Setting at rest the controversy that slain Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare died because of defective bulletproof jacket, the postmortem report has revealed that he received five bullets in and around his neck.
All the five bullets pierced his body in the region not covered by the bulletproof vest, the postmortem report said.
He received "total five firearms wounds of entry on shoulder blade, top region between neck and right shoulder, four entry wounds in one line," the report said.
A public interest litigation in the Bombay high court had alleged that Karkare died because bullets had pierced his bulletproof jacket. However, the postmortem reports negate this claim made by the PIL.
The report also pointed out that in accordance with specifications laid down for bulletproof vests, the portion of the body from the neck till waist should be covered.
In case of the bulletproof jacket worn by Karkare, it only covered his chest while the neck portion was open.
The postmortem report further revealed that he received one bullet in the neck and the other four were in a line entering from shoulder and exiting from armpit.
This gives strength to the police theory that captured gunman Ajmal Kasab, seated next to his accomplice Abu Ismael in the police jeep, had fired the four shots in quick succession at Karkare to make sure that he died after discovering that the police officer was wearing a bulletproof jacket.
Kasab and Ismael had fired at the police jeep carrying Karkare, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar near Cama hospital on 26/11, killing them on the spot.
Their bodies were thrown out by the two terrorists, who escaped in the police jeep. Before escaping in the jeep, Kasab had shot at Karkare from his seat because the four bullets in a line indicate that someone had shot at the police officer from a height.
Kavita Karkare, widow of the slain police officer, has alleged that the bulletproof jacket of her husband has been missing, and that efforts made by the authorities to trace it have come to a naught.
While the police say it could have been disposed of by the staff of JJ Hospital where Karkare was taken for postmortem, the hospital authorities said they were not aware about the jacket as dozens of killed and injured were brought to the hospital during the attacks.
