Ashok Chakra Vijayee

26/11, we all know of this petrifying date, but how little do we know of the martyrs? Of the lionhearts who were left to die by their own men? Disclosed is a wife's cry for righteousness is the ugly face of the hidden truth of Mumbai Police.

The charming hero; Image Source: StarsUnfolded

The elevens are quite significant in the history of tragedy. 9/11 and 26/11 are the two most horrifying dates for this civilization. The days, when unexpectedly and in no preparation, many people had to process and gulp the sheer blood lust, a sleek thread of hatred knotting around their throats are making them see how petty the lives of their close ones are- so invaluable that they are gone in a poof and prized after their deaths. The crumbling of the Twin Tower was an international trauma, while 26/11 successfully terrorized India. The dreadful night of 26/11 is still fresh in the minds of witnesses.

The 2008 Mumbai Attacks, as it came to be known from 26/11, was a record of terrorist activities involving ten members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Islamist terrorist organization of Pakistan, in 2008. The bombing and shooting carried on for four days in Mumbai at various locations- Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Oberoi Trident, Taj Palace & Tower, Leopold Café, Cama Hospital, Nariman House, Metro Cinema, St. Xavier’s College and lastly, the lane behind the building of the Times of India.

Instead of great commandos and military chiefs, the Mumbai Police had all the credits of excellence in curbing the terrorists down in Mumbai. Among those brave hearts, was our Ashok Kamte- an officer in the Indian Police and the Additional Commissioner of Mumbai Police.

He was the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Marutirao Narayanrao Kamte; receiving the spirit of valour from his father. He was born on February 23, 1965, in a family associated with the service of police for a long stretch of time. Rao Bahadur Marutirao Kamte KPM IPM, his great grandfather was an officer in the Indian Imperial Police (1895-1923). Indian Imperial Police was treasured by his grandfather Narayanrao in 1923, who became the first Indian Inspector-General i.e, Director General of Maharashtra Police (1947-1955).

As a representative of a family of warriors, the responsibility of a great descendant automatically fell on the shoulders of Kamte, which he fulfilled on his last day. We, as the consumer of the daily dose of media and controversies, are more or less aware of the happenings on 26/11. We all know the summary, but is it what we would call ‘a complete knowledge of the incident’? A provoking insight was added by Kamte’s wife, Vinita Kamte through her revelation, ‘To The Last Bullet’, a biography of her husband.

Along with Ashok Kamte, we lost two other gifted officers that night, Hemant Karkare and Vijay Salaskar. What was told to the audience was, Karkare and Salaskar were roaming the streets with no solid strategy and perhaps, their carelessness made them easy targets of the terrorists. Right there, Vinita’s book struck a chord in the reader’s mind. Vinita’s book exposes the truth, that their colleagues were responsible for their deaths.

Kamte took up the responsibility of the East Zone as the Additional Commissioner. As the attacks were taking place beyond the borders of his area, it couldn’t be said that he was driving without a thorough plan in his head. He was then called to where the terrorists were spotted- the Special Branch Office. Karkare spread out to cover the area he heard about, firing in VT station. He threw his presence there voluntarily. The witnesses of the hiding victims informed him that the terrorists moved their foot from there to Cama Hospital.

Karkare cultured the Control Room of the terrorists’ progression and asked for powerful reinforcements. But the Chief of the state’s Anti-Terrorist Squad was said to have already concluded that ‘much of the police force was confused’. Karkare’s appeal was sided by, ignored, and no battalion reached Cama Hospital at the right time, though the police headquarters are reported to be situated at a distance of just two minutes from there!

The incendiaries of Cama Hospital, Ismail and Kasab, simply walked out of the hospital and took a comforting walk on the nearby lane. Karkare was still waiting for reinforcements and wasn’t informed about any further moves of the terrorists. The civilians of the lane tried to contact the Control Room, but all in vain.

A restless Karkare couldn’t sit there and wait any longer. He took Kamte and Salaskar with him since Kamte was carrying an AK-47 and Salaskar was a specialist in encounters. They entered the lane (Rang Bhavan Lane). Kamte had shot one of the terrorists in the arm, he was said to be Kasab. Ismail’s retaliation with his assault rifle then injured the three officers. The terrorists took over their car and left them on the streets to die. It was too late when any help was reached out to them. Only Salaskar was breathing to be taken to the hospital but died there. Kamte was left to bleed for around 40 minutes.

According to his wife’s book, the civilians kept calling the Control Room, but no response was sent from the other side. The ignorance of the Control Room had killed three brilliant officers and let the terrorists flee. When Kamte’s wife journeyed to find out the truth of her husband’s death, the internal politics in Mumbai Police circles tried their best to stop her. Though the lady of law puts a blindfold, the scales were balanced enough to empathise with a wife’s pain and behold the true meaning of 'Satyamev Jayate'. The police were forced by the State’s Chief Commissioner to provide the logs and recordings under the threat of the RTI act. That’s how we got the book in hand, that’s how the truth is known. The only question which comes to my mind is, if it’s that difficult for an Ashok Chakra Vijayee’s wife to mourn the truth of her husband’s death, how are the common folks expected to be guaranteed justice in this corrupted arena?