Just finshed reading "To The Last Bullet" by Mrs. Vinita Kamte, wife of Ashok Kamte, ACP East Region, Mumbai, who died fighting terrorists in the 26/11 attack on Mumbai. A must read...
It is an extraordinary story of an equally extraordinary man who joined the IPS out of sheer dedication and love for his country. This book is a tribute to him and all the other innocent people and officers and policemen who sacrificed thier lives in the 26/11 attacks.
In the book Vinita Kamte clears many misconceptions and mysteries involving his death. Ashok Kamte was well-known for being brave and non-corrupt. Still there were gossips and questions raised against him, Mr. Karkare and Mr. Salaskar like "Why were 3 senior police officials travelling together in a jeep?", "Why was Ashok Kamte out of his jurisdiction?", "How come they were so ill-prepared to fight the terrorists?" and many more. Vinita Kamte resolved to find the truth and she has revieled the truth through this book and the truth is shocking.
In the first place she had to file RTI just to get the post-mortem of her husband, which a right of a widow whose husband is killed on duty. She was denied any crucial information and was given misleading information by senior officials who were on duty in the Control Room that fateful night.
She sought to the RTI Act and got all the call records of that night and found out what the truth was. According to the call records it was clear that the Mumbai police were slow to respond to the requests of the officers on site. She also said that these officers were lying on the road bullet ridden for 40 mins before any help arrived. Mr. Salaskar was still breathing when he was taken to the hospital. Had help arrived earlier, they could have been saved. She says that this thought haunts her everytime.
The call logs also clearly show that these 3 officers had asked for help and more force and did not receive it. The local citizens also had called the control room several times asking for help as they could see the terrorists roaming freely on the streets. This too went unheard.
All this makes us feel if the sacrifice by these great officers and policemen was a waste. I really feel sad about the whole thing and also angry thinking that the situation could have been different had the senior officials been prompt......
Friday, June 4, 2010
Pre-monsoon rains
This week the pre-monsoon rains hit the city and the weather changed considerably. Though it is still hot, it is not burning as it was for the past 3 odd months. The rains on Tuesday were scary, with lightening, thunder and hails as well....
Next day the city wore a horrible look. It looked as if the city was hit by an earthquake or major floods. Entire trees were uprooted and fallen across the road. Trees also brought down the electricity wires and the entire poles along with it. Cars and 2 wheelers were floating in the clogged waters.
Sure it changed the weather for the better. But this is warning to the municipality officials of what could happen to the city once monsoon starts! Hope they take note of this and act accordingly.
Next day the city wore a horrible look. It looked as if the city was hit by an earthquake or major floods. Entire trees were uprooted and fallen across the road. Trees also brought down the electricity wires and the entire poles along with it. Cars and 2 wheelers were floating in the clogged waters.
Sure it changed the weather for the better. But this is warning to the municipality officials of what could happen to the city once monsoon starts! Hope they take note of this and act accordingly.
