‘I Went To My Room, Unaware It Would Be My Last Memory Of Him’: Martyr Vijay Salaskar’s Daughter Recalls Her Final Moments With Her Father

Mumbai: Encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar, a 1983-batch Mumbai Police officer credited with eliminating nearly 75–80 criminals, was among the brave officers martyred in the 26/11 terror attacks. What the world remembers as a night of horror was, for his daughter Divya, a night that shattered her life forever.

On the 17th anniversary of the attacks, Divya Salaskar spoke to The Free Press Journal, recalling her last conversation with her father. “Dad never came home early. But that day, he did.” “On November 26, 2008, a Wednesday, my father came home earlier than usual,” Divya recalls. “He told me, ‘I have a surprise for you.’ I immediately went to finish my studies.”

The surprise was something she had been waiting for: a long drive with her father. “He loved driving. I remember asking him to take me out. My mother said, ‘Let him eat first.’ She had cooked his favourite egg curry,” Divya says.

I can’t stand the smell of eggs, so I told him to call me after dinner. I went to my room, not knowing this would be the last memory I ever had of him sitting at the dining table, smiling at me while eating.

Before Divya could finish her studies, Salaskar had already left home on an urgent call. Moments later, news channels flashed breaking news.

Terrorists had attacked Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. “We heard on TV that my father and police officer Ashok Kamte had rushed to the spot. Within a short time, we heard the unimaginable—that my father had been shot while fighting terrorists. We turned off the TV. That long drive… it never happened.”

A Father, A Friend, A Mentor

For Divya, Salaskar was not just an encounter specialist; he was her closest friend. “He taught me everything—from basics to life lessons. When I was in Class 11, I used to visit him at Crime Branch Unit 9 in Bandra because we barely got time together at home. One day, I called him twice; he didn’t pick up. So I went straight to Unit 9. The iron gate was shut, and an armed guard asked me why I was there. When I said I was Vijay Salaskar’s daughter, he informed my father. He took me into his cabin, asked if I was hungry, and bought me sev puri. When I came back out… the large crowd I had seen earlier had disappeared. I always wondered how my father managed his work.”

After completing a Master’s in HR management studies, Divya worked as a Sales Tax Officer and later with TCS for two years. She eventually started her own HR and training consultancy, Crafter HR, which she has been running for the past seven years. “Unit 9 still makes me emotional. I remember every moment I visited Dad there.”

For the world, he was an encounter specialist. For me, he was just my Dad.

As the nation remembers its 26/11 heroes, Divya’s words echo the silent grief of countless families forever changed by that tragic night.

“You may be gone, but you continue to live in our hearts, Dad.”

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