Whatever Vijay Wadettiwar said about Hemant Karkare's death must be investigated, says Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor. File Pic

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said whatever his party colleague Vijay Wadettiwar said about the death of then Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare during the 26/11 terror attack must be investigated, reported news agency PTI.

Wadettiwar, the leader of opposition in the state assembly, had recently claimed Karkare, who was the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad chief during the 26/11 terror attack, wasn't killed by Kasab's bullet but by one fired by a policeman affiliated to RSS.

"I think whatever he said should be investigated. He is saying there is evidence that the bullet that killed Karkare was a police revolver bullet and not from Kasab. If such evidence is there and if it is proved, then it is a serious matter," Tharoor told reporters.

"But sitting here, I cannot simply say whatever (he) said was correct because I don't know (about it ). But whatever he said is a serious matter and there should be a probe into it. Karkare was a patriot police officer and the truth should be known," Tharoor added.

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 S N Mushrif, reported PTI.

"The book also makes this claim that the bullets found in the body of Karkare were not fired from the weapons of the terrorist, but from another weapon. I just want to say when such a serious matter is out there in the public domain, it should be taken seriously by the authorities," he said.

Wadettiwar had made the statement while attacking the BJP's Mumbai North Central candidate Ujjwal Nikam, who was the special public prosecutor in the 26/11 trial.

Tharoor said the candidate (Nikam) against whom this issue was brought up did make a completely false claim that biryani was served in jail to Kasab, adding that former IPS officer Meeran Borwankar refuted this claim, reported PTI.

"The UPA government which arrested the terrorist, tried him, got all evidences on record and then ensured the death penalty is being unfairly attacked," Tharoor said in connection with the biryani statement.

It must be investigated if the reward for the BJP candidate (Nikam) was for his role in propagating this "biryani in jail" myth, he added, reported PTI.

Tharoor claimed Mushrif's book and Wadettiwar have alleged that Nikam misled the court (during the Kasab trial), which (if true) was a serious charge and a crime and "needs to be enquired into".

Tharoor said he did not want to speak about Nikam, who is now a BJP candidate, but when he was a public prosecutor he had particular leanings, reported PTI.

Now it is being proved as he has become a candidate also, the Congress MP claimed.

(With inputs from PTI)