Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, apologized for her remarks about late ATS Chief of Mumbai Hemant Karkare, saying that the ‘enemies of the country were taking benefit from her statement.’
Sadhvi Pragya, who is the prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, said that the former Mumbai ATS chief who was killed during the 26/11 attacks, died due to his ‘Karma as he had treated her very badly’.
Her statement came under immense criticism and even the IPS Association demanded an apology.
“I felt that the enemies of the country were being benefited from it, therefore I take back my statement and apologise for it, it was my personal pain,” she told ANI. “He (Karkare) died from the bullets of terrorists from the enemy country, he is certainly a martyr,” she added.
Six people were killed and over 100 injured in a bomb blast at Malegaon on September 29, 2008. Hemant Karkare, who was probing the Malegaon blasts, tracked down the owner of the motorcycle which was used in the attacks. The motorcycle belonged to Sadhvi Pragya Thakur.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and others in the case, alleging they were part of a Hindu extremist group which carried out the blast. In May 2016, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) gave a clean chit to Sadhvi Pragya.
The BJP also released a statement, saying it considers Karkare a martyr. The comments made by Thakur was a “personal statement”, the party said, adding that she may have made them because of the “mental and physical torture” she faced.
BJP releases statement over the remarks made against late Hemant Karkare by BJP LS candidate for Bhopal, Pragya Thakur; says, “BJP considers him a martyr. This is Sadhvi Pragya’s personal statement which she might have given because of the mental & physical torture she had faced” pic.twitter.com/CNr5n5EbDl
— ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2019
