Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi has shared a chilling account of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, revealing how his lawyer narrowly escaped from the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel after allegedly coming face-to-face with terrorists.
Modi said his lawyer, Dean Kino, was inside the hotel when the attacks took place. While Modi himself was not at the premises, he said he was co-ordinating with Kino, who ran to safety in his underwear.
Speaking on ANI editor Smita Prakash's podcast, Modi recalled the terrifying night when Kino was trapped inside the luxury hotel, one of the main targets during the 2008 attacks.
'Terrorists were shooting at him'
Modi said Kino was staying on the fourth floor of the Taj when a grenade exploded above his room. He said he was at the Gateway of India at the time and was speaking to his lawyer on the phone as the attack unfolded. Kino heard Modi speaking about the grenade and ran for safety through the staircase.
"He sees a room open and there's somebody out there. He says, 'Guys, do you want to come down with me?' And they're terrorists," Modi said.
The former IPL chief claimed the terrorists then opened fire on his lawyer.
Modi said Kino eventually managed to escape through the back staircase of the hotel. In a dramatic account, he said his lawyer fled in his underwear and was rescued after sliding down fire hoses.
"He runs down the back staircase in his underwear. They put fire hoses up there and he's sliding down. They pull him out. It was 5 in the morning," Modi said.
The 61-year-old added that the incident continues to affect Kino years later.
"He still has trauma today," Modi added.
Kino served as the general manager of legal and business affairs at Cricket Australia and was a key figure on the board of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament, a joint venture largely driven by Modi.
The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks took place on Nov 26, 2008, when 10 terrorists from Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out coordinated attacks across Mumbai. The assault targeted multiple locations, including the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Oberoi Trident, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Nariman House.
The attacks lasted nearly 60 hours, killing more than 160 people and injuring hundreds before security forces brought the siege to an end.
