I did speak to Karkare before his death: Digvijay Singh

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Tuesday once again said that he spoke to Hemant Karkare, before he was shot dead during 26/11, and that the Mumbai ATS chief had linked threats to Hindu extremists.

“I am not a liar, there is no need for me to lie? I did speak to Hemant Karkare before his death,” Singh told reporters here.

?I called from my phone number registered in Bhopal. I had even requested the General Manager of BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd). But I got in writing from them that they cannot provide details of this number as the records are kept only for 12 months.?

?I request the Telecom Ministry to get the records of the call between us from its Pune centre. That will clarify everything,? the Congress leader said.

On Saturday (Dec 11), Singh pointed towards Hindu extremists in getting Karkare killed.

However, the deceased cop?s wife Kavita and BJP were quick to rubbish Singh?s contention.

Singh claimed that he had spoken to Karkare a few hours before the Mumbai attacks and the senior police officer had sounded a ?little depressed? over questions being raised on his integrity by BJP leaders, including former party chief Rajnath Singh.

?I had spoken to him three and a half hours…it was between 6 and 7 pm on 26/11….I was very shocked when I came to know that he was killed,? Singh said.

He said that Karkare had told him about threats he was receiving on phone and the ATS chief had linked the threats to Hindu extremists as he had made notable progress in Malegaon blast investigations, in which Hindu fundamentalists were suspected to be involved.

?When I called him he said that he was receiving some threat calls. He did not know who was calling. An article was published in a magazine linked to RSS against his son. It alleged that his son had got some Rs 50 crore contract from Dubai while his son was just 17-years-old,? Singh said.

Meanwhile, Karkare?s wife Kavita, rejecting Singh?s contention that Hindu right-wing extremists were linked to her husband?s killing, said, ?I want the world to know that Pakistan is behind the attack and not anyone else.?

She accused Digvijay Singh of playing politics with Karkare?s death and said his statement would only benefit Pakistan.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also rubbished Singh?s statement.

?Digvijay Singh has hinted that Hemant Karkare was under threat from Hindu elements and RSS. We condemn this statement. There are better ways to remain in headlines,? BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

He also demanded a clarification from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Singh?s statement.

?The country’s security, fight against terror and investigations into the 26/11 attacks case has suffered a serious blow due to Digvijay Singh’s comments. Terrorists from across the border will question the entire 26/11 attacks,? Prasad said.

He alleged that Singh was making such statements to divert attention from the large-scale corruption charges the Congress government was facing.

?Digvijay has emboldened the terrorists across the border. He has not done this for the first time… After the Batla House encounter, he had visited Azamgarh (to meet families of the accused) and now he is indirectly helping terrorists from across the border, who will question the 26/11 attacks,? the BJP spokesperson added.