Hemant Karkare, the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who Pragya Singh Thakur claimed died in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks because she had cursed him, led the probe by the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) into the Malegaon blast case of 2008, in which Thakur is a suspect. Also Read | ‘Cursed ATS chief Hemant Karkare, he died’, says Sadhvi Pragya; sparks rowOn October 24, 2008, the state agency arrested Thakur, Shiv Narayan Gopal Singh Kalsangra and Shyam Bhawarlal Sahu. Also Read | ‘Take back my statement, apologise’: Sadhvi Pragya on Hemant Karkare remarkA special court, on December 27, 2017, ordered dropping charges under the MCOCA. PK Jain,an IPS officer and former additional director general (special operations), remembers Karkare as a hardworking and dedicated officer. KP Raghuvanshi, former director general of police of Maharashtra who was chief of the ATS before Karkare, said: “He was a fine officer.

Source: Hindustan Times April 20, 2019 01:41 UTC