Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar, Ashok Kamte, 3 top cops dead

Three police officers, including chief of ATS Hemant Karkare, encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and additional commissioner Ashok Kamte succumbed to their injuries in Wednesday's terror attack.

Karkare, IPS officer of the 1982 batch, had served in RAW for nine years and was made the ATS chief in January this year. He had solved the serial bomb blasts in Thane, Vashi and Panvel. The credit for the stunning revelations in the investigation of the September 29 blast in Malegaon goes to his credit. Karkare is known for his discipline and fair investigation. During the Malegaon investigation, Karkare had told his officers not to create false evidence, saying, "We have done our job and it is for the court to decide."

Vijay Salaskar, officer of the 1983 batch, had till recently killed around 75 dreaded criminals in police encounters. After being out of the spotlight for quite sometime, the encounter specialist was given the plum posting of heading the anti-extortion wing of the crime branch.

Ashok Kamte was the DCP, Zone 1, in Mumbai and was also the key officer in state police. He had also served as the commissioner of Solapur and was always known to be in the thick of action.

Mumbai terror attack: ATS chief Hemant Karkare dead

ATS (Anti Terror Squad) chief Hemant Karkare (in the center of the above pic, wearing helmet), two senior police officers and 78 others were killed when terrorists struck with impunity in Mumbai on Wednesday night in coordinated multiple blasts and gunfire in a dozen areas including at iconic landmarks CST railway station and two five star hotels--Oberoi
and Taj.

Karkare (54), who is probing the Malegaon blasts case, was gunned down when he was leading an operation at Hotel Taj against terrorists who had taken 15 people, including seven foreigners, as hostages. He was hit by three bullets in his chest. One MP Krishan Das and 200 people were stranded in Taj hotel.

Another IPS officer Ashok Marutirao Kamte, a 1989 batch IPS officer, was killed while fighting terrorists at Metro Cinema in the city along with encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar who also gunned down as one of the worst terror strikes brought Mumbai to the knees.

Army moved in to assist local police in flushing out terrorists holed up in Taj and Oberoi hotels. 200 NSG commandoes were also rushed to Mumbai.

As indiscriminate firing and explosions at iconic landmarks showed no signs of easing since the first attack at Leopold restaurant in Colaba area at about 9.30 PM, hospitals like GT and Cama where gunfire was reported were also targeted. Police and eyewitnesses said AK-47s, rifles and hand grenades were used at will by an unspecified number of terrorists.

Sixty bodies and over 200 persons injured were brought at St George's Hospital, hospital sources said. Seven bodies were brought to GT hospital while two bodies were brought to Cooper hospital. Four bodies were brought to Mumbai hospital.

A little known outfit "Deccan Mujahideen" claimed responsibility for the attacks.