Lokesh Waghela witnessed something as a 12-year-old that still haunts him to this day. His father, 42-year-old chemist Subhash Waghela, was shot dead outside Leopold Café while fleeing towards the Taj Hotel after terrorists hurled a hand grenade inside the eatery, and opened indiscriminate fire.

Lokesh told mid-day, “Whenever I hear about 26/11, my eyes fill with tears. It is still too painful to accept that my father is no more. This date hurts me and my family deeply,” he said. He recalled playing with friends moments before Subhash suddenly arrived and sent all the children home.