Ex-Mumbai Commissioner condemns Sadhvi Pragya's remarks on Hemant Karkare

Former Mumbai police commissioner Julio Ribeiro, on Saturday condemned Pragya Singh Thakur's remarks on Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, who was killed in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and said her idea of Hinduism is not in sync with teachings of Hindu deities Lord Rama and Krishna.

"A good Hindu is one who does his duty. I think Sadhvi Pragya's idea of Hinduism is different. To curse a person who has done his duties responsibly is not a Hinduism."

"Her statement was not in line with the teachings of Hindu gods like Lord Rama and Krishna," he added.

Sadhvi Pragya, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case had recently claimed that Karkare died because she had "cursed" him.

She further claimed that Karkare had tortured her while she was in in prison. Notably, it was Karkare's team which led the investigation team which arrested her.

"He tortured me and subjected me to harsh abuse which was unbearable. I told him he will be destroyed. A little over a month later 'sutak' (ritual observed after the death of a family member) was going to start ... just over a month later, he was shot dead by terrorists and the inauspicious period ended," Thakur had stated.

"Pragya Singh Thakur's statement on Karkare has hurt the sentiments of Mumbai police because we all know that Karkare was a man who used to perform his duties responsibly. He was a man of principles. During the terror attack in Mumbai, he was just doing his duty. And while working on other cases he made sure that the truth gets established and the right person is prosecuted," Ribeiro added.

The former Mumbai commissioner also clarified that Thakur was not tortured and abused in jail by Karkare. "Her complaint was looked up by the human rights and the court too dismissed her petition as no injury marks were found on her body," he said.

Thakur, who is out on bail, last week was named as the BJP candidate from Bhopal and is set for a contest against Congress's Digvijaya Singh in the Lok Sabha elections.