‘You’re a cop, right? Why didn’t you search for the terrorists?’

Judge ML Tahaliyani of the speccial court trying the accused in 26/11 looked exasperated on Thursday as RPF police inspector Sandeep Khiratkar testified before the court.

Khiratkar was in-charge of the local-line RPF post which has the CCTV control room as well.

The judge was visibly angry with the police officer for not making the right decision on the fateful night.

On November 26, 2008 Khiratkar had finished his duty at 9 pm, but after the busy railway terminus was attacked, he returned to the station in civil clothes and caught hold of a .303 rifle and 20 rounds. He told the court that he chased Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab and his aide Abu Ismail till they went out via platform number one. Khiratkar said he had fired 20 rounds and chased Kasab till platform number one where a passenger told him and two other officers that the terrorists had left the station.

“But we had to satisfy ourselves. So, we made sure they were not hiding at the station or had not hidden anything else at the station,” Khiratkar said. He said that later another police officer came to the station and told them that the terrorists had gone “very far”.

Kasab’s lawyer Abbas Kazmi asked Khiratkar whether he followed the terrorists. A visibly appalled judge ML Tahaliyani then said, “Did you ask him where they went? You are a police officer, right? Was it not your duty to ask him where they went? You were not prevented from leaving the station. Didn’t you feel the need to go out and search?”

Khiratkar said he did not know the exact location of the terrorists. The judge then said he would make further observations in his judgment. “What more can I say now?” he said in Marathi.

Incidentally, two CDs containing CCTV footage of CST on 26/11 from 9:30 pm, running into one hour and 15 minutes, were submitted to the court of which two clips were played in court.

The two clips shown before the court were of the passage near GM office of the station and platform number one. Although the armed terrorists were visible in the footage, their faces were not clear.

Khiratkar said the main porch of the station where most casualties took place was covered by the main CCTV post of which he was not in-charge. He said there were 21 CCTV cameras at the station but except for the six on the local side, all were “under maintenance.”