Hemant Karkare

Indian police officer and Ashoka Chakra recipient

Joint Commissioner of Police

Hemant Karkare

Hemant Karkare on duty

Born| 12 December 1954

Nagpur, Madhya Pradesh, India (present-day Maharashtra, India)

Died| 26 November 2008(2008-11-26) (aged 53)

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Known for| 2008 Mumbai attacks
Police career
Country|  India
Allegiance|  India
Department| Indian Police Service
Mumbai Anti-Terror Squad
Service years| 1982–2008
Rank|
Joint Commissioner of Police
Awards|  Ashoka Chakra

Hemant Karkare AC (pronunciation (help·info)) (12 December 1954 – 27 November 2008) was the chief of the Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS). He was killed in action during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. In 2009, he was posthumously given the Ashoka Chakra,[1][2] India's highest peacetime gallantry decoration.

Karkare succeeded K. P. Raghuvanshi as the Chief of ATS in January 2008 and was eventually succeeded by Raghuvanshi after he was shot dead on 26 November 2008. He was credited with solving the serial bombing cases in Thane, Vashi and Panvel, and led the investigation of the 2008 Malegaon blasts.[3]

## Early life[edit]

Hemant Karkare was born in a Maharashtrian Brahmin family.[4]

## Education and career[edit]

Karkare did his primary schooling from Chittranjan Das Municipal Primary School, Wardha and then received his middle school and high school education from New English High School,Nagpur. He obtained a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur in 1975. After graduation he worked for the National Productivity Council of the Government of India and then Hindustan Lever Limited (now called Hindustan Unilever Ltd.), India's largest FMCG company.[5]

## Police service[edit]

Karkare joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) as a member of the 1982 batch (35RR).[6] Before becoming ATS Chief of Maharashtra State in January 2008, he was Joint Commissioner of Police (Administration) of Mumbai Police.[7] He served seven years in Austria in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's external intelligence agency. According to former senior Mumbai Police officer Y.C. Pawar, Mr. Karkare was regarded as very influential officer in police circles.

## Malegaon investigation[edit]

On 8 September 2006, a series of bomb blasts took place in Malegaon, Maharashtra. On 29 September 2008, three bombs exploded in Modasa, Gujarat and Malegaon, Maharashtra killing eight people, and injuring 80. Several unexploded bombs were found in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Hemant Karkare, as the chief of the state Anti-Terror Squad, led the investigation into the 2008 Malegaon blasts.[8] In late October 2008, the ATS arrested eleven suspects, including a former ABVP student leader Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Swami Amritananda alias Dayanand Pandey, a retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay and a serving Army officer Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit.[9] "Agent Orange". Outlook. 24 November 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2014. </ref>[10] Most of the accused belonged to a Hindutva group called Abhinav Bharat with prior links to Sangh Parivar organisations. Karkare's ATS identified, for the first time, Hindutva organisations as being responsible for terrorism in India, and political commentators began to call it Hindutva terror or Saffron terror.[11][12]

Opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janta Party and Shiv Sena, and Hindu organizations alleged that the arrests were made under the pressure of the incumbent radical government, in an attempt to appease India's Muslim population.[13][14] These parties called him 'a traitor to the nation' for his investigation in this direction.[15][16] Narendra Modi, then the Chief Minister of Gujarat, accused the ATS of undermining the military morale.[12] Some BJP, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders accused the ATS of being used as a tool to attack the Sangh Parivar and of using illegal detention and torture.[8][17] Thakur was given a clean-chit in the chargesheet presented by NIA in 2016 to the court. And the court dropped charges of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) put by ATS following which she applied for a bail and the Court granted it. The bail order lied that she is "suffering from breast cancer" and was "infirm and cannot even walk without support". Multiple videos of Pragya dancing prove this lie. She is currently facing charges of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and other Indian Penal Code sections and a trial is ongoing as of April 2019.[18] She contested and won the Bhopal seat during the Lok Sabha elections of 2019. He tortured Pragya Thakur while being in Jail along with Parambeer Singh and a few others as alleged by the Pragya Thakur herself.[19]

## Death[edit]

Flowers at a memorial for Hemant

Karkare's late wife receiving the Ashok Chakra from the President of India, Pratibha Patil, January 26, 2009.

Karkare, along with senior police officials Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar, were killed outside the Cama Hospital after Pakistani terrorist wing opened fire on their police van.[20]

At 9.45 p.m. on 26 November 2008, while having his dinner at his Dadar residence, he received a call about a terrorist attack at Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (C.S.T.) station. He switched on the TV for news and left at once with his driver and bodyguards for C.S.T. There he donned a bullet-proof vest and helmet (shown on news channels live), and went to Platform No.1, but found it deserted. He was then informed that the terrorists had moved to the Cama and Albless Hospital ("Cama") next to the Azad Maidan police station.

The operation was difficult as it was dark and the terrorists were well prepared and virtually on a fidayeen mission. The officers, with a few constables, went into Cama from the back. A couple of constables were left stationed at the back entrance of Cama, while the rest boarded a Qualis jeep. Senior Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar asked the driver of the Qualis to let him take over at the wheel. About that time, they heard on the wireless that the terrorists were hiding behind a red car.

As they turned from the Crime Branch office towards Rang Bhavan looking for the red car, near the Corporation Bank ATM, they saw one of the terrorists running. Ashok Kamte, ACP of Mumbai East, or Salaskar – or both – fired, the bullet hitting the terrorist on his arm, his AK-47 fell down. He was Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive later. As they were thinking of getting down, a second terrorist, Ismail Khan appeared and fired a volley of bullets at them. All but one, Assistant Police Inspector Jadhav, died.[21]

Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte, Salaskar and others died in fighting the Mumbai attacks, on 27 November 2008 in a narrow lane between St. Xavier's College and Rang Bhavan, just a stone throw away from the Crime Branch office.

Indian Express quotes statements by Constable Arun Jadhav, who was with the officers Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte when they died.[22] The three officers and four constables had received information that Sadanand Date had been injured in the gunfire at the Cama and Albless Hospital for women and children. Located at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), a ten-minute drive from the hospital,[22] they took a Toyota Qualis and proceeded in that direction. Salaskar was driving, Kamte in the passenger seat, Karkare in the second row, and the four constables, including Jadhav, were in the back row of seating. According to Jadhav, five minutes later, two terrorists stepped out from behind a tree and opened fire with AK-47 automatic rifles. The six policemen, other than Jadhav, were all killed quickly in the gunfire. Kamte was the sole officer who managed to retaliate, wounding terrorist Ajmal in the arm.[23] The wounded Jadhav had no opportunity to render assistance. The two terrorists approached the vehicle, dumped the bodies of the three officers on the road and, leaving the constables for dead, proceeded to Metro Cinema. Upon arrival, they aimed three bursts of automatic fire at the police and press vehicles drawn up at that location, then drove off towards the government offices (Vidhan Bhawan) in South Mumbai. Here again they fired several times. While attempting to leave the area, one of the tires of the vehicle burst, so the terrorists departed to obtain another. At this point, Jadhav was able to contact headquarters. The bodies of the dead were recovered and taken to St George Hospital. However the statement that Kasab fired "inside the car" was rejected by the court.[24] The crucial evidence in Karkare's death - the source of bullet fired into his body was absent. The bullets did not match with few of the terrorist's recovered guns which made it impossible to decide who amongst the terrorists killed Hemant Karkare.[25][26][27] In an investigation, Headline Today, an Indian news agency, found that a substandard bulletproof jacket had been issued to Mr. Karkare. Though, according to the post mortem report, the quality of the vest was not a factor in his death as bullets did not pierce the vest.[28] Concerns in the media about the quality of the vest continue[29] because the vest itself was, according to Indian authorities, misplaced in the hospital.[30] In 2018, the Bombay High Court discarded a pending petition that had claimed that Karkare was not gunned down by terrorists Ajmal Kasab and Abu Ismail.[31]

His widow, Kavita Karkare, suffered a massive brain haemorrhage on 27 September 2014 and soon slipped into coma. Thereafter she died on 29 September 2014, at age of 57. She lived in, Dadar, and was a professor at the NSS B.Ed college, Tardeo, but left work a few months before her death and was suffering from hypertension. The Karkares are survived by their two daughters and a son.[32][33]

### Official version contested[edit]

A book The Last Bullet by Vinita Kamte, wife of additional commissioner of police Ashok Kamte, who was killed in the 26/11 strike, alleges the police force ignored crucial information during the terrorist attacks. Vinita claims to have exposed Maria’s ‘feigned ignorance’ about the events unfolding in Rang Bhawan lane. Kamte, Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare and senior inspector Vijay Salaskar were killed there. Vinita also writes about how Karkare’s repeated pleas for reinforcement to block the passage of the terrorists fleeing Cama Hospital went unheeded for over an hour.[34]

Who Killed Karkare?: The Real Face of Terrorism in India by S. M. Mushrif. This book was published in October 2009, that is a year after 26/11 Terror Attack, is written by a former senior Maharashtra top cop, with a distinguished career that included unearthing the Telgi scam, peeps behind the propaganda screen, using material mostly in the public domain as well as his long police experience. The Times of India called this book controversial and quoted that the author he had highlighted in his book how former ATS chief Hemant Karkare was killed in a conspiracy hatched by Intelligence Bureau (IB) to pave way for the appointment of their favoured KP Raghuvanshi as ATS chief to thwart investigations against the Hindu hardliners allegedly involved in Malegaon blast of 2006.[35]

## See also[edit]

* Vijay Salaskar
* Ashok Kamte
* Sadanand Date

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Karkare, Ombale & Sharma among Ashok Chakra awardees". The Economic Times. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
2. ^ "Late Hemant Kamlakar Karkare | Gallantry Awards". gallantryawards.gov.in. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
3. ^ "Colleagues: Slain terror chief 'superb,' a 'daredevil'". CNN. CNN.com. 29 November 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
4. ^ "Cop and an Ascetic - The Statesman". www.thestatesman.com. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
5. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2010.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. ^ "35RR IPS Cadre".`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
7. ^ "Steel In The Driftwood". www.outlookindia.com. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
8. ^ a b Rajesh, Y. P. (27 November 2008). "Karkare's response to death threat: a 'smiley'". The Indian Express. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
9. ^ "India Police Say They Hold 9 from Hindu Terrorist Cell". The New York Times (Asia Pacific ed.). 11 November 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
10. ^ The meaning very clearly was, don’t get us favourable orders: Malegaon SPP Rohini Salian, The Indian Express, 13 October 2015.
11. ^ Bidwai, Praful (8 November 2008). "Saffron Terror". Frontline. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
12. ^ a b Editorial (15 November 2008). "Hindutva's Terrorism Links". Economic and Political Weekly. 43 (46): 5. JSTOR 40278164.
13. ^ "Arrests of 'Hindu terrorists' embarasses [sic] BJP". Hindustan Times. 28 October 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
14. ^ "'I'm not ready to believe that Sadhvi Pragya Thakur is a terrorist'". Indianexpress.com. 17 November 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
15. ^ Rajdeep Sardesai, Voting with our heads[dead link], Hindustan Times, 12 December 2008.
16. ^ Malegaon case: Was there a 'message from top' to Rohini Salian, asks Congress, Firstpost, 25 Jun 2015
17. ^ "Colleagues: Slain terror chief 'superb,' a 'daredevil'". CNN.com. 29 November 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
18. ^ Blast Victim's father moves NIA court against Pragya Contesting
19. ^ "Pragya Singh Thakur wins Bhopal LS seat by over 3 lakh votes". India Times. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
20. ^ Stephen Tankel (2016). Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Oxford University Press. p. 278\. ISBN 978-0-19-933344-8.
21. ^ "TOI Pieces Together The Last Hours Of Mumbai's Three Police Officers On The Fateful Night Of November 26" (video). Times of India. 19 December 2008.
22. ^ a b "Witness account of Karkare, Kamte and Salaskar's death". India Express. 29 November 2008.
23. ^ PTI (10 January 2009). "Injured Ajmal killed Ombale: Maria". Mumbai: Mid-day.com. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
24. ^ "Constable in jeep exaggerated: Court". 4 May 2010.
25. ^ "Evidence is weak, I didn't kill Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar: Ajmal Kasab".
26. ^ "26/11 court's observation on Karkare's death buried by media". 3 June 2010.
27. ^ "Evidence is weak, I didn't kill Karkare, Salaskar: Kasab". The Economic Times.
28. ^ Ali, S Ahmed (21 November 2009). "Karkare death not due to faulty jacket". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 September 2011.
29. ^ "Lies, betrayal and denial in Bombay". Hindustan Times. 3 July 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010.
30. ^ "Karkare's bullet-proof vest misplaced in hospital: Police". Indianexpress.com. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
31. ^ "Bombay High Court refuses to order probe into former ATS chief Karkare's death". The Hindu. PTI. 28 January 2018. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 20 April 2019.`{{cite news}}`: CS1 maint: others (link)
32. ^ Lata Mishra (30 September 2014). "Karkare's wife dies, gives life to others by donating organs". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
33. ^ "26/11 hero Hemant Karkare's wife dies of brain haemorrhage". The Hindu. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
34. ^ "Slain cop's wife writes tell-all book". Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times. 26 November 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
35. ^ Jan 4, Soumittra S. Bose / TNN / (4 January 2010). "Maharashtra ex-IGP says IB got Karkare killed | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 November 2021.

* v
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2008 Mumbai attacks

Main topics|

* Timeline
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Persons|

| Perpetrators|

* Lashkar-e-Taiba
* Abu Ismail Dera Ismail Khan
* Ajmal Kasab
* David Headley
* Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
* Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi
* Sajid Mir
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* Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed
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|

Victims|

* Andreas Liveras
* Ashok Kamte
* Gavriel Holtzberg
* Gajender Singh Bisht
* Hemant Karkare
* Lo Hwei Yen
* Loumia Hiridjee
* Michael Rudder
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* Sajjad Karim
* Sandra Samuel
* Sourav Mishra
* Syed Kamall

Others|

* Faheem Ansari
* Sarah Avraham

Sites|

* Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
* The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
* Trident Hotel, Nariman Point
* Nariman House
* Cama Hospital
* Leopold Cafe
* Vile Parle
* Vile Parle railway station

Works|

| Books|

* Kasab: The Face of 26/11 (2010)
* The Siege: The Attack on the Taj (2013)

|

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* Crackers (2011)
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Television|

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Related|

* Milli Muslim League
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1991 to 2010|

* Rajesh Kumar (soldier) (2010)
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* Gajender Singh Bisht (2009)
* Sandeep Unnikrishnan (2009)
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* Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair (1994)
* Rakesh Singh (soldier) (1993)
* Randhir Prasad Verma (1991)
* Sandeep Sankhla (1992)

1971 to 1990|

* Neerja Bhanot (1987)
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* Bhawani Datt Joshi (1985)
* Bhukant Misra (1985)
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* Gennadi Strekalov (1984)
* Yuri Malyshev (1984)
* Cyrus Addie Pithawalla (1981)
* Gurnam Singh (soldier) (1974)
* Ummed Singh Mahra (1972)

1951 to 1970|

* Jas Ram Singh (1969)
* Shankar Lal Shrivastava (1967)
* Purshottam (1965)
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* Man Bahadur Rai (1962)
* Eric James Tucker (1958)
* Suhas Biswas (1952)
* Bachittar Singh (Soldier) (1952)
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* Sundar Singh (1956)

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