Date said he tried to get a sense of the situation by throwing an iron clip towards the terrace door. It was met with heavy firing from automatic weapons. “We slipped behind a wall.”

On the landing they saw a man, his hands up. (It was Chandrakant Tikhe, used as a shield by the terrorists). Date told him to duck and fired above his head. The terrorists lobbed a hand grenade, injuring all the policemen and two hospital employees. The attackers lobbed a second hand grenade soon after.

Date told one of his men, Sachin Kelekar, to go down with other injured officers and to call for reinforcements.

Only Date and officer Vijay Khandekar were now holding up the terrorists. “I fired 22 rounds, 10 each from the SLRs of Kelekar and deceased officer Khandekar, and two from the pistol of deceased officer Prakash More.”

Later, he sensed two persons were walking on the fifth floor. He fired two rounds but couldn’t say whether he hit them.

Date informed his colleagues on the mobile that the terrorists had left. He was rescued 45 minutes later, with injuries on the face, chest and legs.

Notes from The courtroom
Letter to Mecca
Kasab requested the court for permission to write a letter to someone in Mecca. “Sir, I want an envelope.”

The judge asked, “Whom do you want to write to?”

“I want to write a letter to Saudi Arabia.”

The judge asked him for the address but Kasab did not disclose it. The judge told him to discuss it with his lawyer and come back to the subject on Monday.