26/11 hero: Mumbai cop Tukaram Omble’s memorial to be built at a cost of Rs 13.46 crore
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has sanctioned Rs 13.46 crore for a memorial in honour of Ashok Chakra awardee Tukaram Omble, the Mumbai police officer who captured 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab. The memorial will be constructed in his native village, Kedambe, in Satara district, an official said on Saturday.
Omble, a sub-inspector with the Mumbai Police, made the ultimate sacrifice while executing his senior officers’ order to capture Kasab alive. He was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra, India’s highest peacetime gallantry award.
An official circular issued by the state government said that the issue of disbursing funds for the construction of the said memorial was under consideration and it was decided to provide Rs 13.46 crore.
The first instalment for the purpose will be Rs 2.70 crore or 20 per cent of the approved amount of Rs 13.46 crore, it said.
The budgetary provision for the 26/11 hero’s memorial was made under the ‘Establishment of Memorials of Great Personalities in Rural Areas’ Scheme, said the circular.
The ASI was unarmed when he heroically held onto terrorist Ajmal Kasab’s rifle, ensuring his arrest, even as he was shot and killed in the process.
On November 26, 2008, Kasab and his accomplice hijacked a vehicle and drove towards a checkpoint guarded by Omble and his team. The two terrorists opened fire at the police team and one of them was killed inside the vehicle.
Kasab, who survived the shootout, stepped out of the vehicle to surrender. But when Omble approached him, Kasab got up and opened fire. Omble stood in front of him and held on to the barrel of Kasab’s rifle, which prevented the terrorist from targeting other policemen. Omble died in action, but his colleagues managed to overpower Kasab, whose capture and subsequent testimony helped the country expose the Pakistani conspiracy behind the attack.
Omble was awarded the Ashoka Chakra on January 26, 2009. Kasab was hanged to death on November 21, 2012.
The Indian government is trying to bring from the US 26/11 suspect Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Pakistani origin businessman, who has been convicted for his role in the attack that resulted in the death of 164 people.