Believe it or not, the wife of the slain cop Hemant Karkare, who was killed in the encounter with the Pakistani terrorists during the seize at the landmark hotel Taj in Mumbai on the night of 26th, rejected the posthumous cash reward of Rs 1 Crore ( an equivalent of US $ 2 lakh) handed over by the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Karkare was the first top police officer who was killed in the encounter with the terrorists and Modi was the first high profile politician who announced the cash reward on behalf of his Government for taking on the terrorists bravely and shedding his life for the country. Modi made the announcement of cash reward to the families of slain cops during his visit to the Taj Mahal hotel.
When Modi sent the cheque for the said amount through his officials today, the widow of the highly decorated officer simply refused to accept it saying she was not interested money. Observers believe she did the right thing in rejecting it as people would not have certainly appreciated it as the amount came from none other than Modi who recently made scathing comments on Karkare for unearthing the role of Hindu extremists behind the Malegao blasts.
Karkare, as the chief of ATS (Anti Terrorist Squad of Maharashtra police), investigated the Malegao blasts and found out the role of activists of some right wing Hindu organizations. When Karkare and his team of officers arrested and produced the culprits in courts, Modi and the other BJP leaders including the party president L K Advani criticized him saying the investigations are motivated. Karkare refused the allegations that his investigations are meant to malign the BJP and its supporting Hindu groups. Nevertheless, the character assassination on Karkare was not stopped by the Hindu organizations.
Karkare, a really sincere and honest IPS officer, answered the criticism by giving up his life for the country while fighting the terrorists and for saving the lives of innocent people during the Taj seize. It is no surprise that the Hindu organizations and their supporters now kept mum wondering where their earlier remarks against Karkare would lead them.