Indian Mission In KL Pays Tribute To Terrorist Attack Victims

By V. Sankara KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 (Bernama) -- The Indian High Commission in Malaysia held a special ceremony here on Thursday to pay tribute to the victims of terrorist attacks, including the late Hemalatha Kasipillay of Malaysia who died in the 2008 attack at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, India. Hemalatha’s husband K. Sivakumaran who was present at the ceremony said though 13 years had passed, he could vividly recall the tragic day where he received a call on the terrorist attack at the hotel on Nov 26, 2008. "There was no news from Hema as the events were unfolding and I had to fly all the way to Mumbai and get to the hotel where she was staying to look for her. "I was frantically looking for my wife from room to room at the hotel and suddenly news came that a body was recovered from a hotel room...someone brought me to the hotel room and said it was the room my wife was staying. I saw the charred body and don't remember events after that," said Sivakumaran in his emotional speech at the event entitled Tribute to Terror Victims - 'Shradanjali' held at Kelab Aman here. The event was attended by former deputy minister of home affairs Nur Jazlan, Director-General of Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) S. Ganeson, Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia B.N.Reddy, members of the diplomatic corps and family members of Sivakumaran. Hemalatha who worked for a company based in Kuala Lumpur had arrived in Mumbai for a business trip and had put up at the Taj Mahal Hotel, the scene of the worst militant attack then on Indian soil. The hotel was seized by a band of terrorists on Nov 26 night, a day after Hema had arrived. She was 51 years old then, and was among at least 26 non-Indian nationals killed in the attacks out of the 172 people dead and 293 injured. Sivakumaran said the tragic event is something hard to forget, though 'time heals the wounds, but the scars remain', stressing that the act of terrorism is a serious security issue that need to be addressed as it takes away the lives of innocent people in a gruesome manner. Meanwhile, Nur Jazlan in his keynote address said Malaysia has to be vigilant in the fight against extremism, saying the developments in Afghanistan may serve as a morale-booster to dormant militant groups in Southeast Asia, giving rise to the concern that both regions could once again become a haven for terror groups seeking a new base. "Terrorism in whatever form is detrimental to the nation and security as a whole," he said, in expressing condolences to the families of the terror victims. -- BERNAMA