ETV cameraman injured in 26/11 attacks recalls 'Black Day'

ETV cameraman Anil Nirmal was shot in the hand during the November 26, 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai. He says that he will never forget that day, and recalls the horrifying incident that had left him injured.

Mumbai: The 26/11 Mumbai attacks are a horrifying episode ingrained in the history of India. One of the cameramen associated with ETV Bharat still remembers how he was unexpectedly shot while trying to get coverage of the attack. Cameraman Anil Nirmal sustained the injury on his hand during the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008.

"I still remember that day," he says. Nirmal was working as a cameraman for ETV in 2008 at the Mumbai branch. As usual, he had reached his home after a long day at work on the night of 26/11, but had to rush back when he received a call from the office and was asked to get on to the field. By then, Nirmal only knew that firing was going on at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), but had no idea about the terrorists' attack. He took his camera and reached the Metro Cinema near CSMT to get coverage of the attacks for the channel. Meanwhile, a police van arrived there. Considering it safe to take a video of the police van, he raised his camera. Right then, bullets erupted from the van, which was actually filled with terrorists.

One of the bullets touched Anil's fingers. Before he could get a hold of what had suddenly happened, his hand had started bleeding profusely. He says he could not get a hold of anything and was under the impression that he might die. Anil was later admitted to a hospital where he was provided tretment. He says it took him six months to recover completely from the shock and the injury.

He also says that he had decided to quit the media after the incident, but he somehow made his way back. He gives the credit for his motivation to Balasaheb Thackeray, who had felicitated him for his bravery and had asked him about his well-being. He still continues to work for the media. But even today the memories of that incident are still afresh in his mind. He says that he will never forget that day.

The 26/11 attacks were completed 13 years on Friday. Destroying several places in the financial capital of India, the attacks were executed by 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba killing 174 people, including 20 security force personnel and 26 foreign nationals, and injuring 300.