Senior minister, top officer wanted NSG out: Gafoor
Mumbai | Saturday, Nov 21 2009 IST
 

In a shocking revelation barely few days before the first anniversary of 26/11 terror attacks, former city Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor has said that a senior minister and a top officer wanted him to withdraw the National Security Guards from the operations against militants.

In an interview to ''The Week'' magazine, Mr Gafoor also alleged that some of the senior officials had declined to hit the roads on the fateful day. He said the minister and officer had asked him to deploy city police cops for the operations instead of NSG commandos. Mr Gafoor said the official had told him that ''the entire world is watching us and we should put an immediate end to the siege and help diffuse the crisis.'' He further said that the then Joint Commissioner of police (Law and Order) K L Prasad had refused to go to the spot, while then Additional Commissioner of Police-ATS Parambir Singh, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Deven Bharati and then Additional Commissioner of Police (South) K Venkatesam were not keen on responding to the situation. However, all the top cops have denied the allegations. Later, when asked about his remarks, Mr Gafoor said he was ''misquoted''. He said the interviewer had asked him specific questions hence he had to name some officials. ''I was asked when east region Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte, who was killed in exchange of firing, had came down from Bandra to Cama Hospital, why didn't the south region Additional Commissioner of Police K Venkatesam reach the spot,'' he said.

Mr Gafoor, who is currently Maharashtra Director General of Police (Housing), was stationed at Hotel Oberoi on the night of November 26, last year.

-- (UNI) -- 21BY7.xml

 

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