New Delhi: RSS leader Indresh Kumar on Wednesday said while Hemant Karkare is a martyr, he cannot be “respected” because he allegedly tortured BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur during the investigation into the Malegaon blast case.
Karkare, the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad chief, was killed in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Previously, he had headed the investigation into the Malegaon blast, in which Thakur is an accused. Thakur is out on bail in the case. During the general elections, Thakur claimed that it was her “curse” which killed Karkare.
On Wednesday, RSS’s Kumar said that Karkare died at the hands of terrorists and therefore he is a martyr. However, his “atrocities” against Thakur should also be recognised, he said. “The Congress government used the agency to commit atrocities (atyachaar) on Thakur to prove their conspiracy,” he said. The RSS and BJP have claimed that the UPA government falsely propagated a “conspiracy of Hindu terror” in the Malegaon, Mecca Masjid Ajmer Sharif and Samjhauta blasts.
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He said no agency should torture an accused person “who has not been proven guilty”. He said for an agency to unleash “atoricities” on a woman is unacceptable. He said the Congress government used the “uniform” to prove “their story”. “Getting this done by the agency is a crime, and for the agency to do it is undignified. They should have resisted it. While his sacrifice can be respected, the torture done by him must be pointed out too,” he said. One can pay tribute to the slain cop, but not respect him, Kumar stated.
Hemant Karkare. Credit: Reuters
The RSS leader also referred to Thakur’s claim that her “curse” killed Karkare. The then BJP candidate was forced to withdraw her comment under political pressure, which Kumar claimed showed her “humanity”. He said the media should have been considerate, and shouldn’t have pressed her after she withdrew the comment.
Thakur is a prime accused in the Malegaon case and her bike was used to fit the explosive that killed six people and injured over 100. She is on bail and is facing terrorism charges. She has attended one court session after her election as the MP of Bhopal. During the general election she also faced flak for claiming that Nathuram Godse, Gandhi’s assassin, was a “patriot“.