Meet cop who braved grenade attack in 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, now chief of NIA, agency to prosecute mastermind Tahawwur Rana

The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks can never be forgotten in the history of the biggest terror attacks in India. However, as the extradition of mastermind of Mumbai terror attacks Tahawwur Rana has been made, there is one police officer who now comes at the forefront of Tahawwur Rana's prosecution. On November 26, 2008, the day of the deadliest terror that Mumbai has ever seen, a cop was braving it all to saves as many lives as possible. Sadanand Date rushed to Mumbai's Cama Hospital after Ajmal Kasab and Abu Ismail targeted the hospital. Along with other police officers, Date tried to fight the terrorists for more than 40 minutes during which he braved a grenade attack which injured him severely. 

Date's bravery and sharp mind helped him save many people. After 17 years of the terror attack, Sadanand Date is yet again up against the terrorists behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. He is the head of the National Investigative Agency (NIA) which leads the prosecution of Tahawwur Rana, a plotter of the 26/11 attacks. 

Who is Sadanand Date?

Sadanand Date is a 1990 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who has served top positions in various police departments. He was a Police Commissioner of Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar and  Joint Commissioner in Law and Order and Crime Branch Mumbai. He had also served as the chief of Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Maharashtra. He became NIA chief in 2024 and will continue to be in the position until December 31, 2026, or until further orders. He currently heads the organisation which was established as a result of the attack in 2008 and mainly deals with counter-terrorism. 

How Sadanand Date delayed terrorists' plots

Sadanand Date was the Additional Commissioner of Police, Central Region, at the time. He came to know about a firing in South Mumbai and without delay arrived there, according to a 2023 report by the Indian Express. By responding to the firing, he became one of the first respondents to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, said PTI.  

As he reached Cama Hospital in South Mumbai, he firstly rescued a lift operator whom Ajmal Kasab and Abu Ismail took hostage, the latter being the leader of the 10-member terrorist group behind the several attacks in Mumbai in 2008. “Before entering the terrace from the sixth floor, we threw a metal object to check if any attacker was guarding the gate. Our technique worked, as the moment we threw the object, the terrorist fired a burst of bullets. This was the time when we first got to know that the attackers are equipped with highly sophisticated automated assault weapons," Date told in a 2023 interview to The Indian Express. 

However, he wasn't spared either and suffered heavy gunfire and grenade attacks, but amid these sufferings he saved the lift operator Chandrakant Tikke. After the incident, the commissioner went into a blackout which let Kasab and Ismail escape. Further investigations after the attack revealed that Date fired on the terrorists and one bullet struck Abu Ismail which delayed his actions and allowed hostages to escape helped rescue hostages.  

As Tahawwur Rana arrived in India, the NIA will grill the plotter of 2008 attacks in Mumbai through its special interrogation team and forensic psychologists who are expert in counterterrorism and criminology. The investigative agency had first put him on its chargesheet in 2011. 

What were 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks

The series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai were carried out by 10 gunmen linked with the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. These 10 militants targeted various locations in the city, including the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel, Leopold Cafe, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CST), and Nariman House. The attacks saw mass shootings, hostage-taking, and other forms of terror. Over 166 were killed including more than a dozen foreign nationals. The attacks continued for over 60 hours.  

However the attacks have still left a traumatic impact on the survivors and bereaved families and even remained a dark chapter in India’s recent history.