#Bombayphile : The Heroes of 26/11 Are Waiting For Government To Fulfill This 3 Year Old Promise!

My friend Hemant Bavdhankar retired as a Senior Inspector of the Mumbai Police last year. He could have retired as an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) had the Maharashtra government kept its promise. Bavdhankar was no ordinary cop. Out of the ten Pakistani terrorists that stormed Mumbai on 26-11-2008, eight were killed by the National Security Guards (NSG). Out of the remaining two, Abu Ismail was shot dead by Bavdhankar and Kasab was arrested alive by the team he was part of. He was promised “One-Step-Promotion” as a reward by the government, which he never got.

It is not news that politicians are averse to fulfilling the promises they make. The election manifestos of political parties are solely intended to appeal to the voters and get hold of power. However, making false promises to voters is different from making certain announcements for the people of the armed forces, and not implementing them. The brave hearts of the Mumbai Police, like Bavdhankar, find themselves as victims of such political propaganda. These are the personnel of the Mumbai Police who have been awaiting their “One-Step-Promotion” for the last three years.

During the 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai, out of ten Pakistani terrorists, only one was caught alive. After snatching a Skoda car from a hotelier at Nariman Point, terrorist Ajmal Kasab and his accomplice Abu Ismail headed towards Girgaon Chowpatty on the Marine Drive. An alert was sounded against them and all the police stations across the city were asked to barricade roads and conduct Nakabandis. Accordingly, a team from the D.B.Marg police station barricaded the Cafe Ideal junction at Girgaon Chowpatty. When the duo was confronted by the police team at the junction, they tried to take a U-turn and escape. However, Assistant Sub-Inspector Tukaram Ombale, who was following them from the Nariman Point on his motorcycle, seized the opportunity when the car slowed down due to barricading. Ismail was in the driving seat while Kasab was sitting next to him. Omble pounced on Kasab and grabbed his neck. However, Kasab, who was holding a Kalashnikov, fired and Ombale was killed instantly. Another Inspector named Sanjay Govilkar was injured. But the police team too retaliated with the bullets and Inspector Hemant Bavdhankar shot on the forehead of Ismail. As soon as Ismail was killed, police constables disarmed Kasab and were about to lynch him, but the officers present realised that Kasab should be caught alive to unearth the whole conspiracy.

Getting Kasab alive indeed opened an information goldmine on the very night of the attacks. His interrogation vividly revealed that the conspiracy to attack Mumbai was hatched by terrorist organisations based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The ten terrorists were sent via the sea route from Karachi. Had Kasab not been nabbed alive, it would have been tough for the Indian agencies to establish the role of Pakistan in the attacks. In March 2020, during the Budget Session of the Maharashtra Legislature, Anil Deshmukh, then Home Minister, appreciated the display of bravery and alertness of the D.B.Marg police team. He enthusiastically announced that the state government would give “One-Step-Promotion” to all the fourteen police personnel who participated in the Girgaon Chowpatty encounter.

The policemen, who were already being lauded as heroes, were delighted with this gesture of the government. If cops get a one step promotion in the organization, it means that a Sub-Inspector would become a Police Inspector, an Inspector would become a Senior Inspector and a Senior Inspector would become an Assistant Police Commissioner. It implies that they would get better pay and perks. However, even after three years of the announcement, the cops are still waiting for their promised promotion. Anil Deshmukh remained Home Minister for around a year after making the announcement, before going to jail in a money laundering case. However, he did nothing during this period to implement what he promised. The media and the concerned police personnel followed up on the matter with Deshmukh’s successor, Dilip Walse Patil, but in vain. There has been no word from Uddhav Thackeray as well during whose chief ministership such a promise was made. As per the principle of “collective responsibility,” it was Uddhav Thackeray’s duty to ensure the implementation of the announcement.

Many, like Hemant Bavdhankar, have retired since the time the announcement was made, while a few are still hopeful. Last year saw a change in the government, with Eknath Shinde swearing in as the Chief Minister and Devendra Fadnavis becoming the Home Minister. Will they take cognisance of the matter and prevent the hopefuls of promised “One-Step-Promotion,” from feeling that they have been joked upon?

(Bombayphile is published every week where Jitendra Dixit writes about the past and the present of Mumbai.)