To pay tribute to the 58 people who died in the terror attack at the CST on 26/11, the Central Railway (CR) unveiled a memorial for the victims on Martyrs Day on Friday, which marks the day when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated.

The structure, a black granite tablet, has been erected in the lobby of the long distance trains’ section where maximum people were killed and injured.

Besides civilians, the attack also claimed lives of five railway employees - Harkabai Solanki, M L Chowdhary, S K Sharma, Ayub Qureshi and Shashank Shinde. Interestingly, Sharma, who was assistant commercial ticket inspector, died at the same spot where the memorial has been erected, sources said.

The memorial was inaugurated by CR General Manager Bharat Bhushan Modgil and the function was attended by senior officials of CR including assistant general manager Vinay Mittal, divisional railway manager J N Lal, and chief security commissioner B S Sidhu.

“Today, we open this memorial for public built in the memory of the people who lost their lives (in the 26/11 attack),” said Modgil.

In fact, many who witnessed the attack were also present during the inauguration. “It’s sad but a bitter truth. Besides commuters who lost their lives, I lost some closed ones including RPF constable Chowdhary and CST railway police inspector Shinde whom I had known personally and worked closely with them,” said Sandeep Khiratkar, senior inspector of RPF (Railway Protection Force). Khiratkar had fired 20 rounds while battling on the fateful night and was also awarded Rs 10 lakh by the Ministry of Railways for his bravery.