Why Still Politicking Over Karkare!
By Mustafa Khan
13 December, 2010
Countercurrents.org
It is difficult to say when the Congress party leader Digvijay Singh
ceases to be a rationalist and secularist, and when he becomes a
politician. However his remarks are extremely important as they
provide the leads to further investigation as well as a fresh judicial
process into the matters related to terrorism and fake encounter. At
times he lets out clues so easily that he is walking a tight rope as
when he said that he never doubted the inquiry into the killing of
Hemant Karkare, the Anti Terrorist Squad chief killed during the
November 26 2008 attack on Mumbai nor asked for any fresh inquiry.
These are seemingly contradictory remarks that trap the politician in
him.
What he told The Indian Express on Friday December 11, 2010 is crucial
in importance “On November 26, 2008, at 7 pm, just about two hours
before the attacks in Mumbai started, Hemant Karkare, the slain ATS
chief, rang me on my mobile and told me how his family and his life
were blighted by constant threats from people annoyed by his
investigations into the Malegaon blast.” A similar statement was also
reported by the Indian Express reporters who interviewed Karkare what
turned out to be his last interview as he was leaving for Delhi on
November 24, 2008.
Does “people annoyed by his investigations into the Malegaon blast’
mean only the Hindu extremists like the people in RSS, BJP, Shiv Sena?
At least Karkare’s widow Kavita and Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam
seem to believe that. Even so the new revelations do not militate
against that assumption. As to pointing finger at what has come in
vogue as saffron terrorism should not cause any more consternation
after the arrest of Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit, Sadhvi Pragyasingh
Thakur, Swami Asimanand, Swami Dyanand Pandey as well as the
mysterious death of RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi, and the still
absconding from law of Ramsingh Kalsangrah and Sandeep Dange who
planted the bomb in Malegaon in 2008 and believed to be behind
Samjhauta express attack in 2007. That had killed seventy Pakistanis
and injured many more aboard the good will train between the two
neighbours as they were returning to Pakistan after visiting India .
Even after Wikileaks into the matter what could one make of "Such
statements [by Digvijaysigh] will mislead people and benefit
Pakistan”?
The mystery that shrouds the murder of Karkare and others with him
bodes ill for the facile ultra nationalist bandwagon which was baying
for his blood and no sooner was he killed than they turned to singing
paean in his honour. Why were they breathing down his neck ever since
Karkare arrested the Hindu extremists involved in Malegaon bombing of
2008? Even the former deputy prime minister of India LK Advani wanted
Karkare to be replaced, not to speak of the itching for revenge
against Karkare of the extremist Hindu parties including Shiv Sena.
Can we take the people of India to be so gullible that they would
forget all these despite the politicking that is still going on in the
name of Karkare’s assassination?
David Mulford’s memo of “Congress played religious politics after
Mumbai attack” [PTI, December 11, 2010] is as revealing contextually
as the British High Commission’s secret memo on Gujarat pogrom of
Muslims. The American ambassador to India wrote on December 23, 2008
"The Congress Party, after first distancing itself from the comments
(of Antulay, the then minority affairs minister), two days later
issued a contradictory statement which implicitly endorsed the
conspiracy. During this time, Antulay's completely unsubstantiated
claims gained support in ... Indian-Muslim community."
But Mulford erred in one respect, Antulay as well as Kavita did
mention the last call Karkare received on his mobile. He was told to
go to Cama hospital while PC Hasan Gafoor had already asked him to
proceed to Hotel Trident. The crime branch headed by Rakesh Maria who
is now ATS boss did not want to reveal this even to Kavita. Even the
widow of another slain police officer Ashok Kamte, Vinita Kamte, had
had so much of difficulty in getting the phone records! Why so much of
hush up with the widows of the martyred fellow police officers of
repute? It is not only the Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar who
should ask the home minister of Maharashtra to clarify the matter but
the people of India.
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