Martyr’s dad gets Sena to back off

The Colaba wing of the Shiv Sena had hoped to make the 26/11 memorial function organised outside Nariman House, on Friday, a political affair.

The Colaba wing of the Shiv Sena had hoped to make the 26/11 memorial function organised outside Nariman House, on Friday, a political affair.

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But K Unnikrishnan, father of martyred major, Sandeep Unnikrishnan, would have none of it. When he refused to grace a memorial service supposedly hosted by a political party, they were forced to pull down their saffron flags.

Unnikrishnan, 62, who completed his month-long bicycle rally from Delhi to Mumbai for peace on Friday, was scheduled to reach the Jewish Chabad (Nariman) House at 2 pm.

But, Unnikrishnan arrived at 4 pm, only after the Sainiks had replaced the Sena flags with the tricolour. “The major’s father said he would not attend any political meet, so we removed the flags ourselves. He did not ask us to,” said Jayshree Ballikar, Sena’s south Mumbai president.

“I have come to pay my respects to those who died in the terror attacks. I do wish to be affiliated to anything else,” said K Unnikrishnan.