Sadanand Date: Top Cop

THE APPOINTMENT of the chief of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the country’s premier counter-terrorism body, does not always garner much news attention but the latest one—that of Sadanand Date – is an exception to this rule. That is solely because of the individual selected.

Date, a 1990-batch IPS officer from Maharashtra who was serving as the chief of the state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad, has had a distinguished career in the police force in different capacities. But it was his response to the 26/11 attacks that would earn him the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry and make him a name in the force.

Like most individuals in Mumbai, when the news of attacks on Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and elsewhere first broke out, the police too had little understanding of what was going on. Date was among the first policemen to engage the terrorists. Taking six junior policemen with him, and armed with just carbines and pistols, he and his team rushed to the spot. By this time, two terrorists, Ajmal Kasab and Abu Ismail, had moved to Cama and Albless hospital nearby and had positioned themselves along with a number of hostages on the top floor. “Till the time we reached Cama hospital, there was no clear and confirmed information about the nature of attackers and their weapons,” Date would later recall his experience in an interview.

Realising how unmatched they were to the sophisticated arms and grenades the terrorists were carrying, Date and his team instead blocked off the only exit out of the terrace. It is said quite a fierce gun battle took place, the policemen shooting every time the duo tried to get out, and the terrorists retaliating with grenades and bursts of firing from their automatic rifles. Two policemen, constable Vijay Khandekar and sub-inspector Prakash More, eventually died. Date and one more colleague held on, even though they were badly injured themselves, and sent the rest to get back up. They managed to keep Kasab and Ismail pinned to the terrace for nearly an hour. The duo managed to get out only after yet another grenade launch incapacitated Date and his colleague, but not before ensuring, it is said, that the terrorists dropped many of their arms and ammunition and left most hostages safe. When the body of Ismail was later examined, it was found that one of the bullets that struck him had been fired by Date.

After his recovery, Date has since continued to serve in several key positions, from that of the post of deputy inspector general of police in the Central Bureau of Investigation to other important posts in Maharashtra. Over the years, he has garnered the reputation of a workaholic in the force, someone who likes to keep away from the spotlight. And this probably has something to do with his humble background. Date was born to a middle-class family in Pune, and they endured a difficult time when his father died. Date was still in high school then, and according to reports, he took up multiple odd jobs, from delivering newspapers, and working as a peon in a furniture store, to taking up the job of a receptionist in a nursing home, while continuing his studies.

Four years after 26/11, when Kasab had to be transferred from Arthur Road Jail to Yerawada Jail and executed in utmost secrecy, Date was among the key officers to whom this job of planning and supervising was entrusted. When he was later asked if the hanging brought him and the police force any closure, he replied, “The hanging is not a closure for us. But this is a reiteration of the fact that our justice system can deliver. We have a long way to go and we will continue to keep watch.”

After the 26/11 attacks, the Mumbai police force did come in for criticism from some quarters, from being caught unaware to being ill-equipped to fight the terrorists. But the truth is that many policemen responded with exemplary courage, often at the cost of their own lives.

With the appointment of one such hero from that deadly night to the post of its chief, NIA has found a suitable individual.

About The Author

Lhendup G Bhutia

•