27 November,2010 06:17 AM IST | | Shiva Devnath
Officers of anti-robbery squad believe the breaking of his chair's right arm had foretold his death; his cabin was finally unlocked last month
TWO years after the 26/11 terrorist attack and death of encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar, his locked cabin has finally been reopened at the anti-robbery squad office in Kurla.
The cabin has been taken over by Salaskar's 1983 batchmate and fellow encounter specialist, Prafful Bhosale, who has been newly appointed head of the squad.
The right arm of the chair Vijay Salaskar used to sit had broken a few days before his death
The chair Bhosale will occupy, however, has an eerie tale behind it. Officers say the right arm of the chair Salaskar used to sit in earlier had broken a few days before his death.
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A junior officer had told him that it was a very bad omen and that something bad would happen to him if he did not change the chair.
Salaskar heeded the junior officer's advice and got a chair from his own house for the office.
"Unfortunately, he did not throw away the broken chair and took it home," said a police official from the squad.
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"The people here now have a superstition that the breaking of the chair's arm was a sign that something bad was going to happen to Salaskar. The fact that he died a few days after the incident only lends credence to the belief."
Unperturbed
The post of the chief of the anti-robbery squad has been lying vacant since Salaskar's death.
Bhosale, who was suspended in connection with the custodial death of Ghatkopar blast accused Khwaja Yunus in 2002, was appointed on November 10.
He, however, seems unperturbed by the tale. "I am glad that I have got a chance to hold the same position that Salaskar did.
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He fought the terrorists and gave his life for the nation. I, too, shall if given a chance do the same. I am ready to fight bad elements till the end whether they are terrorists, robbers or underworld dons."
