It has been a week and Parambir still can’t gather words to describe his “guru”. Parambir’s association with Karkare goes back to the 1990s, when Karkare had joined as SP at Chandrapur, and Parambir as ASP. “Even today, if the department has photographs and leads on the naxalites, including names like Kranti Randiv, it’s because of the operation we did when he was SP at Chandrapur. I have done the maximum operations under his tenure and we have conducted raids as far as Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Before the raids, everyone knew the naxal leaders as Annas, it’s only under his tenure that we finally put faces to them.” 

For Parambir, the “loss is huge”, as he recalls his “workaholic” colleague with great fondness. Even when Karkare was in RA&W, and posted in Vienna, he was in touch with him for errands like school updates of his children. “He was artistic and very systematic in his approach to work,” Parambir says—every day would begin with “to-do lists” with accurate briefings and updated comments. The only time a smile breaks across his face is when he recalls the erratic eating habits of Karkare. “I would see him skip his lunch or dinner sometimes. Once he got engrossed in work, there was no stopping him. There have been days when I told him to pack some sandwiches and snack on them between breaks. He would listen politely, but skip his lunch again for another meeting.”  

His office recalls him being in office till 2 a.m. going through files, analysing interrogation reports and calling junior officers to confirm facts. “He was Maharashtra’s thinking cop”, Parambir says, adding, “Every time we had to make a presentation before the Pay Commission, he would be called upon. He was a classic orator, a thorough gentleman.” he recalls. Junior officials, who did not want to be quoted, speak of him as the only IPS rank cop who allowed them to sit and discuss issues if there was any.

... contd.