Hemant Karkare would have further exposed Abhinav Bharat: Owaisi

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday — which corresponds to the 12th anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks — said that had Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare, who was killed in action been alive, he would have exposed the ‘conspiracies’ of outfits such as Abhinav Bharat.

Mr Owaisi was speaking at a public meeting in Erragadda where he underscored the importance of remembering sacrifices of police officers like Mr Karkare, even as he described terrorists as Satan. “There were big people in this organisation, including those from the Army, who Hemant Karkare arrested. Had he not met an untimely demise due to the oppressive Satan from Pakistan, he would have further exposed the conspiracies by Abhinav Bharat. You have to remember that terrorism has no religion, and terrorists are Satan. Terrorism is a new religion in itself. The Majlis demands that strict action be taken against all terror outfits,” Mr Owaisi said.

In an oblique reference to Bharatya Janata Party parliamentarian Sadhvi Pragya, Mr Owaisi criticised her for reportedly stating that she had given a shraap (curse) to Hemant Karkare which led to his death. He also attributed a statement to her in which she reportedly described Nathuram Godse as desh bhakt (patriot) and criticised her further.