Mumbai:
Two heroes from Mumbai CST station who bravely fought the 26/11 terrorists and drove them out of the rail terminus will get an audience with US president Barack Obama on his visit to the city.
Sources said Railway Protection Force constable Jhullu Yadav who flung a chair at the two terrorists and made an attempt to open fire at them during the 26/11 attack, and station announcer Vishnu Dattaram Zende, who alerted commuters of the attack by announcing from his strategic cabin and saved thousands of lives, will get a chance to have an audience with the US president on November 6 at Taj.
The names of the two heroes are on the official invitee list sent by the US consulate to the general manager's office, sources said, on the condition of anonymity. Central Railway general manager Kul Bhushan will be a part of the function as a top dignitary.
Had it not been for Yadav engaging the terrorists on 26/11 at CST, the official toll of 56 dead and 95 injured would undoubtedly have been much higher. The CCTV footage on the night of terror attack at CST shows Yadav running across a passage in full view of the terrorists towards them, grabbing a rifle from a colleague too stunned by the attack to react, and opening fire at the terrorists. He also flung a chair at them to divert their attention.
Thirty-seven year-old Zende was inside the station announcement cabin as the terrorists were calmly moving inside firing indiscriminately and lobbing hand grenades. Zende, who alerted commuters on the public address system, saved the lives of three train loads of suburban passengers who were alighting at the station during the attack. Both the heroes have been awarded by the Indian Railways too for their exceptional bravery.
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