S S Virk: Hemant Karkare does not need a certificate from Sadhvi who cursed him
In democracies, many wrong things do happen. But this is too blatant. An accused facing trial is presented as a party candidate and a national hero who sacrificed his life is denigrated. Will such irresponsible behaviour on the part of rulers not harm society or its secular fabric? How insensitive and apoplectic do we want to make our society?
Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, the BJP’s candidate from the Bhopal
parliamentary seat, made an irresponsible and controversial statement on April
18. While addressing a meeting of party workers, she targeted the late Hemant
Karkare, who had arrested her for her alleged role in the Malegaon blast case
in 2008. She claimed that it was her curse (“tera sarvnash hoga”),
which ended Karkare’s life soon afterwards. The resultant controversy and its
fallout in the press, including the withdrawal of her statement, took me back
in time by nearly 11 years. About a month before his death, I discussed the
issue of violence by Hindu reactionary groups or the so-called “saffron terror”
with Hemant. I had known Hemant as my cadre-mate and he was posted to New Delhi
on deputation. A fine officer, he had the reputation of being an outstanding
and professional cop.
Having worked in
Punjab and fought militancy/terrorism there for more than a decade, terrorism
was surely a subject that interested me, irrespective of its hues. One day, in
October 2008, I bumped into Hemant at the reception of Maharashtra Sadan in New
Delhi. I asked him about this new form of terrorism. Was it real? If so, how
serious was the matter, what were its parameters and what was its potential? We
sat for about two hours in my room where Karkare enlightened me about the acts
of violence undertaken by groups consisting of radical Hindu youths, which were
for quite some time, attributed to Muslim militant groups.
He told me that some
blasts took place accidentally in some parts of Maharashtra without any reason,
which set him thinking. Some of the blasts were in the rural areas of
Marathwada in Hingoli and Nanded districts. These cases of accidental blasts
had resulted in injuries to some persons but no satisfactory explanation for
the blasts was forthcoming. So Karkare, as chief of the Anti-Terrorist Squad of
the Maharashtra Police, visited some of the blast sites and also probed into
the backgrounds of the persons who were injured.
Interestingly, his enquiries
revealed that the injured persons were close to some ultra Hindu groups closely
associated with the RSS. Probing deeper, Karkare widened the scope of his
enquiries and started verifying similar cases in other parts of Maharashtra.
These enquiries confirmed his earlier impression and deeper probes established
the emergence and existence of radical Hindu groups forming terror modules to
meet the challenges posed by pro-Islamic terror groups.
These groups had
formed Abhinav Bharat, which began as a social organisation that engaged young
Hindu boys, radicalised them and made them aware of threats posed by Islamic
forces and the need to forge a hardened group from within the Hindu population
which would pose a challenge to the hitherto dominant Islamic groups. It also
created groups who indulged in blasts in Muslim areas and operated in such a
manner that the needle of suspicion would point towards the Muslim groups. In
fact, the police were already looking for the culprits among Muslims. But this
revelation completely changed the direction of the investigation. In several
cases, the complicity and participation of Hindu groups was clearly established
soon.
Karkare successfully
investigated the Malegaon blast case, in which the Hindu group was involved. It
was established that the motorcycle used in the blast was registered in the
name of Sadhvi Pragya, who was arrested. The investigation also established the
active role of several other persons, including a serving officer of the Indian
Army, holding the rank of lieutenant colonel. Karkare and his team collected
evidence and arrested many of them including, Lt Colonel Purohit.
Karkare also told me
that several groups from political as well as administrative circles put
pressure on him not to implicate these groups as these were the “forces of
nationalism”. But Karkare did not relent. Later, those who put pressure also
tried to accuse him of being pro-Muslim or anti-Hindu, a charge that he
vociferously countered, “Sir, I am a Maharashtrian Brahmin and a high-caste
Hindu. But does it mean that only Muslims and Sikhs are terrorists and violent
acts of Hindu groups needed to be condoned?” He took strong objection to such
bulldozing for religious reasons. He stood his ground.
Unfortunately, Karkare
was killed on the night of 26/11/2008 during the terrorist attack in Mumbai.
Due to his sudden death, the dedication and commitment that he had put into the
case slackened to some extent. Similarly, the changed political equations
played their role and the investigation of the case was transferred to the NIA.
Later, similar political changes took place in Maharashtra too and the grip on
the case became loose.
Another development is
that the main accused, Pragya Thakur, is out on bail. Not only that, the hidden
forces which tried to pressure Karkare then have become more assertive now.
They have not only accepted Thakur but have even adopted her as the candidate
of the ruling party from Bhopal. The hidden hand is no longer hidden. I feel
that blaming Hemant Karkare has just begun, it will pick up. Thakur said that
it was her curse that killed Karkare. Condoning her own role, she tried to put
the entire blame on a professional and duty-conscious officer who had
sacrificed his life in the line of duty. Thakur perhaps forgot
that besides Karkare, 15 other officers and men of the Bombay police and dozens
of innocent citizens were also killed on 26/11. Is it not strange that the
fulfilment of her curse came through the bullets fired by emissaries of Masood
Azhar? Truth is that Sadhvi and Masood Azhar both wanted to kill Karkare; both
celebrated his death, though for different reasons.
In democracies, many
wrong things do happen. But this is too blatant. An accused facing trial is
presented as a party candidate and a national hero who sacrificed his life is
denigrated. Will such irresponsible behaviour on the part of rulers not harm
society or its secular fabric? How insensitive and apoplectic do we want to
make our society?
Rest in peace, Hemant.
You surely do not need a certificate either from Sadhvi who cursed you or from
the emissaries of Masood Azhar, whose bullet claimed your life. You gave the
ultimate sacrifice. I am sure that coming generations of cops will always look
to you to determine their direction and goals. My salute to you.
The writer is
former DGP of Punjab and Maharashtra. Views are personal
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/hemant-karkare-sadhvi-pragya-mumbai-attack-lok-sabha-elections-5689220/see also
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