Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria’s recent book ‘Let Me Say It Now’ has thrown open a can of worms as the ex-Mumbai top cop made a host of stunning revelations in his book. Arguably, the most significant disclosure Maria made in his book was regarding one of the perpetrators of the Mumbai 26/11 terror attack -Ajmal Kasab, the only attacker who was captured alive.
Maria, in his book, asserted that Kasab had Hindu ID on him and the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and the terror organisation Lashkar-e-Toiba wanted him to die as “Samir Chaudhary”. According to Maria, Lashkar and ISI planned to make all the ten terrorists who attacked Mumbai on 26/11 seem like disgruntled Hindus avenging the ‘atrocities’ perpetrated against Muslims. All ten terrorists were provided with saffron or red thread to be tied around their wrist so as to lend them a veneer of pious Hindus.
In addition, identity cards with Hindu names with Indian addresses were placed in their pockets as the ISI and Lashkar wanted all the ten terrorists to die in the attack so that India is bereft of any credible evidence to nail their origins to Pakistan. However, catching Kasab alive not only provided a big breakthrough to the Mumbai police but it also put paid to the Pakistani plans of absolving themselves of the grisly attack. Had he not been caught alive, the whole world would have been led to believe that this was a Hindu terror attack.
It was Tukaram Omble, an assistant sub-inspector police constable who took 40 bullets and sacrificed his precious life to catch Kasab alive who would later become the most notorious face of the Mumbai 26/11 attacks. While Omble’s supreme sacrifice and unparalleled valour in nabbing Kasab alive is incontrovertible, it is a lesser-known fact that Kasab was caught alive also because of one Sanjay Govilkar, Assistant Police Inspector of D B Marg police station, whose timely advice to his police colleagues brimming with absolute rage against Kasab stopped them from killing the maniac.
“Don’t kill him. He is evidence,” Govilkar involuntarily blurted out as several of his colleagues charged towards Kasab to kill him after he mortally injured Mr Omble. Govilkar himself took a bullet in his abdomen but it did not hamper his sagacity. Modest about himself, Govilkar credited team effort and Mr Omble’s transcendent gallantry that made Kasab face the trial and expose Pakistan’s nefarious designs to incite religious hatred in India. Were it not for the prompt suggestion from Govilkar, 26/11 mystery would have possibly remained as a mystery and the Pakistani ploy of Hindu terror would have gained credence.
