX each found near the hotel. Enough to kill 5,000 people, he says
Hotel says no indication of staff involvement in terrorist attack
8 live grenades found and defused
None of the hostages survived
NSG finds bodies of three killed terrorists on the first and ground floors.

08: 30-09:30am

NSG Director General J K Dutt confirms the 62-hour siege is over. Three terrorists killed in the operation.
He says that the hotel has been reclaimed but without a thorough search, the NSG would not hand over the hotel to the police
'Sanitation process' and search on for hostages and missing guests
Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor says the siege is over and that both the terrorists holed up inside the hotel had been killed.
NSG sources say one terrorist killed and that they are looking for the second terrorist inside the hotel.

midnight to 08:00 am: Sporadic firing with periods of lull

Friday, November 28,2008

11 pm to midnight:

Twenty NSG commandos enter the hotel for a final assault.
NSG Director General J K Dutt says: "They (terrorists) are changing their positions. We have to also, on the spot, try and change our tactics, strategies. From the intensity of the firing and different area they have occupied, I would say there would be two or three of them. The final picture will emerge only after the final operation is over and the checking of the room is complete. Our information is that they have been hit." He refused to elaborate.

03:00 pm to 11 pm:

NSG officer Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan is reported shot dead in operation
Multiple grenade blasts
Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor says it is just one terrorist and that the NSG is hindered by the possible loss of lives of hostages
A foreign journalist hit in the knee. A bystander, outside the hotel, shot in the back, reportedly by bullets that may have ricocheted during cross-fire.

12:00 to 3 pm: MARCOS (Marine Commandos)held a press conference (with their faces covered) and said:

Terrorists had AK series rifles
The presence of many guests stopped them from a no-holds barred attack on the terrorists
Plastic explosives and 8 credit cards were recovered from the terrorists
30 bodies were recovered from one of the halls of the hotel
Close to 200 guests were held hostage in one of the halls
A Mauritius national ID card and currency worth $1,200 was recovered from the terrorists

08:00 am to 12:00 noon:

Reinforcements are called in
Media asked to stop live telecast to cut any possible information flow to terrorists
Army Commander LT Gen N Thamburaj says the new hotel building totally " sanitised" and handed over to the police. At least one confirmed terrorist, who's knocked out the lights on two floors and is constantly on the move, left in the old heritage portion of the building.
Two terrorists with 25 hostages believed to be inside
Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor says one NSG commando seriously injured

01:00 am to 8:00 am

Midnight to 1:00 am

Thursday, November 27,2008

10:00 am to- midnight:

All hostages at the hotel are rescued
Sporadic incidents of fire breaking out on the rooftop of the hotel.
The hotel General Manager's wife and two sons are reported killed
Ratan Tata gives TV interview, says terrorists clearly were very familiar with the back-offices and the kitchen areas
Experts suspect that many terrorists may have checked in as guests or even taken employment earlier
Fire breaks out in new wing of the hotel as well

07:00 am to 09:00 am:

50 people are evacuated from Chambers
Fresh rounds of gunfire heard from inside.
NSG commandos arrive. They take positions at the rear side of the building and make an entry.
The top portion of the old heritage building is engulfed in fire..

04:00 to 07:00 am

Fresh bout of massive exchange of fire continues
Terrorists have moved to the new tower by now in the exclusive "Chambers" club.
Turns out that many of the influential businessman, policy makers are part of those still inside
Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh claims fire has been controlled. But it erupts forth again with both central and left dome on fire.

03:00 to 04:00 am

Agencies report that more than 200 people have been evacuated
Two terrorists shot dead.
Naval commandos storm hotel
Rescued people claim they were told by hotel management to stay inside their rooms. Some claim to have seen the terrorists shooting around.
People are brought down as firemen smash windows to pull people out
Firing subsides as the fire brigade starts rescue
Fire spreads as screams are heard from inside the heritage portion.

02:00 to 03:00 am

Police guide rescue work as some of the trapped inside escape from the kitchen fire exit
Fire brigade arrives
A fire on one of the hotel's middle floors in the old wing-- cause unknown -- spreads upwards. It spreads across the top floor of the hotel's heritage wing. Fire spreads quickly to the left dome of the hotel, and then engulfs the entire column in flames.
Shooting and firing heard inside lobby and heritage building.
Two truck-fulls of army contingent arrives and is deployed immediately.
N N Krishnadas, Member of Parliament, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), holed up in a room at the hotel, reports that as late as 2:10 AM, explosions could be heard from within the premises.
Confirmed that at least 15 people -- seven of them foreigners -- are being held hostage by two terrorists on the roof of the hotel. A London-based businessman, Rakesh Patel, who managed to escape, tells NDTV, that the two terrorists, estimated to be in their early 20s, came to a restaurant on the ground floor of the Taj, rounded up the hostages and took them to the 18th floor. Patel, who was one among them, managed at that point to escape. Patel said the terrorists asked if any of the hostages were carrying American or British passports. He said it was clear to him that they wanted to focus on foreigners.
ATS team enters the hotel