Hemant Karkare

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Hemant Karkare (12 December 1954 – 26 November 2008) was the chief of the Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad. He was killed during the 2008 Mumbai attacks after being shot three times in the chest. His bravery was honoured with the Ashoka Chakra on 26 January 2009.

Karkare succeeded KP Raghuvanshi as the Chief of ATS in January 2008 and was eventually succeeded by Raghuvanshi after he was killed on 26 November 2008. He was involved in the investigation of the serial bomb blasts in Thane, Vashi and Panvel, and led the investigation of the 29 September blast in Malegaon.

Karkare came from a Maharashtrian Karhade Brahmin family. Karkare obtained a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur. After graduation he worked for National productivity council, Government of India and then Hindustan Lever Limited now Hindustan Unilever Ltd., India's largest FMCG company.

He joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) as a member of the 1982 batch. Before becoming ATS Chief of Maharashtra State in January 2008, he was Joint Commissioner of Police (Administration) of Mumbai Police. He served seven years in Austria in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's external intelligence agency. According to former senior Mumbai Police officer Y.C. Pawar, Mr. Karkare was regarded as very influenced officer in police circles.(Times of India Nov.28 2008)

On 29 September 2008, three bombs exploded in Modasa, Gujarat and Malegaon, Maharashtra killing eight persons, and injuring 80. Several unexploded bombs were found in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Hemant Karkare, as the chief of the state Anti-Terror Squad, led the investigation into the 2008 Malegoan blasts. In late October the ATS arrested eleven suspects, and alleged that some radical Hindu groups were behind the blasts.

Opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janta Party and Shiv Sena, and Hindu organizations alleged that the arrests were made under the pressure of the incumbent government, in an attempt to appease India's Muslim population. Some BJP, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders accused the ATS of being used as a tool to attack the Sangh Parivar and of using illegal detention and torture. 

Source:wikipedia