Hemant Karkare

Hemant Karkare
Born	1 July 1954[1] Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
Died	26 November 2008 (aged 54) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Indian Police Service officer
Spouse(s)	Kavita Karkare

Hemant Karkare (Marathi: हेमंत करकरे) (1 July 1954 – 26 November 2008) was the chief of the Mumbai Anti Terrorist Squad. He was killed during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks after being hit in his chest by three bullets fired by terrorists.

Karkare was a 1982 batch IPS officer (see 1982 photo as fresh recruit) and also held a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur. As an ATS Chief, he was involved in the Malegaon blast probe and Naxalite-infested Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. Before joining the IPS, Karkare worked for Hindustan Lever. He also served as ADDL. COM of Police (Administration).

Karkare had solved the serial bomb blasts in Thane, Vashi and Panvel and was also credited for the revelations in the investigation of the 29 September blast in Malegaon. In January 2008, he was named the head of the ATS after returning to the state cadre. He was credited for helping to uncover the revelations of the involvement of certain right wing Hindu parties that came about in the investigation of the September 29th blast in Malegaon in which three bombs exploded in Gujarat and Maharashtra of India, killing eight people and injuring 80 (two bombs were detonated in Malegaon, Maharashtra, killing seven).

He also worked in the RAW—the India’s external intelligence agency—in Austria for seven years in a secret mission.

Death

On November 26, 2008, Karkare was killed in action by terrorists during the Mumbai attacks.

India Express quotes statements by Constable Arun Jadhav, who was with the officers Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte when they died. The three officers and four constables had received information that Sadanand Date had been injured in the gunfire at the Cama and Albless Hospital for women and children. Currently located at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), a ten-minute drive from the hospital, they took a Toyota Qualis and proceeded in that direction. Salaskar was driving, Kamte in the passenger seat, Karkare in the second row, and the four Constables, including Jadhav, were in the back row of seating. According to Jadhav, five minutes later two terrorists stepped out from behind a tree and opened fire with AK-47 automatic rifles. The six policemen, other than Jadhav, were all killed quickly in the gunfire. The wounded Jadhav had no opportunity to render assistance. The two terrorists approached the vehicle, dumped the bodies of the three officers on the road and, leaving the constables for dead, proceeded to Metro Junction. Upon arrival, they aimed three bursts of automatic fire at police and journalist vehicles drawn up at that location, then drove off towards the government offices (Vidhan Bhawan) in South Mumbai. Here again they fired several times. While attempting to leave the area, one of the tires of the vehicle burst, so the terrorists departed to obtain another. At this point, Jadhav was able to contact headquarters. The bodies of the dead were promptly recovered and taken to St George Hospital.