Who killed Hemant Karkare? Here's what police chargesheet said about 26/11 hero

Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar has sparked controversy with his remark that former state anti-terrorism squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare was not killed by Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

On November 26, 2008, Karkare, along with Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ashok Kamte, Inspector Vijay Salaskar and two other policemen, were killed outside the Cama Hospital after the Pakistani terrorists opened fire at them.

But Wadettiwar said the bullets that killed Karkare were fired by an "RSS-linked cop", attributing the same to a book written by SM Mushrif.

What happened on the evening of November 26, 2008? Who killed Hemant Karkare? Here's what the Mumbai Police chargesheet said.

THE 26/11 EVENING

According to the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai Police regarding the terrorist attack, the 10 Pakistani terrorists quickly spread out upon their arrival in the city onboard speedboats from Karachi.

Two terrorists entered the Trident Hotel, two went to The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, and four headed to Nariman House.

Kasab and Abu Ismail Khan launched attacks at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CST) railway station, killing and injuring several people.

The two then headed to the Cama Hospital where they attacked a police team in which Additional Police Commissioner Sadanand Date and a few other personnel were injured in the ambush.

Karkare, Kamte and Salaskar received input that Date had been injured in the ambush. The three officers then decided to enter the lane leading towards Rang Bhawan with the intention of entering the hospital from the front gate.

They left their vehicles near CST station and took the Toyota Qualis jeep used by Shantilal Bhamre, ACP of Pydhonie division.

They were accompanied by ASI driver Balasaheb Bhosale, constable Jaywant Patil and operator Yogesh Patil, and drove towards Mahapalika Marg via Tayyabji Marg and Rang Bhawan. However, Bhamre was not communicated about it.

Constables Arun Jadhav and Jayawant Patil also joined them, and it was then that they came face-to-face with the terrorists who were moving on the same lane from the opposite direction.

In the subsequent exchange of fire, a total of five policemen, including the three officers, were killed.

Karkare was shot three times in his chest. This, despite he was wearing a bulletproof vest which was later found to be substandard.

The Ram Pradhan Commission also found that the decision of the three officers to enter the Cama Hospital from the front gate was sudden, and they did not expect terrorists at the site.

They were also unaware that the terrorists had already left the hospital and were in the same lane when they were moving towards the site, according to constable Arun Jadhav, who survived the attack.

Jadhav said they did not think of or expect that terrorists would take the same route.

It was within a few metres of their entrance to the lane that they were ambushed by the attackers who were then hiding in front of a Corporation Bank ATM.

The terrorists, after killing the policemen and officers, took over the Qualis, drove towards Metro Junction, firing and killing police constable Arun Chitte.

Finally, they abandoned the Qualis near the Mantralaya.

Here, they hijacked a vehicle and drove towards Chowpatty, where ASI Tukaram Omble and others stopped them and Abu Ismail was killed while Kasab was captured.

Omble was also killed in the fight leading to the capture of Kasab.