Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur is contesting Lok Sabha elections from the seat of Bhopal against Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh
It was ATS chief, Hemant Karkare who was probing the links she had with the Malegaon blasts.
The saffron clad Sadhvi has been facing criticism for the reason that she has disrespected a martyr.
Karkare was killed fighting terrorists during the Mumbai siege.
Certain sections also complain that while she was reportedly facing breast cancer and was unable to walk, how is she so visible during campaigning.
Hemant Karkare was a brave man. He lay down his precious life to safeguard the honour of his motherland. By belittling his martyrdom, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has done great disservice to the braveheart and India at large.
2008 Malegaon blast accused, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has unleashed a rather ugly train of thought saying it was her curse that spelt the death of Hemant Karkare. Contesting the national election on a BJP ticket from Bhopal, the saffron clad Sadhvi said that after her curse Karkare was killed in less than two months.
The claim has not gone down well with many given that it is a well established fact that Hemant Karkare died fighting terrorists in the course of the 26/11 Mumbai attack.
It was he who had probed charges of terror against Sadhvi Pragya in the Malegaon blast case. Adding more salt to injury was the fact that BJP leaders were seen clapping when this claim was made. The stance of the party in power on this matter has come as a surprise because it has always maintained an anti terror and nationalistic narrative.
Hemant Karkare who died taking on the enemies of this nation on November 26, 2008 when 166 people were killed was the first to investigate the Malegaon blasts.
Karkare was the first to probe the Malegaon blasts of September 29, 2008, in which six people were killed and 101 injured. The investigations had turned the needle of doubt and consequent charging of Lt Col Shrikant Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya and others who were nabbed.
Reportedly Sadhvi Pragya, accused Number 1 was given a clean chit by NIA in 2015, but she was not allowed to go scot free. This was because her motorcycle was used in the blast.
Charges under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) have been dropped, but trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act continues. She was finally allowed to move out of jail on health grounds in 2017 by the Bombay High Court.
The unfortunate death of Hemant Karkare dates back to the time Mumbai saw its worst terror attack. ATS chief, Karkare, encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and ACP Ashok Kamte were on the move in a vehicle. It was a sudden strike by terror mongers who claimed their lives and three constables.
In a 60-hour siege, the gunmen ambushed a group of cops that include three of the city’s top cops.
They were slain while on their way to Cama Hospital situated at a 10 minute distance from CST station, riding a Toyota SUV. They were going to check on a friend Sadanand Date who was injured. The terror attacks on 26/11 reportedly claimed 166 lives.
The efforts of Hemant Karkare and his likes during the Mumbai siege cannot be discounted because this was a well organized attack on the Indian shores. The targets included high-profile sites like Colaba, the Taj, Oberoi and Trident Hotels and Nariman House. A parallel set of operations targeted Victoria Terminus station, Cama Hospital and the Metro cinema.
Hemant Karkare by now had already been on the terror hitlist because he was exposing a Hindu terror nexus unlike ever seen before.
The probe led the cops to a motorcycle that was used to plant bombs in Malegaon in September 2008owned by Sadhvi Pragyasingh Thakur. Telephonic conversations clearly indicated how instructions were being given to the man who planted the bombs Ramji by Thakur. Some leads even led the investigators to bomb-making training camps and politicised elements in the army, some even hinting at the saffron force.
While Sadhvi Pragya makes controversial statements, the then CM of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, and then PM candidate L.K.Advani had branded Karkare a traitor. By November 26, an anonymous caller had already threatened that Karkare will be killed in a blast in two to three days.
Sadly even the wife of Hemant Karkare is now not alive. She passed away a few years back following a brain hemmorhage. Carrying forward the Karkare legacy are the two daughters.
To sum it up, at a time when the country which boasts to be the largest democracy in the world votes, shameless politicizing of martyrs to milk political capital leaves a very bad taste in the mouth. After all why mock a martyr for personal image building.
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