Digvijay produces Hemant Karkare call records

Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh on Tuesday produced before the media in a press conference the call records of his conversation with late Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare who died during the 26/11 attack.

Producing the details here, Singh said those who accused him of lying about the calls and helping the cause of Pakistan in the international fora by hinting at Hindu extremist hand in killing Karkare should apologize to him or at least express regret now.

He also took a dig at Maharashtra home minister R R Patil who had had said there were no records of the purported calls. He hinted that Patil should apologize to him.

He obtained BSNL records to show that calls were made to 022-23087336 from his mobile number 9425015461.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), RSS and Shiv Sena had targeted me after my claims.

He said he spoke on the ATS line and now he could prove it.

He said the media should cross check their facts before printing or airing anything.

“Do not cast aspersions on people like me before such reports,” he said. “I am being targeted. I was called a liar,” he said.

“I never said RSS or such group was involved in 26/11,” he said, adding that he only mentioned of the harassment of Karkare by Hindu groups.

He said all terror cases should be probed by one agency- NIA (National Investigation Agency). He said post Malegaon the terror attacks came down.

He, reiterated, that Hindu fundamentalists involved in the Malegaon blasts were indeed ?harassing? Karkare who had regretted to him that his reputation was challenged by these people.

The Congress leader had earlier said that Karkare, who was killed on the night of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack, had told him about life threats he had been receiving from apparent Hindu extremists in connection with his Malegaon blast investigations.

The ATS chief had even told Singh that the threats were likely because he had held Hindu right-wing activists like Pragya Singh Thakur for the Malegaon blast, Singh earlier said.

The remarks by Singh, taken to be implying a hand of the Hindu fundamentalists in Karkare?s killing, spurred a flurry of angry reactions from the opposition and even Karkare?s wife.