Thursday, November 27, 2008

ATS Chief dies a Hero's Death

Mumbai, Nov 27 (PTI) He wore a helmet,
talked on his cellphone and finally put on a bullet-proof jacket before
he met his deathly fate in the country's biggest terror seize.

Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, who was
probing the Malegaon blasts case, suffered three bullet injuries in his
chest as he was leading the offensive against the terrorists in one of
the places the ultras had holed out early this morning.


The last television visuals of the 54-year-old officer showed him
in a light blue shirt and dark trousers surrounded by uniformed
policemen armed with firearms and walkie-talkies.


Karkare, a 1982 batch IPS officer, became the head of ATS in
January this year following his return to the state cadre after serving
seven years in Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Austria.


One of the brightest officers, Karkare had solved the serial bomb
blasts in Thane, Vashi and Panvel and was also credited for the
stunning revelations in the investigation of the September 29 blast in
Malegaon. He is known for his discipline and fair investigation.


During the Malegaon investigation, Karkare had told his officers
not to create false evidence, saying, "We should do our job and it is
for the court to decide." Incidentally, the Pune ATS on November 26
reportedly received phone calls threatening to blow up the residence of
Karkare "within a couple of days".


In his last interview to a television channel yesterday, he
referred to getting the custody of Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya
Singh Thakur, and said "police custody would have helped investigations
to proceed faster but still we will see how best to deal with it in a
legal way".

My Salute to the great man

-Abhiz

Powered by ScribeFire.

No comments: