india

Updated: Apr 21, 2019 23:56 IST

Eight former top police officers Sunday condemned the “despicable” remark of Bharatiya Janata Party’s BJP’s Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate Pragya Singh Thakur that her “curse” killed Hemant Karkare, and demanded those who laid down their lives for the country be respected.

In a statement, the former DGPs said the country owes Karkare, who headed the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad and was killed during the 26/11 terror attack, a huge debt of gratitude and anything that detracts from this is worthy of strong condemnation.

“This despicable and regrettable statement of Pragya Thakur only serves to highlight the need to publicly recognise the supreme sacrifice made by the 35,000 police personnel from all corners of India who since Independence have laid down their lives in the line of duty,” the statement said.

Those who signed the statement include: former Punjab DGP Julio Ribeiro, former BSF chief and UP and Assam DGP Prakash Singh, former Kerala DGPs PKH Tharakan and Jacob Punoose, former National Police Academy (Hyderabad) DGP Kamal Kumar, former Maharashtra DGP Sanjeev Dayal, former Assam DGP and NSG DG Jayanto N. Choudhury, and N Ramachandran, ex-DGP Meghalaya.

“Karkare would probably be alive today had he not volunteered to return to the Maharashtra cadre from a plum posting at the Centre with the specific intention of working with the Anti-Terror Squad to prevent and investigate the activities of terrorists so that the rest of us could sleep safe in our beds,” the statement said.

Lt Gen Hooda hits out

Lt Gen (retired) DS Hooda on said he was hurt by Pragya Thakur’s remarks. “Yes, it does hurt when such things are said about a martyr, be it from the army or the police. Full respect should be shown to them. These utterances are not good,” said Hooda.