I am proud of my husband's sacrifice, says Karkare's wife

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Last updated on: January 05, 2009 18:04 IST

Breaking her silence over the Mumbai terrorists attack, Kavita Karkare, wife of slain Mumbai Anti Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare, has said the police forces have to be given better weapons and training to tackle such attacks.

She also referred to the Malegaon blast case which was being probed by her husband and said the family had felt humiliated when he was criticised by various political parties on the issue.

In separate interviews to television channels, Kavita said, "The police have to be given better weapons and training. They also must be paid well."

She said, "I feel proud about my husband's sacrifice but we have paid a hard price for it. It is very painful because I am 50 plus and at this age I really needed my husband."

On the Malegaon probe issue, Kavita said her husband "wasn't under pressure from what I understood... because according to the Bhagvad Gita if you are fighting evil, even if your gurus are not doing the right thing, you must continue your fight. He was not confused, his ideas, his ideology was fixed, even the investigations were going smoothly, he had finished his work.

"He was criticised by various political parties, by people from every side, it was humiliating and sorrowful for us. But I know my husband was right. He had proof, so he was comfortable. He was a very strong person."

Kavita says it took time for her to realise that her husband had died. "When I saw that night, I did not immediately realise what happened. I thought he was wounded, but when I reached the hospital, I got to know the reality.

"It's been very difficult for the children. My elder daughter who's married has her in-laws to help her, but my younger daughter in the London School of Economics and my son are finding it difficult to cope," she told CNN-IBN.

"His death is a very enviable, it is a rare death and I am proud of him."

Talking about her husband, Kavita said, "His upbringing was such, his mother was from the Bharatiya Janata Party and his father had communist leanings, but they never argued. So he had a mix of both. That's why he took the decision of investigating the Malegaon blast. For any other officer it would have been different."

She recalled the last image of her husband putting on a helmet and a bullet-proof jacket on the night of November 26 and said that every time she saw it she thought whether the equipment was good enough to save a life and that if better equipment was available to her husband may be his life could have been saved.

Kavita said she was initially angry after the Mumbai terror attacks, "but now I think I am overcoming the anger. We should come together and do something constructive."

Speaking about her family, she said, "The first month we were in too much grief, at night the children would cry, get angry and I allowed them to show their emotions so that they can calm down."

She also said her younger daughter thought that Amir Ajmal Kasab, the surviving terrorist, should be given a chance to understand the gravity of his actions.

She said she regretted the decision of her husband to join the Anti-Terrorism Squad. "I strongly regret that. When he took up the ATS job, I knew from his nature and uprightness that he will go in front and fight. It is a very risky job. That time, I used to tell him to apply for a UN job," she said.

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