Meet Ex-Commando Praveen Kumar Teotia Who Fought 26/11 Terrorists Despite Four Bullet Wounds

During the harrowing 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, hundreds were killed, hundreds were rescued and thousands were left injured. During the three day siege, the country¡¯s entire security force was engaged in counter-terrorism.

During the 59 hour operation that ensued at the Taj Palace in Mumbai, Ex-Marine Commando Force (MARCOS) personnel, Praveen Kumar Teotia was caught between four terrorists in a room and fought bravely to come out alive of those chambers besides helping in the rescue of 150 people.

Teotia is one of those few valiant soldiers who decided to fight until his last breath to keep his country safe. A recipient of Indian military honour of Shaurya Chakra which is awarded for valour, courage and self-sacrifice, Teotia follows the motto: ¡®Life is all about making efforts and moving on. Excuse and effort cannot run parallelly.¡¯

Photo: Facebook/Praveen Kumar Teotia

Praveen spoke to Indiatimes and narrated the entire incident:

¡°We were in Kashmir and I had my duty from 12 in the night to 4 in the morning. I came back at 9 pm when everyone was busy watching the cricket match between India and England. As I was getting dressed for my duty at 11:30 in the night, we saw the news of Taj being attacked by terrorists.

I was then approached by my senior and briefed about the situation in Mumbai that all our top police officials had been martyred. I was, therefore, asked to take charge and was told that this was a golden chance for the MARCOS team to gun down terrorists who had ventured into our territory.¡±

Teotia was appointed as the ¡®Point Man¡¯ of the second team. A point man is the first person of the troop who either fires the first shot or takes the first bullet. They took a blind entry into the Taj hotel where he witnessed blood spots and shattered glass everywhere in the lobby.

Photo: Facebook account of Praveen Teotia

¡°I took my position near the heritage wing. Our primary task was to kill the terrorists but after reaching there and taking cognisance of the situation, our primary task became our secondary job. We decided that our primary job will be to rescue people because if guests are held hostage then the rescue operation can become very difficult.

I was enraged that why our innocent people were being killed and as I entered the lobby, I saw a Taj employee who was crying incessantly and calling somebody on the phone. I later found out that he was Taj's general manager Karambir Singh Kang, who lost his wife and two kids in the attack. I really appreciate the way he gave priority to his guests and continued to serve Taj after the unfortunate incident. I later entered the chamber hall on the second floor. I opened a door, it was pitch dark.¡±

¡°My team then said to me that now we do not know how big is the room and how many people are there inside it. If we bring four more people then we could carry out the rescue operation in a much better manner.¡±

¡°8-9 kadam kamre mein rakhte he mujhe 2 safety catch ki awaaz aayi toh mai samjh gaya ki iss room mein 2 terrorist hai. Jabki vahan par 4 terrorist the aur vo Taj ke new tower mein entry bana chuke the. Jaise he maine safety catch ki awaaz suni mai samjh gaya ki inhone burst mode mein shift karliya hai. Jis taraf se vo sound aaya vahan maine apni AK-47 point karli.¡±

"Since I had just entered the room, my eyes took a little bit of time to get used to the darkness. The terrorists, however, were already aware of every object in that room and they could see me standing easily. A while later, I saw a flash and I realised that I had been shot with an AK-47. I pressed the trigger and fired 3 to 4 rounds at them.¡±

Teotia fell to the ground and a stream of hot blood flowed down his neck. His entire team had fallen back and he was the only one left in that room. He regained his consciousness and tried to divert his pain. ¡°I couldn¡¯t say or voice anything because if the terrorists would have realised that I am injured then they could overpower me.¡±

¡°I later started looking for a safe spot and I found out that there was a little space between the sofa and the wall where I could take cover. I lost a chunk of my ear due to the aim of firing but since I had taken cover, the firing that would take place from now on will all be random firing.¡±

I threw a grenade at the place from where I was shot at and counted until ten. Two sound clicks had told me that I had thrown the grenade at the right place. However, the grenade which should have exploded at the count of seven didn¡¯t. This was the biggest drawback we faced.¡±

If the grenade would have exploded then the Taj operation that continued for a strenuous 59 hours would have ended at 5:30 in the morning on November 27. The second team stationed outside the room asked the Taj security personnel how many entry and exit gates this particular hall had. They informed that there is only one gate for entry and exit into this hall.¡±

¡°This was the second biggest mistake. There was another gate that would reopen in the kitchen and if our team would have been informed about it then the terrorists could be easily gunned down.¡±

The first team stationed outside the room thought that Teotia had been killed and they threw a tear gas shell inside the hall which landed just beside him. He started feeling suffocated and tears flowed down his cheeks. ¡°I understood that now my chances of leaving this room alive are very slim.¡±

Teotia had two plans. PLAN A: Die sitting in the room from asphyxiation. PLAN B: Face the enemy!

Teotia decided to face the enemy and exposed himself to the terrorists. In the firing that took place, he took four bullets. One went right through his chest breaking four ribs of his right lung. Another went through his bulletproof collar, one bullet cut through his bulletproof plate and the other ricocheted off a wall onto his heart.

However, Teotia was successful in injuring one terrorist and keeping them engaged as his team got ready outside of the room. ¡°Mera lung fatt gaya aur bullet lung ko saath lekar nikal gayi.¡±

I was successful in keeping the terrorists engaged as my team rescued 150 people from the adjoining hall. We also recovered a bag from the terrorists which had 500 AK-47 rounds, 16 hand grenades, dry fruits and their currency. I was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for my contribution to the nation.¡±

However, Teotia¡¯s real battle had just started. He is the only lung damage survivor in the world and his survival is considered a miracle for medical science. ¡°I stayed in ICU for 19 days but nobody came to meet me. I had to seek financial aid and help from the Taj Welfare Trust which is very embarrassing for any defence personnel. My promotions were stopped, my payment witnessed a downfall and I was no longer considered credible or useful.¡±

He tells us that there is a saying in defence, ¡°You are one-time use. And I had already been used one time.¡± Praveen informs that the Navy never talked about him and never praised him because these matters are considered ¡®classified¡¯ according to them. His marathon application was rejected by the Navy and he was put under the ¡®low medical¡¯ category.

Praveen decided not to give up. He burnt the midnight oil to make himself even much more capable than he was before 26/11 attacks. He started running, swimming, cycling and went on to win the prestigious Ironman Triathlon Championship in April 2018 in South Africa, which involves 3.86km swim, a 180.25km bicycle ride and a 42.2km running. He completed the race in 14 hours, 19 minutes and 38 seconds.

Last year, Teotia conquered the Khardung La Challenge, which is a 72-km marathon in Ladakh and arguably one of the toughest marathons in the world. In the end, Teotia concludes by saying:

¡°Aapka bhavishya aapki mehant nirdhaarit karti hai, aapka calibre nirdhaarit karta hai, aapki lagan nirdhaarit karti hai, koi document ya koi certificate nahi. Life ka matlab effort hota hai, excuse nahi. Effort karenge toh aage badhenge aur agar excuse ko chunenge toh laziness ki taraf jaayenge.¡± (Your destiny is determined by your hard work, by your calibre, by your determination and not by a piece of document or any other certificate. Life is all about making efforts, not excuses. If we make efforts we will move forward and if we make excuses then we will be inclined towards laziness.)