Cops misled me, I did my own probe: Kamte's wife

PAST TENSE: Vinita Kamte said she was misled about the circumstances of her husband's death.

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New Delhi: Wife of additional police commissioner Ashok Kamte who died fighting terrorists on 26/11, Vinita Kamte, on Tuesday said that she conducted her own investigation and found that it was her husband who had shot Kasab, but the police did not give him credit for his heroic act.

In an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN, she said that her husband did not act in haste on the night on November 26. She also added that they waited for a long time for reinforcements but had to leave since no help came their way.

Vinita Kamte said she was misled about the circumstances of her husband's death. She also said that encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar could have been saved if their own colleagues had reached them on time, instead of leaving them shot and bleeding.

Excerpts from the interview:

What happened on the night of Nov 26

Since so many people were asking me why Kamte went unprepared, I felt bad. I wanted to conduct my own investigation and find out what really happened that night

Everyone who came in for condolences would keep asking the same question – why did the three of them go together? There were politicians who kept saying they were unprepared, they went in haste. And somewhere along I kept wondering that could it have really happened because my husband wasn't like that. He used to always plan things well in advance, even it was a bandobast.

’I did my own investigations’

They left me to do my own investigations. I wanted to do it myself, but when I went to them, somewhere along they were misleading me, which I wasn't happy about at all.

My husband has given his life for his country, at least don't portray him in a manner which is incorrect. So I wanted to know what actually happened before the firing took place. I went to the spot where it happened, met a lot of people who were part of the same group. I met the drivers and the ATS people. I wanted to know where exactly it took place and how it happened.

The attack

The street was dark, there were no lights. My husband and others were asking people how to get into Cama Hospital but there was no help forthcoming. They also asked for enforcement which did not come for a long time. So they realised they should not waste more time and they slowly started moving. My husband saw some movement in the bushes. And the firing started.

My basic intension was to know that these people had not acted impulsively.

There was a 40-minute lapse before the police reached Cama Hospital. Due to that, Kamte and Salaskar lost their lives. Maybe they could have been saved.

My husband shot at Kasab

On the second day I knew that Kasab was hit by my husband but I still wanted to crosscheck with everybody. I did not want to believe them. I met a lot of people who actually saw it happening. They say my husband took position and fire with his AK 47.

For me I don't want medals, but my husband should get credit for what he has done.

And Maharashtra Home Minister Jayant Patil who was at the ATS office declined to comment on Vinita Kamte's statement claims.