2008 Mumbai Attacks: Braveheart who believed in charity

Bengaluru, November 25

Pictures of 26/11 martyr Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan are everywhere in his house tucked in a quiet locality here.

The gallery in the two-storey house of the National Security Guard Commando is full of memories and collection of personal articles.

They narrate the winning attitude, valour and charitable nature of Sandeep, who lost his life while leading a team of NSG commandos to flush out terrorists from the Taj Palace Hotel in Mumbai.

“My son always had this attitude of winning. He liked Sachin Tendulkar for this reason. Sandeep always wanted our country to win,” said his father Unnikrishnan, a retired ISRO officer.

Talking about Sandeep’s charitable nature, he recalled: “I did not know about it earlier. Going through his bank balance, I only found Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000, though he was drawing a decent salary.”

“One of his colleagues later told me he had borne all health expenses of his mother, who was suffering from a spine problem,” he said.

“Sandeep regularly donated money to a number of charitable institutions,” he added. Sandeep was a true patriot. “He always supported nationalism. For him nationalism meant you do something good for the country,” said Unnikrishnan.

Major Unnikrishnan was conferred the Ashok Chakra, the country’s highest peace time gallantry award, on January 26, 2009. — PTI