'No Oberoi employee was involved in terror attack'

Mumbai, Nov 29 (IANS) There has been no structural damage to the Oberoi Trident after the siege by terrorists, hotel chairman P.R.S. Oberoi said here Saturday, adding that they have still not assessed the losses or decided when to reopen.

Talking to reporters, Oberoi said: 'The Oberoi is still being sanitized while the process is complete at the Trident.'

He also denied media reports that some hotel employees were involved in the attack. 'None of our employees were involved in this attack.'

The Oberoi chairman also added that the CCTV footage of the hotel would be of great help to the security agencies in probing the terror strike. He said they have no clues to when the terrorists barged into the hotel.

Explaining the scene at the Oberoi Wednesday night, he said: 'Two terrorists entered the lobby of the hotel and started firing, killing three-four guests. Their aim was to create havoc and kill as many people as possible and cause damage to the hotel.'

He denied that the hotel security had been lax.

He said that after the spate of bombings in Indian cities and the Marriott Hotel bombing in Pakistan, he had issued a security memorandum to the Oberoi hotels. 'I issued a memorandum to all the Oberoi hotels four-five months back that security should be increased and also that no cars should be parked outside the main entrance.'

The Oberoi Trident was freed of the siege by terrorists Friday afternoon.