Sydney: A 16-hour hostage crisis — the first terror attack in Australia — ended yesterday after police stormed a cafe in the heart of Sydney where an Iran-born cleric took some 30 people hostage and made several demands, sending shockwaves across the country.
As police stormed Lindt Chocolate Cafe using flash grenades and firing dozens of gunshots, several hostages — panic writ large on their faces — fled with their hands raised past advancing heavily armed policemen.
One of them was Ankireddy Vishwakant, an employee of software major Infosys who hailed from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh and was recently granted Australian citizenship.
“Thank God! This is a big relief for us,” said Ankireddy’s father Ishwar Reddy at his house in Guntur town, about 300 km from Hyderabad. Media reports identified the second Indian as Pushpendu Ghosh.
“Yes, yes, he has escaped. It is good news,” an elated Deputy Consul General in Sydney Vinod Bahade said over the telephone, referring to Vishwakant. “Yes, it is over,” he said of the hostage crisis. The police operation followed several hours of tense suspense when Australians remained glued to televisions, and the Indian community in all Australian cities prayed for the safe release of the hostages.
Police had told Vishwakant’s wife in Sydney that they hoped to end the hostage crisis — which happened just before Christmas — within a day. They kept their word. The chilling incident took place in Sydney’s central business district and barely 400 meters from the Indian Consulate, which was promptly evacuated.
Also located in the vicinity are the offices of India Tourism, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and New India Insurance.
Indian diplomat Bahade said that soon after the hostage crisis began, the Indian consulate was evacuated.
Sri Shanmugam, 56, said in a telephonic interview that fewer Australians were on the streets in Sydney, and there had been a noticeable fall in the customers who usually throng his two restaurants.IANS
