Bhopal: He can be given a tribute but cannot be respected. These are the words of RSS senior leader Indresh Kumar on Late Hemanth Karkare, the Anti-Terrorist Squad chief who was killed during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

His statement comes months after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Pragya Singh Thakur claimed that the ATS chief’s death was karma for falsely fixing her in the 2008 Malegaon blast case and treating her ‘very badly’.

The RSS leader said that the Late ATS chief’s sacrifice in the Mumbai terror attacks is what should be respected and not his deeds. By “deeds”, Kumar was referring to Karkare’s “torture” of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, even before her crime was yet to be proven in a court of law.

Meanwhile, he appreciated the Sadhvi’s apology for her controversial statement.