“Do not come up, I will handle them,” these were the last words of major Sandeep Unnikrishnan who was killed while fighting with terrorists in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. He rescued 14 hostages in the hotel before being hit by the terrorist in his back.
Sandeep Unnikrishnan was born on March 15, 1977. Sandeep joined the National Defence Academy (India) (NDA), Pune, Maharashtra in 1995. He was a part of the Oscar Squadron (No. 4 Battalion) and a graduate of the 94th Course NDA. He graduated as a Bachelor of Arts. His NDA friends remember him as “selfless”, “generous” and “calm and composed”.
Major Sandeep was the team leader of the SAG deployed with 10 SAG commandos at the Taj Palace Hotel. Their mission was to rescue hostages trapped inside.
Today on his death anniversary, so we have collected some facts you should definitely know about late Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan:
1)Major Sandeep was scared of water but learned swimming when he joined the Indian Army.
2)He was the only son of retired ISRO officer K. Unnikrishnan and Dhanalakshmi Unnikrishnan.
3)During the operation, one of his team members, Sunil Yadav, took a bullet and fell. He would’ve been shot dead within seconds if it wasn’t for Sandeep’s bravery. Sandeep rushed in to save Sunil and dragged him out. He took a couple of hits himself but that did not stop him.
4)Major Sandeep was also part of the Operation Vijay (Kargil war) & Kashmir Counter-Insurgency.
5)For his bravery, Unnikrishnan was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra in 2009. His funeral was held with full military honors.
