Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said that whatever his party colleague Vijay Wadettiwar said about the death of then Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare during the November 26, 2011 terror attack needs to be investigated, reported news agency PTI.
Wadettiwar, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, had recently claimed that Karkare, who was the chief of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad during the 26/11 terror attack, was killed not by a bullet from Kasab but by one fired by a RSS affiliated police.
“I think everything he said should be investigated. He says there is evidence that the bullet that killed Karkare was a police revolver bullet and not Kasab’s. If that evidence is there and proven, then it is a serious matter.” “. ” Tharoor told reporters.
“But sitting here, I can’t just say that what he said was correct because I don’t know. But everything he said is a serious matter and there should be an investigation into it. Karkare was a patriotic police officer and the truth must be known “added Tharoor.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said the issue raised by Wadettiwar has been in the public domain for some time and had also been mentioned in a book titled “Who Killed Karkare” written by former IPS officer SN Mushrif, PTI reported.
“The book also states that the bullets found in Karkare’s body were not fired from the terrorist’s weapons, but from another weapon. I just want to say that when such a serious matter comes into the public domain, the authorities must take it seriously,” he claimed.
Wadettiwar had made the statement while attacking BJP candidate in Mumbai North Central, Ujjwal Nikam, who was the special public prosecutor in the 26/11 trial.
Tharoor said that the candidate (Nikam) against whom this issue was raised made a completely false claim that biryani was given in prison to Kasab, adding that former IPS officer Meeran Borwankar refuted this claim, PTI reported.
“The UPA government that arrested the terrorist, tried him, got all the evidence and then made sure that the death penalty is being unfairly attacked,” Tharoor said regarding biryani’s statement.
It should be investigated whether the reward for the BJP candidate (Nikam) was for his role in propagating this ‘biryani in jail’ myth, he added, PTI reported.
Tharoor claimed that Mushrif’s book and Wadettiwar have alleged that Nikam misled the court (during Kasab’s trial), which (if true) was a serious charge and crime and “must be investigated”.
Tharoor said he did not want to talk about Nikam, who is now a BJP candidate, but when he was a public prosecutor he had particular inclinations, PTI reported.
Now it is being shown that he has also become a candidate, said the Congress representative.
(With input from PTI)