Where is my Buddy � Hemant Karkarey?

By Ishaal Zehra

It seems that investigation to the Mumbai tragedy is re-opened. And so are the queries in my mind. Some unanswered questions that still haunt the investigation authenticity are laying bared open with no one serious enough, or more preciously, daring enough to search for the answers. Death of Hemant Karkery who was about to expose the Hindu-Israeli terrorism in India and the long-forgotten lethal case of Colonol Prohit are two of those serious questions.

All this remembers me of a joke which was circulated widely condemning the absurdity of Iraq war. It went like this� On a campaign the (former) US President George Bush visits a school and explains his political actions. Afterwards he invites the children to ask him questions. One little boy raises his hand and say, �Mr. President my name is Joe and I have three questions from you. 1- How come you invaded Iraq without the support of the United Nations? 2- Where is Osama bin Laden actually hiding? And 3- Don't you think that the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima was the biggest terrorist attack of all times?�

Just as the President Bush begins to answer, the recess bell rings and he says they�ll continue afterward. 25 minutes later the kids come back to class.

�Where were we?� says Bush. �Oh, yes... do you kids have any questions?�

Another boy raises his hand and says, �sir my name is John and I have 5 questions: First, why did you invade Iraq without support from the U.N.? Second, where is Osama bin Laden actually hiding? Third, don�t you think that the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima was the biggest terrorist attack of all times? Fourth, how come the recess bell went off 30 minutes early? And last where is my buddy Joe?!!�

Similarly, the number of times the Mumbai case will be re-opened, the questions will increase with the same magnitude. Who benefited from Mumbai carnage? How come Hemant Karkery died? Why his death is not being investigated properly specially from the point of view that he died just after unearthing rich and credible material about the involvement of a section of Hinduised army officers in the Malegaon and Modasa blasts? Why the case has not been investigated as a �False-Flag Operation� rather simply putting the blame on Pakistan? Why BJP Inclusion in the whole drama is being missed out? What has happened to the case of Col. Prohit, who is a Symbol of Hindu Terrorism? Why the findings are not being made public? The real motives behind this terror act and the actual beneficiaries are still not apprehended by the authorities. The case is being mishandled intentionally.

These dilly-dally tactics regarding the Mumbai incident investigations simply cannot hide the reality. Keeping own eyes shut doesn�t mean that every one else is blind as well. Some serious questions have to be investigated and answered if fair trail is to be done. How is it that ATS Chief Hemant Karkare, his associates Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar and his entire team of about seven, who were tracking the case of Col Prohit, were gunned down in a narrow lane near Cama hospital about 12.5 miles away from the Taj Hotel? The Marathi papers in Mumbai have reported that the killers of Hemant Karkare and his associates spoke to them in Marathi before killing him and the others. The connection between Hemant Karkarey death and the Col Prohit case must be deeply probed, as there is much more underneath than what is present at the surface.

The death of ATS squad during the carnage has remained controversial as there are many loop ends in this regard. The wives of killed Policeman keep issuing statements suspecting hands of some vested interest Hindu organization in killing their husbands. Vinita Kamte, wife of slain police officer Ashok Kamte who was killed during the operation, wanted to depose some points before the Ram Pradhan committee panel but was not allowed to do so. She alleged that certain portions of the call records of the police control room on November 26 were deleted. "There are at least 10 minutes of conversation that has been deleted. I have sought call records of my husband, Ashok Kamte through RTI," Vinita said but was ignored completely.

Again, Quoting his captors� conversation in his interview with Aaj Tak, a TV news channel, one of the hostages who escaped from room # 630 following his brief captivity said �One terrorist asks the other: How much amount of money these Indian politicians have?� The other terrorist answers, �You have received your payment isn�t it, then why are you worried?� why not this lead was taken forward? The election in India is over. The new government has taken the charge well and we all now expect fair trail of Mumbai carnage from them, evaluating all the leads which were left earlier. The loopholes must be probed properly.

One thing for sure, whether today or tomorrow, every time the case will be proceeded further the same question will haunt the court; where is our buddy Hemant Karkarey? And how was he and his whole team was cold bloodedly gunned down at a distant place from the main terror venue before he could proceed further the case of Col Prohit with some concrete proof about which he gave a hint in his interview to a TV channel before his tragic death? Surely, the case will only solve when this mystery will be cracked.