Hemant Karkare: A Hero Dies

The last television visuals of the 54-year-old officer showed him in a light blue shirt and dark trousers surrounded by uniformed policemen armed with firearms and walkie-talkies. He wore a helmet, talked on his cellphone and finally put on a bullet-proof jacket before he met his deathly fate in the country's biggest terror seize.

Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, suffered three bullet injuries in his chest, as he was leading the offensive against the terrorists at Mumbai's Taj Hotel against terrorists on Wednesday.

Mr. Karkare, who was the 1982 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, held a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Vishveshvarayya Regional Engineering in Nagpur. He also served in the Naxalite-infested Chandarpur area of the state. He became the head of ATS in January this year following his return to the state cadre after serving seven years in Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Austria.

One of the brightest officers, Karkare had solved the serial bomb blasts in Thane, Vashi and Panvel and was also credited for the stunning revelations in the investigation of the September 29 blast in Malegaon.

As ATS Chief he was also involved in the Malegaon blast probe which was subject to a lot of criticism by many Hindu organizations.

During the Malegaon investigation, Karkare had told his officers not to create false evidence, saying, "We should do our job and it is for the court to decide." Incidentally, the Pune ATS on November 26 reportedly received phone calls threatening to blow up the residence of Karkare "within a couple of days".

In his last interview to a television channel on Wednesday, he referred to getting the custody of Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, and said "police custody would have helped investigations to proceed faster but still we will see how best to deal with it in a legal way".

When asked about criticism levelled by BJP leaders especially, L K Advani's outbursts against the agency, Karkare said "when allegations are made anyone (we) will feel hurt." He rejected charges of the Sadhvi being tortured during police custody.

As he now rests in peace, people come out in streets in Pune, where he is being cremated on Thursday afternoon, to offer their reverence to a courageous officer. He was known for his discipline and fair investigation. He was well respected in Police as well as Media circuits. His brave act of fighting the terrorists ended in tragedy. This incident seems to be a great amount of loss for Maharashtra and Indian Police forces; he will always be remembered for his brave and courageous acts of both his investigations as well as his active role in offensive attacks against terrorism.

(Inputs from PTI).