NEW DELHI, Dec 18: A Muslim minister in India has kicked up a storm with an observation that the killing of Hemant Karkare, who headed an anti-terror squad, in Mumbai during last month’s terror attacks was a conspiracy.

Abdur Rahman Antulay, minister for minority affairs in the federal cabinet, said “unknown hands” had eliminated Karkare because he was investigating bomb explosions outside a mosque in Malegaon, a town near Mumbai, which killed eight people.

Talking to newsmen outside the Parliament House, Mr Antulay said: “We might require a separate inquiry to find out the circumstances” leading to Karkare’s death.

“Anyone trying to go to the roots of terror has always been a target,” he observed.

The killing of Hemant Karkare soon after the Mumbai siege began has sparked a heated debate in India, with some politicians and intellectuals saying the manner of his killing raised eyebrows.

Karkare was investigating 10 suspects over the Malegaon blasts.

Among them was Shrikant Purohit, a serving officer in the Indian army who has also been accused of masterminding the attack on Samjhota Express last year. Over 80 Pakistanis had died in the tragedy.

“There is more than what meets the eye. Who had sent him to the lane opposite Cama Hospital during terror attacks,” Mr Antulay said.

Ram Vilas Paswan, a minister and Lok Janshakti Party chief, supported his stance.

But legislators belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party and other hardline groups were up in arms against the minorities minister.—APP