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The jacket worn by the slain officer had only his chest covered
Karkare’s vest not pierced; Gafoor blames colleagues
Mumbai:Nov 21, DHNS:
Former Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) Chief Hemant Karkare received five bullets in and around his neck which was not covered by the bullet-proof jacket, according to the post-mortem report.
The report, which found its way to the media, puts to rest the controversy over how he (Karkare) died as there were allegations that his bullet-proof jacket was defective and bullets pierced through it. No such evidence was recorded in the post-mortem report.
Karkare, along with Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and Inspector Vijay Salaskar, and three other constables were killed in the Cama Hospital lane by two Pakistani terrorists on the 26/11 night.
A public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the Bombay High Court has alleged that Karkare died because bullets had pierced his bullet-proof jacket. The PIL also pointed out that in accordance with specifications laid down for bullet-proof vests, the portion of the body from the neck till waist should be covered. The jacket worn by Karkare, however, had only his chest covered while the neck portion was open. This is an admitted fact.
The post-mortem report stated that Karkare received a “total of five wounds on the shoulder blade, top region between neck and right shoulder, four entry wounds in one line.”
The post-mortem report further revealed that he received one bullet in the neck and the other four were in a line entering the shoulder and exiting from the armpit. This gives strength to the prosecution theory that the captured gunman Ajmal Kasab, who is currently on trial, had fired four shots in quick succession at Karkare to make sure he died after discovering that the police officer was wearing a bullet-proof jacket.
Regarding the claim of Karkare’s widow Kavita that the bullet-proof jacket of her husband was missing, efforts made by the authorities to trace it have come to naught. While the police say it could have been disposed of by the staff of JJ Hospital where Karkare’s body was taken for the post-mortem, hospital authorities said they were not aware about the jacket as dozens of those killed and injured were brought there during the attacks.
In yet another embarrassing development, former Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor, who was the city police head during the 26/11 attacks and who was shunted out for his failure to provide adequate leadership in time of crisis, has alleged that some top police officers dithered in responding to the terror attacks. “A section of senior police officers refused to be on the ground and take on the terrorists. By doing so, they chose to ignore the need of the hour,” Gafoor said in an interview to a weekly magazine.
Gafoor even named some of those officials. “K L Prasad refused to come to the Trident and decided against hitting the roads. Devena Bharti, K Venkatesham and Parambhir Singh did not appear keen on responding to the situation as it kept dawning on us,” he alleged. Meanwhile, Parambir Singh, who is currently IG of Konkan region, said he is planning to take legal recourse against Gafoor for his remarks.
