26 November,2010 06:32 AM IST | | J Dey
Amar Singh Solanki's son says the family's life has changed completely since his death and that he wants Qasab to hang
The anger is palpable in his voice when Dilip Solanki speaks about 26/11.
The tragedy is more immediate for him because he lost his father Amar Singh Solanki, the navigator of MV Kuber, to the terrorists an event that completely altered the course of his life.
Dilip Solanki
Now a police constable in Daman because he wants to avenge his father's death by fighting terror, Dilip was just a 20-year-old college student in Diu when he heard about the attacks.
Those carefree days are gone for him, he says, and he has to shoulder the responsibility of his widowed mother and three siblings.
Ask him what should be done to Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Ajmal Qasab, the only 26/11 terrorist caught alive, and he doesn't hesitate even for a second before saying, "He should be hanged."
"I was so angry when I heard the news of my father's death that I wanted to kill Qasab myself. But the Mumbai police had already arrested him," he said, the words spewing like venom from his mouth.
Dilip and some members of the fisherman community performed pujas on the eve of his father's second death anniversary yesterday.
Security tightened
Amar Singh's death has, however, galvanised youth along the coastal districts and many have volunteered to stay vigilant against any terror plot against the country.
"Security along the coasts has been heightened in the past two years. People's participation is also very important," said Dilip.
Murdered
Solanki and the other crew members were hired from a fishing village near Diu by Hiralal Masani, the owner of M V Kuber, a few months before the 26/11 attacks. The three other crew members were killed by LeT men on Pakistani ship Al Hussaini on November 23.
