A true story of a Mumbai Police as published in Mumbai Mirror.How many of you recognise this man?
Deeptiman Tiwary reconstructs the life of 26/11 hero Tukaram Omble who died, but caught Qasab alive
By Deeptiman Tiwary
Posted On Sunday, December 28, 2008 at 02:46:27 AM
In July this year, when thousands of jellyfish washed ashore by the Arabian Sea stung visitors on Girgaum Chowpatty, a constable on duty worked tirelessly to keep people off the beach. When few heeded his warning, he went home and read up on the creature. The next day, he went to the beach with a bagful of lemons, bought with his own money, and administered lime juice on every sting injury as he had read it would provide relief. This incident was probably a glimpse of the rare quality that led the same man, assistant SI Tukaram Omble, to pounce on a gun-toting terrorist in the wee hours of November 27, and pin him down bare-handed, in spite of five bullets lodged in his body. Going beyond the defined call of duty was characteristic of 54-year-old Omble, attached to DB Marg police station, whose heroic effort helped police nab one of the 26/11 attackers, Lashkar operative Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab, alive near Girgaum Chowpatty.Omble never won a medal or showed outstanding bravery in his 34-year career, but his family and friends understand how and why he did it. “Courage, honesty, dedication and commitment were not special virtues for Omble. They were just an inseparable part of his sense of duty. They just came as a natural response to situations,” says ASI Ashok Phatak, Omble's friend and colleague for over 22 years.These virtues, though not always on show, were visible in simple things that Omble did in his daily life. In a force that justifiably cribs about odd working hours and dearth of leave, Omble rarely took a day off, even if he was unwell.His daughter Vaishali, a private tutor, still remembers the day when her terribly sick father insisted on joining duty for Ganesh Chaturthi as “it was important for him to be there”.Continuous duty for several days had left him very stressed, and the night before that, he even suffered a mild stroke. Still, he started for work early, ignoring our pleas to stay home,” says Vaishali.It was this commitment to work that also made Omble a very punctual and methodical policeman. “He believed that if he reached on time, the policeman relieved by him would also be punctual. But if his reliever didn’t turn up for some reason, he would stay back for extra duty and still manage to come on time the next day. Though he had studied only up to Class IX, he had a very thorough knowledge of law. He was meticulous and kept educating himself,” says constable Sanjay Chaudhary, Omble’s colleague at DB Marg police station.Adds Phatak, “Omble was never reluctant to take up any duty assigned to him. Never in his career did he try to lobby or persuade his seniors for posting in a ‘good’ department. For him, all departments were the same, based on the same principles of policing.”Omble, born to a Satara farmer, was the youngest of three sons and a daughter. The unassuming boy who grew up to be a cop now has to his credit an extraordinary feat. The fact that it went unrecognised for many days after 26/11 has hurt his family and friends. But had Omble been alive, it probably wouldn’t have made any difference to him. Last year, while Omble was on duty at Lamington Road, he saw policemen from Nagpada police station chasing a thief. He set his pet dog after the thief and trapped the miscreant by entering the street from the opposite side. He then handed over the thief to Nagpada police. No one mentioned his name to the seniors when the operation was over. And Omble never thought it necessary to take credit for it. “That’s how he was. He never worked for a reward,” says Phatak.
Tukaram Omble’s daughter Vaishali says he wouldn’t take a day off even if he was unwellWhat happened on 26/11Tukaram Omble, stationed at beat chowki No.1 at Prarthana Samaj, was summoned to Girgaum Chowpatty on the night of November 26 as word spread that CST had been attacked and the terrorists had fled. Barricades were put up on the road near Girgaum Chowpatty with about 20 policemen, including Omble, manning it.Around 12.15 am, they got a wireless message that the terrorists had hijacked a Skoda car and were moving towards Marine Drive. The policemen took up position. A few officers, including PSI Bhaskar Kadam, PSI Sanjay Govilkar and API Hemant Bavdhankar went across the road, while Omble remained behind the barricades.At 12.30 pm, the Skoda approached at high speed, but stopped 50 feet from the barricades. Suddenly, the beam lights went on, and the car swerved towards the barricades. Just before hitting them, it turned right to jump the divider, but got stuck.Omble was the first to rush out from behind the barricades. Qasab came, out pretending to surrender, with his gun caught between his legs, and lay prostrate on the ground. But as Omble neared him, Qasab fired. Five bullets entered Omble’s body, but he managed to pounce on Qasab and held him, completely immobilising him for a while. It was enough time for others to overpower Qasab. In the meantime, Bavdhankar and others lunged towards the driver of the Skoda (later identified as Ismail Khan). He fired, and the police retaliated. Ismail was killed.“It was all over in a few seconds. Omble with his bare hands had managed to do what has rarely been achieved in the world. He caught a fidayeen alive,” says Bavdhankar.
Late Shri Tukaram Omble is a real hero and should be a role model for every Indian.
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