I stand by my remarks on Karkare: Digvijay Singh

NEW DELHI - Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh Monday said he stood by his remarks that Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare had called him up hours before he was killed in the Mumbai terror attack and told him he was getting threatening calls from fringe Hindu groups over his involvement in the Malegaon blast probe.

Singh, who has been attacked by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the remark he made during a book launch, told NDTV channel that Karkare told him he was very disturbed by the calls.

The Congress general secretary said he has asked for the call records of that day, Nov 26, 2008. Singh said he had spoken to Karkare, a family friend, from a Bhopal number.

Seeking to clear the air over Karkare’s death, Singh said “there is no doubt of the involvement of Pakistani terrorists in the 26/11″ killing of the ATS chief.

After Karkare’s death, there was speculation in some quarters that he could have been killed by right-wing Hindu groups for his role in the probe in the Malegaon blast, in which members of some Hindu groups have been arrested.

The Congress leader said Karkare told him he was “very disturbed, (he was) getting threatening calls.. he was disturbed by the allegations of senior BJP leaders” that he was deliberately probing the links of members of Hindu right-wing groups in the Malegaon blast.

He said he stood by his remarks - that he spoke to Karkare before his death, that the police chief told him he was disturbed, that he was getting threatening calls from “fringe elements” in Hindu organisations who were alleging that his son had got a Rs.50 crore contract to implicate the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in the Malegaon blast and other terror cases. He said Karkare said that his son was only 17.

Singh said he would furnish phone records to prove his conversation with Karkare.

Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and Lt Col S.P. Purohit are among the 11 accused facing trial for the 2008 Malegaon blast in which seven people were killed.