Maharashtra: Locals rename village after 26/11 martyr - Sultanpur now becomes Rahul Nagar
Mumbai (PTI): Sultanpur, a village in Maharashtra with a population of around 1,000 and 600 houses, will now be known as 'Rahul Nagar' as the local residents have changed its name in memory of its native, who laid down his life while fighting terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008.
Rahul Shinde, a constable of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) attained martyrdom during the terror attacks 14 years ago. Shinde, who hailed from Sultanpur in Madha tehsil of Solapur district, was amongst the first police personnel to enter the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in south Mumbai after reports of firing by terrorists. Shinde was hit with a bullet in his stomach by terrorists, in which he died.
While the government honoured him by conferring the President's Police Medal on him posthumously for his supreme sacrifice, the residents of Sultanpur decided to rename their village after him as he was born and brought up there. However, the official renaming ceremony is yet to take place.
"All the government formalities for renaming the village are done. We are now waiting for the official renaming ceremony," Subhash Vishnu Shinde, father of late Rahul Shinde, told PTI on the eve of the 14th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks.
"We are waiting for the confirmation of dates from the dignitaries and guests and it will soon be finalised," he said, adding Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Vishwas Nangre Patil, who was then Deputy Commissioner of Police (zone-I) in Mumbai, helped him in the process.
"I had been following up with the government on this for the last 10 years. Finally it is done. I am satisfied now and don't want anything more. I feel honoured that the village now bears the name of my son," he said.
Speaking about his martyred son, Shinde said he showed courage while fighting against terrorists and made the supreme sacrifice for the country.
"I am proud of my son," he said.
Subhash Shinde, has two more children - a son and a daughter. He now lives with his younger son, who got married a few years ago.
"Rahul's mother is still under trauma. She has not been able to come to terms with the situation yet...She is still unable to digest the fact that Rahul is no more," he said.
"After Rahul's demise, the government provided financial assistance to us as per rules. We also got a flat in Mumbai and a gas agency at the taluka place, which helps the family earn a living," he said.
The Shinde family is also involved in farming.
"This year, we harvested sugarcane on our farm," he said.
Shinde also set up a memorial of Rahul in the village in 2010.
The aid of Rs 10 lakh, which the family received from the Mumbai civic body, was used in installing the memorial, he said.
"The memorial is meant to inspire the younger generation. The youth should feel that when it is required, one should be ready to make the supreme sacrifice for the country", he said.
"I did all this by keeping my personal sorrow aside to keep his memories alive," Shinde said, adding that he was just waiting for the official renaming ceremony.
On November 26, 2008, 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists from Pakistan arrived by sea route and opened fire, killing 166 people, including 18 security personnel, and injuring several others during the 60-hour siege in Mumbai.
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Hotel, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital and the Nariman House Jewish community centre, now renamed Nariman Light House, were some of the places targeted by terrorists.
Nine terrorists were later killed by the security forces, including the NSG, the country's elite commando force. Ajmal Kasab was the only terrorist who was captured alive. He was hanged four years later on November 21, 2012.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
