The mystery of the missing bullet-proof jacket of ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who was killed bon the night of 26/11, has been solved. More or less.
The mystery of the missing bullet-proof jacket of anti-terrorism squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, who was killed by terrorists on the night of 26/11, has been solved. More or less.
The jacket has not been found, but a 35-year-old sweeper working with the state-run JJ Hospital has said that on November 27, 2008, he had mistakenly put the jacket along with non-medical waste bags, which were later sent to the Deonar dumping ground.
“Since a case has been filed to look into the missing bullet-proof jacket, the witness on Tuesday recorded his statement in front of metropolitan magistrate AD Kshirsagar at the 23rd Esplanade Court,” a senior police officer told DNA.
According to the police, Dinesh Lalji Gataar said that on the morning of November 27 he saw several bodies and heaps of non-medical waste lying in one of the rooms of the hospital.
Gataar reportedly told the court that when he was cleaning the operation theatre on the morning after the terror attacks, he had come across a heap of bio-medical waste and a bulletproof jacket (believed to be the one Karkare was wearing).
“Gataar told the court that his work was to stack bio-medical and non-medical waste in plastic bags. According to his statement, there were 18 red or black plastic bags. All medical waste related to Aids patients is discarded in red bags, while non-Aids-related waste is dispatched in black bags. Gataar dumped the jacket in a black plastic bag and this was presumably transported to the Deonar dump for disposal,” said the officer.
A team from the crime branch went scouring for the jacket a couple of months ago, but did not find anything. “In all probability, the jacket is lost forever because normally bio-medical waste is disposed of faster by the dumping ground as compared to other waste,” the officer said.
After Gataar came forward with his revelation, the Mumbai crime branch informed the magistrate that he would be recording a statement under section 164 of the CrPC. This statement is legally valid, and should thus put an end to all conspiracy theories about the disappearance of the jacket. “Even the case registered to inquire into the missing jacket is now likely to be quashed,” the officer added.
However, the police are still trying to find out why Gataar took so long to appear before the police and reveal the mystery behind the missing jacket. “We will question him and also the hospital staff as to who was responsible for dumping the jacket along with the medical waste,” the officer said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}