The Hindu : National : Kamte — the braveheart of the police department

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Kamte — the braveheart of the police department

Rahi Gaikwad

Mumbai: Over a month after the Mumbai terror attacks of November 26, the Mumbai police have defined the role of Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ashok Kamte and his ministrations that night.

Kamte, well known as the braveheart of the police department was part of the slain officer trio, the others being Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar.

According to Mr. Rakesh Maria, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), when terrorists started their operations in south Mumbai, Mr. Kamte was in the faraway suburb of Chembur. He immediately headed for the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST).

He took the port road and came to a halt at the General Post Office (GPO), a few metres from the CST. Heavy barricading in various places had blocked the movement of vehicles in that area. Mr. Kamte therefore abandoned his vehicle. On the way, he had learnt that the CST operation had ended and the action had shifted to the Cama Hospital where Karkare and Salaskar were present.

Kamte walked up to Cama. He was not wearing a bulletproof jacket. Taking the lane behind the Times of India office, he arrived at the back gate of the hospital like the other two officers. Intense combat was on at the top floor and terrace of the six-storey building of Cama. A few policemen along with ACP Sadanand Date were waging a pitched battle against the heavily armed Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman and his partner Mohammad Ismail.

Training his AK 47 in the direction of the terrace, Kamte opened fire, said Mr. Maria. In retaliation, the attackers lobbed grenades and fired back. “They understood that there was someone below who also had an AK 47.”

Fearing a backlash and more casualties therein, the three officers got down to planning a strategy. Meanwhile, the attackers, after seriously inuring Date and killing constables, escaped from the front gate towards the main road.

Hearing the sound of the firing, the three officers realised that the terrorist duo had escaped. They took the first and only police Qualis available and headed from Cama towards Rang Bhavan. Salaskar’s driver Arun Chitte and police constable Arun Jadhav were also in the Qualis.

“At the sound of the police vehicle, the terrorists hid themselves. Kamte spotted Ajmal and opened fire. He shot at both his arms, incapacitating Ajmal. Salaskar fired at Ismail’s leg,” said Mr. Maria.

In the terrorists’ firing that followed, the valiant threesome lost their lives.

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