Sons Rahul and Arjun were told by Vinita that their father died a brave man and that they should not shed tears, added Chavan. Ailing father and retired army officer Marutrao Kamte, who was to go for a battery of tests, said, “My son was a brave officer.’’

Coming from a family with an Army background, with his grandfather being the first director general of police of the state, Marutrao Kamte would call his son a “tiger.”

Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajendra Singh, a batchmate of Kamte, described him as one of the fittest IPS officers in the country. “He was one of the best officers in anti-terrorist operations,’’he said.

“He was an upright officer and a thorough gentleman,” said a constable. “A good sportsperson, he also led a hockey team and was a wrestling champ,” said J Kuchekar of the Maharashtra Hockey Association.

Deputy Commissioner of State Intelligence Sanjay Jadhav said that Kamtre will always remain an inspiration. “He set up the special security training school at Hadapsar, Pune.’’

Kamte was cremated at Vaikunth crematorium with full State honours. Divisional Commissioner Nitin Kareer, District Collector Chandrakant Dalvi, Agriculture Commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh and a host of senior officers from the government service, political party heads Abhay Chhajed, Girish Bapat, Sandeep Khardekar, former mayor Kamal Vyavhare and former divisional commissioner V P Rane, besides senior police officers, attended the last rites. Meanwhile, the residents of Chambli village in Purandar taluka of the district have decided to set up a memorial in honour of Kamte.