26/11 hero Zende overwhelmed after meeting Obama

"You did a good job." US President Barack Obama told the Railway announcer whose alertness saved several lives during the 26/11 terror attack at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus here.

"The President shook hands with me and said you did a good job," a smiling Vishnu Zende told PTI after meeting Obama at the Taj Mahal Hotel.

The Central Railway employee said, "I am overwhelmed to meet him. This is a big thing for me."

On the ill-fated night of November 26, 2008, Zende continuously alerted commuters to leave the CST railway station, where two terrorists, including Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab, opened fire indiscriminately.

Zende was among those invited by the US Consulate to attend a function at the Taj Mahal Hotel, where Obama paid homage to victims of the 26/11 terror attack.

Taj Mahal Hotel General Manager Karambir Kang, who lost his wife and two children during the three-day siege of the Hotel, declined to comment on his interaction with the US President.

Obama, in his speech at the Taj, praised Kang and Indian nanny Sandra Samuel, who saved baby Moshe, the son of Rabbi Gavriel and Riviki Holtzberg, killed by terrorists at the Chabad House.

Mayor Shraddha Jadhav and Deputy Mayor Shaileja Girkar were also present at the function. "The President said he was glad to meet us," Girkar said.