Newspaper Delivery Boy To 26/11 Hero: Maharashtra Police Chief Sadanand Date's Journey

As south Mumbai came under attack on November 26, 2008, then Additional Commissioner of Police (Central) Sadanand Date went outside his jurisdiction and entered a hospital for women and children where terrorists Ajmal Kasab and Abu Ismail had opened fire, shortly after unleashing terror at the CST railway station.

As he stepped into the Cama and Albless Hospital along with six constables, the terrorists fired at him from a height. Then came a hand grenade from Kasab, which landed three feet away, wounding him and killing sub-inspector Prakash More.

Fearing that many patients stood the risk of being taken hostage, he did not retreat and ran up the hospital stairs, all the while exchanging fire with the terrorists, who were stationed on the roof. The gunfire continued for 40 minutes, and then another grenade exploded, this one much nearer to Date, sending shrapnel flying into his legs and face. The blood-soaked officer continued to hold position, but the terrorists later escaped amid chaos.

The 1990 batch IPS officer was awarded the President's Medal for his act of bravery. The encounter at the hospital in south Mumbai was only one of the new Maharashtra Director General Of Police's many stories of hard work, determination and bravery, some even before he became a police officer.

Born into a poor family, he delivered newspapers as a child in Pune, while his mother worked in people's homes to support the family. Apart from holding several important positions in the Mumbai Police, he also served in the Central Bureau of Investigation, Anti Terrorism Squad, and as the first Police Commissioner of Mira-Bhayandar-Vasai-Virar. He was then appointed the head of the National Investigation Agency.

As the NIA chief, he led the probe against Tahawwur Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, who was brought to India from the United States last year. Among his accomplishments are the detention of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's brother and fugitive gangster Anmol. He also handled the Pahalgam terror attack case and Red Fort blast probe.

He also headed Force One, a specialised commando unit of Maharashtra formed on the lines of the National Security Guard (NSG) in 2010.

59-year-old Date will succeed incumbent Rashmi Shukla, who retires on January 3. The IPS officer has authored a book, 'Varditlya Mansachya Nondi' (Notes of a Man in Uniform) in Marathi, in which he has shared his experiences in the police service. In his foreword in the book, Julio Ribeiro, himself a distinguished former top cop, has mentioned Date as a "star in the firmament of police officers".