NCP MLC dresses up as Karkare to flay BJP MP's 'curse'

Maverick Nationalist Congress Party legislator Prakash Gajbhiye on Wednesday turned heads when he came to Maharashtra Legislature dressed up like the former slain top cop, Hemant Karkare.

Carrying a placard, he moved around silently to "express regrets" over the recent comments by Bhopal MP, Pragya Singh Thakur, on the late Karkare, who was among the martyrs during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

"That I was killed by Pragya's curse is superstition. I became a martyr for the country", read the placard.

Taken aback by this form of agitation, security personnel quickly whisked Gajbhiye away from the spot, even as it evoked mixed reactions from other legislators and mediapersons.

An accused in the Malegaon 2008 bomb blast, during the last Lok Sabha elections, Thakur had accused the former Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad chief Karkare of torturing her and claimed that he was killed because of her "curse".

Later, as the controversy snowballed, she backtracked on her comment on the distinguished IPS officer.

Hailing from Nagpur, Gajbhiye frequently highlights major issues in an off-beat manner. In the past, he had dressed up like Sant Tukaram, a farmer, to draw attention to the causes which he espoused, said an aide. IANS