Death of Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte & Salaskar - The Real Story

The terrorists struck Mumbai at 9.45 PM on Wednesday night. The TV channels initially reported that there was a gangwar in Mumbai. However, after a few minutes, it was confirmed that terrorists had made a daring attack on India's financial capital, Mumbai.

Terrorists took control of Hotel Taj, Hotel Oberoi and Nariman House, while CST Railway Station, Leopold Cafe, Metro Cinema and Cama Hospital were attacked by the terrorists. Without wasting any time, ATS Chief Hemant Karkare, DIG Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar rushed to the sites along with the ATS and police officials.

ATS officers and Mumbai policemen had taken position everywhere and fighting the terrorists. The war had just begun. They even did not know how many terrorists were there and which weapons they possessed. None of the officers of policemen imagined that it was the most high-profile and sophisticated terror attack in India.

While preparing himself for an assault on the terrorists at CST, Hemant Karkare received a call that another police officer Sadanand Date was injured in the attack and was being treated at Cama Hospital. Karkare, left for Cama Hospital along with DIG Ashok Kamte, Encounter Specialist Vijay Salaskar and four other constables.

Salaskar was driving the vehicle, while Ashok Kamte was sitting on the front seat. Karkare was in the second row, while four constables were on the back seat. The officers were heading towards the Cama Hospital in a Toyota Qualis, when two terrorists carrying AK-47 rifles emerged from behind a tree and started indiscriminate firing at their vehicle. The vehicle was slowed down, as one of its tyres was hit by a bullet. The attack was so sudden that officers like Karkare, Kamte and Salaskar did not even get a chance to retaliate.

Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar and three other constables died on the spot. Another constable, Arun Jadhav, survived with injuries. He was still lying in the back seat, when the terrorists pulled out the dead bodies of Karkare, Kamte and Salaskar from the Qualis and dumped them on the road. Assuming that all constables were dead, the terrorists took control of the vehicle and started driving towards Metro Junction.

The terrorists did not even know that they had just gunned down three top and high-profile cops of Mumbai ATS. They just took them as any other police officers. After hijacking the vehicle, the terrorists fired shots at reporters near Metro Junction and left towards Vidhan Bhawan, where they fired a few shots. At that point of time, the vehicle's tyres burst and they had to get off and ran towards a Skoda car.

Constable Arun Jadhav immediate contacted the police control and informed them about the tragedy. The cops swung into action and retrieved the bodies of Karkare, Kamte, Salaskar and three other constables. Arun Jadhav was rushed to the hospital.

While driving in the Skoda car, the terorrists were challenged by armed policemen at Girgaum Chowpatty. Teh gun battle between the terrorists and police lasted for 5 minutes. While one terrorist was gunned down, the injured terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab was caught alive. Inspector Tukaram Umbale from the Gamdevi police station, was killed in shootout. (Content Copyright: Breaking News Online).