Both Patil and chief minister Prithviraj Chavan have been dismissive about the suggestion that he was a victim of Hindu fundamentalists and intra-police rivalry.
Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh may be hinting hard at slain anti-terrorism squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare’s troubles with right-wing fundamentalists, but nearly 24 hours before he fell to the bullets of 26/11 attackers, Karkare’s bigger worry was the game of one-upmanship among top police officials.
Home minister RR Patil, who met the ATS chief a day before his death, revealed this to DNA on Tuesday.
The state government has been steadfast in its assertion that Karkare led the force from the front and laid down his life fighting the terrorists.
Both Patil and chief minister Prithviraj Chavan have been dismissive about the suggestion that he was a victim of Hindu fundamentalists and intra-police rivalry.
Patil said the slain ATS chief rushed to the spot after hearing news of attack by terrorists. The images of Karkare wearing the bullet-proof jacket tell the story, he added. “I really feel bad about him. He was a wonderful officer and human being,” Patil said.
“When he met me he almost had tears in his eyes. He was not very happy as there were malicious campaigns against him, both within and outside,” said Patil, who resigned post-26/11 taking moral responsibility for the incident.
The home minister said Karkare was so unhappy with the goings on in the police department that he was willing to relinquish his post and take up some other responsibilities.
Patil said he did not disclose this earlier as it would have hit the morale of the police force.
It is no secret in the home department that the rivalry among top officials in the police has been intense. Karkare’s rivals in the police force — senior officers in the crime branch and the DGP’s office— were tapping his telephone conversations to keep track of the Malegaon bomb blasts investigation.
In one instance, the crime branch hired a private plane to interrogate a person detained along Gujarat’s border after coming to know that the ATS team had set off by road to meet him. The ATS team suffered humiliation when their counterparts in Gujarat informed them that a Mumbai team was already there and done the job.
Meanwhile, Digvijay’s remarks have not gone down well with the senior leaders of the party here. “I am really amused with Singh’s revelation. I wonder how many people Karkare called a day before he died. You don’t politicise somebody’s martyrdom,” said a cabinet minister.
A senior officer in the home ministry said, “There cannot be any scope for debate about Karkare fighting the Pakistani terrorists and laying down his life for the country… As far as the state is concerned, he is martyr.’’
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