'Defective vest did Karkare in'

 
The jackets belonged to a batch of 110 defective pieces purchases by the police way back in 2002, the PIL, filed by social activist Santosh Daundkar, said. The petition claimed that a Right to Inforamtion (RTI) inquiry has revealed that the file pertaining to the purchase of these vests “has been lost and is not traceable” by the department.

In fact, Karkare’s widow Kavita has recently gone on record stating that the bulletproof jacket worn by her husband is also missing. The petitioner said according to the specifications of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), a bulletproof vest should stretch from neck to the groin. As against this, the jacket, seen in a video frame of Karkare, indicated that a major portion of his upper chest lay exposed.

As a result of defective vests worn by Karkare, Ashok Kamate and Vijay Salaskar, they were killed when bullets pierced through them, the PIL said.

The petition alleged that the police commissioner’s office broke the rules by not testing the vests before purchasing them. The rules provide for a detailed inspection of the product by an independent body in case of every purchase having security implications.