WREX.com – Rockford’s News LeaderRockford Connections to Mumbai Terror Attacks

Rockford Connections to Mumbai Terror Attacks

By Bob Schaper

ROCKFORD - The terror attacks in Mumbai hit extremely close to home for one Rockford family.

Sunil Puri, President of First Rockford Group, owns a condo just four buildings away from the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai.

Puri says everyone in his family is fine, but the last few days have been stressful and sleepless as he waits for news from home.

Sunil Puri was born and raised in Mumbai, which until 1996 was called Bombay. It's a city of 21 million people and the heart of the country's business and entertainment industry. "I would say it's New York on steroids. It's a 24-hour city. It's a city of dreams. In India, that's where Bollywood is, it's the financial capital," says Puri.

Puri travels to Mumbai 4 to 6 times a year, where he has numerous investments. But in the last few days it's his four brothers and other family members who've been on his mind.

A picture, taken from his condo, shows the dome of the Taj Mahal Hotel, just four buildings away. "The family's all fine. Like I said, they're literally not even a hundred, not even a block from where the hotel's burning. My sister-in-law is literally running out of food. They've been cooking and bringing down food and tea and whatever staples they can," he says. "They can hear everything. The smoke was strong enough it was coming into the building."

Puri is also acquainted with David Mulford, a Rockford native who just happens to be the American Ambassador to India and a graduate of East High School, 1955.

Sunil already planned a trip to Mumbai in a couple weeks and will still go.  As for retaliation, he says he hopes cooler heads will prevail and more innocent lives won't be lost.