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As Mumbai commemorates the seventh anniversary of the 26/11 terror attacks, Sebastian D’Souza, the senior photojournalist whose stunning pictures of Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab formed crucial visual evidence in the 26/11 trial, is still waiting for a house in Mumbai that Maharashtra government had promised him after his testimony in court sealed the fate of Kasab.

A veteran photojournalist whose images of Mumbai and Gujarat riots became the face of the tragedies, Mr. D’Souza had lived in rented houses through his career and was allotted a flat in Thane by the then Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in July 2010. However, Mr. D’Souza, could never occupy the 555-sq.ft flat because of a legal dispute.

“The builder said he would not be able to sign an agreement for the flat due to a long pending legal dispute with the land owner in the Bombay High Court,” says Mr. D’Souza, who retired as a photo editor in 2012 and is recovering from a bypass surgery five months ago.

Photojournalist Sebastian D’Souza.

Floral tributes were paid to the martyrs who laid down their lives while fighting terrorists who had attacked the city on this day seven years ago.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was among the dignitaries who paid homage at the 26/11 police memorial site at the Mumbai Police Gymkhana in south Mumbai.

“I pay homage to the brave policemen who fought for Mumbai’s safety and laid down their lives for us on 26/11. We are proud of them and we will strive hard for safety and security of our state,” Mr. Fadnavis said.

“We will strengthen police force with better equipment. It is our priority,” he said.

Family members of the policemen, who lost their lives during the November 2008 attacks, were also present during the ceremony.

On November 26, 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorists arrived by sea route and opened fire indiscriminately at people killing 166, including 18 security personnel, and injuring several others, besides damaging property worth crores.

The then ATS chief Hemant Karkare, Army Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Mumbai’s Additional Police Commissioner Ashok Kamte and Senior Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar were among those killed in the attack.

The attack had begun on 26 November and lasted till 29 November. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, the Nariman House Jewish community centre were some of the places targeted by the terrorists. Ajmal Kasab was the only terrorist who was captured alive. He was hanged four years later on November 21, 2012.

A view of Taj Mahal hotel which was targeted during the 26/11 terror attack in 2008 in Mumbai. Photo: PTI

As illegal fishing boats thrive, Mumbai still insecure

Mumbai’s coastline is still as vulnerable as it was seven years ago, Damodar Tandel, president of the Akhil Maharashtra Machhimar Kriti Samiti, said here on Wednesday.

Mr. Tandel said the fact that illegal fishing boats from as far as Gujarat were being caught at Mumbai docks proved this. “If illegal fishing boats can come to Mumbai unchecked, what is to stop terrorists from coming the same way? If the police are unable to stop illegal fishing boats, are they going to be able to know which boat is carrying terrorists?” Mr. Tandel said.

The personnel who man the Mumbai police’s patrol boats, however, refuted Mr. Tandel’s claim. “We personally go on board, check their paperwork and search the entire boat whenever we spot a suspicious boat. We have found so many illegal fishing boats while patrolling and have taken action against them as well,” said a police officer.

Mr. Tandel stays at the fishermen’s colony at Badhwar Park, Cuffe Parade; the same jetty from where Ajmal Kasab and his nine fellow terrorists entered Mumbai on the night of November 26, 2008, and proceeded to wreak havoc.The terrorists had hijacked a fishing vehicle in deep waters and then made their way to Mumbai using an inflatable dinghy.

Following the attacks, the police installed a chowky at the jetty, along with a watch tower which is now manned by an armed constable.

An amphibious patrol vehicle is also stationed at the chowky.

Mr. Tandel said that his own fishermen had repeatedly caught illegal fishing boats and handed them over to the authorities, but that the fishermen were released.

“Over the last two months, we have caught 15 illegal fishing boats, in addition to 12 illegal fishing boats from Gujarat, at the Sassoon Dock and handed the fishermen over to the police. However, the police only took them into custody and let them go,” Mr. Tandel alleged.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Port Zone) Kirankumar Chavan said, “Illegal fishing is doubtless a concern and we do take action. I am aware of illegal fishermen being brought to us by fishermen. As per the law, we fined them under the Bombay Police Act and handed them over to the Fisheries department for further action.”

Coast Guard personnel keep vigil on the Mumbai coastline. Photo: Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury