Already in the eye of storm over his “out-of-turn” appointment as new Mumbai Police Commissioner, Rakesh Maria found himself on a sticky wicket on Monday, as 25/11 martyr Ashok Kamte’s widow Vinita Kamte expressed serious concern over his appointment, apprehending that it might hamper the ongoing RTI enquiry into her husband’s death on the night of November 26, 2008.
Vinita Kamte told The Pioneer that she had a strong reason to believe that Maria’s appointment as the Mumbai Police Commissioner might affect the ongoing enquiry by State RTI Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad into the call logs of Mumbai police control room on the circumstances leading to the death of her husband.
“In the normal course, I was not to speak on the issue at this juncture. But Maria’s appointment has made me worry if this development would affect the ongoing enquiry. Because, as a CP, he can influence the probe,” Vinita said.
Vinita -- wife of the then Additional Commissioner of Police in-charge of East Region Ashok Kamte who succumbed to the bullets of one of the Pakistani terrorists at Rang Bhavan lane near Cama Hospital ---had stirred the hornet’s nest on November 25, 2009, by accusing Maria of indirectly contributing to the death of her husband.
Maria had purportedly asked Ashok Kamte to head to the Rang Bhavan lane near Cama Hospital on the night of November 26, 2008, at a time when the then police commissioner Hasan Gafoor wanted him to come to be at the Trident Hotel.
Vinita Kamte had come up with this revelation in her book ‘To The last Bullet’ which she co-authored with senior journalist Vinita Deshmukh. The book was published on the eve of the first anniversary of the 26/11 attack.
In her book, Vinita also raised questions about the circumstances leading to the death of not just her husband but also two other senior IPS officers Hemant Karkare and Vijay Salaskar who were shot at by two Pakistani terrorists in the Rang Bhavan lane and left unattended by the police for 40 minutes, before their breathed their last on the night of November 26,2008.
In her book, Vinita writes: “Political bigwigs who visited our home for condolences flung unpalatable statements like “They (meaning Ashok, Mr. Karkare and Mr. Salaskar) did not understand the gravity of the situation. To the nation, the three had instantly become national heroes. Chowks and roadsides of cities, towns and villages in Maharashtra were adorned with hoardings, paying glowing tributes to them.
“However, the picture portrayed by the Mumbai Police to the media was that all these three officers got into a vehicle and were instantly shot dead. It was hard for me to fathom that Mr. Karkare who was known for his meticulousness and vision, Mr. Salaskar who was an encounter specialist and Ashok who was always good at quick planning with an undoubted expertise with weapons, would succumb without a fight and a planned strategy,” the widow of slain Kamte says in her book.
“It was pretty clear that the Commissioner of Police had called him to South Mumbai, when the terrorist firing had started. Ashok had himself told me this on phone at 10.45 pm while on his way to South Mumbai. In fact he had told me that he was headed towards the Trident Hotel. .. Then, how and why did he end up, where he ended upIJ.. What happened at the Cama HospitalIJ Who firedIJ,” she asks in her book.
“..It is so clear. Then why did Mr. Maria deny knowledge of how Ashok went to Cama HospitalIJ It was he (Maria) who had directed Ashok there and yet he denied it flatly,” she states.
“Why did Mr. Maria feign ignorance to the Commissioner of Police on Mr. Karkare’s location at 00.56 am on the intervening night of November 26/27, 2008, when the call logs clearly indicated that the ATS Chief was at Cama rear gate at 11.24 pm and the fact that Ashok and Mr. Karkare were injuredIJ,” she also wants to know in her book.
Referring to the stand taken the then police commissioner Gafoor at that point in time, Vinita says: “He (Gafoor) was not aware as to how Ashok landed up at the Cama Hospital, when he himself had summoned him to the Trident Hotel. ..”
“ I always believed that the Police fraternity is a family and issues should be sorted out within that sphere. Instead of the anticipated support from this family, I was faced with unexpected roadblocks at every juncture. It is only because I was denied certain documents that would throw light on the Cama Hospital incident that I had to resort to the Right to Information Act (RTI),”Vinita recalls in her book.
“I had to invoke the RTI even for procuring Ashok’s Post-Mortem report, a certificate so mandatory for various insurance claims. A document that is routinely made available to the family in such circumstances was denied to me. Though saddened, I was now getting accustomed to these hindrances. Every incident strengthened my determination to get to the truth. My initial anger and helplessness had now turned into a steely resolve,” Vinita says
She has also mentioned in her book that she was denied the call logs by Maria seeking cover under sec 8(h) of RTI Act which states that “information that may impede the process if investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders” should not be revealed.
On his part, Maria had at that time declined to comment on Vinita’s allegations, by saying that all the details about the circumstances leading to the death of late Kamte and two senior IPS officers were in the report of the Ram Pradhan Committee that probed security lapses and fix responsibility on police officials in dealing with the 26/11 attack on Mumbai.