“Deeply hurt” by the comments of Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Pragya Singh Thakur against 26/11 martyr Hemant Karkare, a retired Maharashtra cop and an ex-colleague of Karkare has filed nomination from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency.
Riyazuddin Deshmukh, who retired as Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) from Amravati in Maharashta in 2016, has told media that that he decided to contest against Pragya immediately after her candidature was announced by the BJP. "I couldn't bear to see someone trying to malign one of the best and honest officers of Maharashtra police. Karkare always guided me in my professional matters and stood for me whenever needed," Deshmukh told media.
THE WEEK was unable to contact Deshmukh in person.
The ex-cop, now 60, has filed nomination as an independent candidate from Bhopal and his affidavit shows that he has no source of income but his official pension. He does not own any house or property but only holds cash of about Rs 2.5 lakh in hand and bank, and a motorcycle worth Rs 40,000.
Bhopal goes to poll on May 12 and the main contest is between Congress candidate Digvijaya Singh and Pragya Singh Thakur of BJP. Pragya, immediately after her candidature was announced from Bhopal, had said that Karkare was killed because of her curse. She added that she had cursed him because he tortured her in custody in Malegaon blast case of 2008.
ABOUT RIYAZUDDIN DESHMUKH
Deshmukh joined Maharashtra police as a sub-inspector in 1986 and worked with the force for 30 years. He was heading the Amravati crime branch as ACP at the time of his retirement and is staying in Aurangabad of Maharashtra since then. When Hemant Karkare was made the superintendent of police (SP) of Akola in 1988, Deshmukh was heading the Washim police station in Akola district. Deshmukh is said to have maintained constant touch with Karkare till 2008, when Karkare was killed in the Mumbai attacks.
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