26/11 anniversary: “Hope papa will come home,” says Ombale’s daughter
Nine years have gone since 10 terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba attacked Mumbai on 26/11. For the family of Tukaram Ombale who was killed while trying to capture Ajmal Kasab, life has not been the same.
They
still
feel
he
would
come
home.
The
daughter
of
Ombale
says
that
"We
still
feel
papa
will
come
home."
"We
feel
papa
will
come
home
any
moment,
although
deep
in
our
heart
we
know
that
he
will
never
be
amongst
us
now,"
says
a
teary-eyed
Vaishali
Ombale,
the
eldest
daughter
of
the
Mumbai
terror
attacks
hero.
"We always think that Papa has gone out on duty and will return home. We have kept his belongings at the place they used to be in our home. Our family is proud of his supreme sacrifice," Vaishali Ombale, who has completed her MEd (Masters in education) and aspires to be a lecturer, said.
Ombale, an assistant sub-inspector, was killed by Kasab's bullets in the early hours of November 27, 2008. In a daring act, he had pounced on Kasab without thinking much about the consequences. His bravery had made it possible for the police to overpower Kasab, the only 26/11 terrorist to be captured and hanged.
"Not a day has gone by in the last nine years that we have not remembered him," said Vaishali Ombale, who stays at the Worli Police Camp with her mother Tara and sister Bharti, who is an officer in the state GST department.
"For how long will police or armed forces personnel continue losing their lives in the name of supreme sacrifice," she asked.
"This should stop somewhere. There should be a change in this scenario. Every citizen should always be alert and foil incidents in which we are losing our men," she said, ahead of the 26/11 attacks anniversary.
Vaishali Ombale said citizens should know their responsibilities and must understand that when policemen or armed forces personnel get killed in the line of duty, it is not only the family's loss but also that of the country.
"Satara district in Western Maharashtra from where my family hails has a long history of martyrs. Among the recent ones are CRPF head constable Ravindra Dhanawade, who was killed while fighting terrorists in Kashmir in August and Colonel Santosh Mahadik, who died while fighting terrorists in Kashmir in 2015. The list is unending, which disturbs me a lot," she said.
"We
treat
every
member
of
a
martyr's
family
like
our
own
family
and
we
help
them
overcome
the
grief,"
she
said.
Vaishali
Ombale
gives
tuitions
to
students
from
class
8th
to
junior
college,
which
keeps
her
busy
and
makes
her
forget
the
pain
of
losing
her
father.
On November 26, 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorists arrived in Mumbai by sea route and opened fire indiscriminately at people on different locations, killing 166, including 18 security personnel, and injuring several others, besides damaging property worth crores.
OneIndia News