Mumbai: Seventeen years after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, survivor Devika Rotawan says time has not lessened the horror of that night. Now 26 years old, she still remembers every moment as if it happened yesterday.

Speaking to IANS, Devika recounts the trauma she continues to live with. "It has been 17 years since 26/11, but for me, that night still feels the same. It doesn’t feel like 17 years have passed. Even today, it feels as though I faced that night just moments ago. I can still see it, I can still feel the bullet wound in my leg. The fear, that night, that night, is still deeply embedded in my mind. Every year changes for others, but for me, it is only a count of numbers. For those who suffered through it, that moment remains frozen in the very same day..." she said.

Devika was only nine years old when terrorist Ajmal Kasab opened fire at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), shattering her right leg with a bullet. She later became the youngest eyewitness to testify against Kasab, helping secure his conviction and eventual hanging.

On 26 November 2008, 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists carried out 12 coordinated attacks across the city, killing 164 people, including police officers and ordinary citizens, and injuring over 300.

Sharing her account of the night, she continued, "My father, my brother and I were travelling to Pune. We went from Bandra to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. We were sitting between platforms 12 and 13. Then my brother went to the washroom, and my father said that after he returned, we would buy tickets. Suddenly, we heard the sound of explosions. People started running in every direction. I saw blood pouring from people's heads, arms and legs. I couldn't understand what was happening."

"Then I saw a man firing recklessly. He looked like he was enjoying it. As I started running, a bullet hit my leg. The police took me to a hospital, but as it was already full, I was shifted to another one. I was hospitalised for more than one-and-a half months," she recalled.

Devika said she felt partially relieved when Ajmal Kasab, the lone captured terrorist, was executed.

"I am happy that Kasab was hanged. I got justice, but it still feels incomplete. True justice will be served only when people like Kasab, who are still alive in Pakistan, are eliminated. Terrorism has not ended. I still feel no one is truly safe. Recently, we witnessed the Pahalgam attack and the blast in Delhi. Such incidents remind us that terrorism is still active."

She added, "Our country gave a befitting reply with 'Operation Sindoor. But that was just a small trailer - the full picture is yet to come. I urge the government to do something bigger than 'Operation Sindoor so that Pakistan gets the message and terrorism finally ends."

Among those who laid down their lives were top Mumbai Police officers Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar.

Constable Tukaram Omble’s extraordinary courage led to the capture of Kasab alive, a crucial moment that helped expose the planning behind the Pakistan-based operation.

A night Mumbai will never forget

The attacks targeted several prominent locations, including the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Oberoi Trident, Leopold Café, Nariman House, Cama Hospital, and Metro Cinema, plunging the city into 60 hours of terror.

On November 29, 2008, the National Security Guard (NSG) ended the siege through Operation Black Tornado, killing the last remaining terrorists inside the Taj Hotel.