Kavita Karkare (right) with Smita Salaskar (left), the widows of police officers Hemant Karkare and Vijay Salaskar who were killed while battling the 26/11 gunmen, at the inauguration of a CNG pump for Tarabai Oombale (right, at back) in Mumbai on the second anniversary of the terrorist strike. On the left is Vaishali, the daughter of Oombale, who was also killed in the attack

Mumbai, Dec. 11: Kavita Karkare, the widow of Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad chief Hemant Karkare killed in the 26/11 attack, today slammed Congress leader Digvijay Singh for saying he had wondered if Hindu extremist groups were behind the IPS officer’s death.

“I do not agree with what Digvijay Singh has said that Hindu terrorists are linked with 26/11. This will only give Pakistan an opportunity to benefit from this. I appeal to all not to make a joke out of the sacrifice of Hemant Karkare,” Kavita said at her Dadar residence in central Mumbai.

“When my husband was investigating the Malegaon blast, there were reactions from Hindu organisations. Similarly, there was a reaction from the Muslim community when he was searching for Muslim accused. It is not a question of religion, but such reactions from communities are natural,” she added, responding to Digvijay’s statement that Karkare had said he was getting life threats from Hindu right-wing groups.

The Congress general secretary, speaking at a book release on December 6, had said Karkare had called him around 7pm on November 26, 2008 — two-and-a-half hours before the attacks began — and said he was getting death threats from Hindu groups. The ATS chief was also affected by false allegations published in the mouthpiece of a Hindu organisation that his son had got a Rs 25-crore contract in Dubai, he said.

When he learnt of Karkare’s death in an encounter that night, he had wondered if Hindu groups had killed him, Digvijay said.

“I feel Hemant Karkare’s killing should not be linked to Hindu groups. Digvijay Singh should instead focus on punishing the Pakistani terrorists, improving the living conditions, salaries and weapons given to the police. We were assured by the government that the salaries of officers would be continued till their period of retirement. The truth is all of us have simply got the last drawn salary,” Kavita said.

Digvijay clarified today that he had not suggested that the RSS was behind 26/11 and said he had no doubt that Pakistani gunman Mohammad Ajmal Kasab had gunned down Karkare. He was only saying that the officer was harassed by Hindu right-wing groups.

Bombay High Court is hearing a public interest litigation filed by two lawyers into the conspiracy angle into his death, as suggested in former IPS officer S.M. Mushrif’s book Who Killed Karkare?.

The Karkare-led ATS was the first to arrest Hindu right-wing group activists for a series of low-intensity blasts in Thane and Navi Mumbai in June 2008, after police had blamed either Simi or Indian Mujahideen for collaborating with Lashkar-e-Toiba on these explosions.

Again, after the Malegaon blast, his team arrested Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, army officer Prasad Purohit and activists of Pune-based right-wing group Abhinav Bharat on charges of plotting it.