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Mumbai: Thousands of cameras have been flashing frenziedly in Mumbai since Wednesday night when terror struck the unwary city.
But it was one click by Sebastian D'Souza, the Mumbai Mirror photographer that has unveiled the face of terror, now known as Azam Amir Kasav.
The sole terrorist, who was caught alive by the authorities, is now being questioned and his statements are leading to a major breakthrough in investigations.
D'Souza shared with Gulf News a first-hand account of his daredevil escapade at the CST station when he jumped from one train to another to catch a glimpse of the two armed men who strutted the terminus unloading their Kalashnikovs on hundreds of innocent victims.
"When I heard the gunshots, my first instinct was to move closer to where the noise was to locate the gunmen, I moved towards the local terminal and I could see people running helter-skelter.
"I first spotted them between the two terminus, some 100 metres away from me. A constable who was next to me fired at them and they retaliated killing him," said 56-year-old D'Souza.
"They did not see me luckily and I quickly got into a train and waited for them to come in view. There was nobody around and these two men were looking around for targets.
"I could only see them from the rear and I did take a few pictures. I jumped to the next train as they moved about. In about 20 minutes, I had moved from platform one to seven by jumping from train to train until I could clearly see one of the men from my compartment, and I took a few pictures."
He said that at one point, both men were looking straight in his direction and he thought they would fire at him.
"But they walked away towards the exit. When I came out at last, it was a scene of massacre all around me. I went around and continued clicking pictures of blood splattered all over the platform and dead bodies littered," he said.
According to him, when he saw the pictures in his camera, he never realised that it would be the picture that would hog the international limelight.
"I was under the impression that many others might have also got the pictures. It was only the next day, when I saw the newspapers, I understood that I did a good job," said the photographer who insisted his best work is still to come.
He maintains that many other photographers ran outside when the firing began and they were trying to take pictures from outside while he remained closer to the terror scene putting his life at risk.
"I am happy that my picture has helped the police in their investigations. I am happier that I have kept my faith in the profession and have done my best," said D'Souza who has been working as a photographer for nearly 25 years.
He said he has seen riots and bomb blasts in the span of his long career and he well understands the power of pictures.
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