Govt rejects Antulay's conspiracy theory on Karkare killing

NEW DELHI: Government today rejected the conspiracy theory propounded by Union Minister A R Antulay over the death of Hemant Karkare, saying questions raised about the circumstances in which the former Maharashtra ATS chief was killed are "wrong and deeply regrettable".

Making a statement in the Lok Sabha in the wake of persisting demands by the Opposition after Antulay made the controversial remarks last week, Home Minister P Chidambaram said there is "no truth in the different versions that have been circulated about the movement of Karkare on that fateful day."

Amid slogan-shouting by the NDA members, Chidambaram gave details of sequence of events that led to the killing of Karkare and other two officers when terrorists struck in Mumbai on November 26.

"The investigators have reached the conclusion that there is no truth whatsoever in the suspicion that there was a conspiracy to eliminate Shri Karkare or others," the Home Minister said.

"There is no truth in the different versions that have been circulated about the movement of Karkare on that fateful day," he asserted, rejecting the theory of conspiracy propounded by Antulay who has questioned who sent the ATS chief to Cama Hospital and demanded an inquiry into it.