Aap Ki Adalat: As the new episode of India's most iconic television show Aap Ki Adalat' was aired on Saturday (January 7), India’s top billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani recalled the horrific instance of the 26/11 attack, wherein he revealed how he got "a new life" after witnessing nearly 10-hour of a gruesome attack on Taj Hotel.
Notably, the Mumbai attacks were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when at least ten members of Lashkar-e-Taiba-- an Islamist terrorist organisation from Pakistan-- carried out 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks lasting four days across the "city of dreams".
"I was holding meetings with friends when terrorists attacked Hotel Taj"
Recalling the ill-fated day, Adani, in an exclusive interview with India TV Editor-in-Chief and Chairman, Rajat Sharma, said that he was holding a business meeting with his Dubai-based friends at the Hotel Taj when he heard that the building was under attack. According to India's richest man, he had seen terrorists when they attacked the Hotel Taj in Mumbai.
"I had completed a meeting with my friends who came here (Mumbai) from Dubai. After paying the bills, I was about to exit the hotel, when some of my friends asked me to hold another round of meetings. I chose to stay in the restaurant where we had completed the dinner," said Adani.
"Later, we started the meeting with a cup of coffee. Unexpectedly, I came to know that the hotel was under attack by the terrorists. After a few minutes, the hotel staff took me to the kitchen using a back door. These kinds of dedication are very rare. Really, the staff member of the Taj Hotel is very dedicated," he added.
"I might be killed... if I would have..."
Later, Mr Adani recalled how he was rescued by the commandos at around 7:30 am (November 27, 2008) with full security.
The multinational conglomerate whose organisation has been involved in port development and several crucial operations in India said that he might be killed if he would have not been sat for the next round of meeting with his friends. "I was thinking... If I had not sat for the meeting.... I might be roaming on the balcony, where the terrorists attacked with lethal weapons," he recalled. This might result deadly for me, he said.
What happened on the ill-fated night of 26/11?
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 attack had begun on 26 November and lasted until 29 November. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, and 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.
Amazing Facts About Aap Ki Adalat
The 'Aap Ki Adalat' show has been iconic in more ways than one. Over its 30-year journey with over 1100 episodes aired, it has seen over 190 celebrity guests including the President of India, the Prime Minister of India, Defence Ministers, Cabinet Ministers and Chief Ministers of various states.
- Aap Ki Adalat videos have over 1.7 billion views across digital platforms.
- Currently, Aap Ki Adalat is no.1 show in its time slot within the news genre.
- Aap Ki Adalat is the world's most-watched news show among TV news channels on YouTube.
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