Today I will get a medal: Kamte146;s last conversation with senior

Anupinder Garewal, Kamte8217;s classmate, came from Chandigarh to pay tributes to his friend, calling him a 8220;strong8221; character and a 8220;tough guy8221;.

8220;I got a call at 6.15 am that Ashok had been killed. It took me a while to absorb this news. Satish Mathur, an IPS and Kamte8217;s senior, had called to give me the news. Ashok had told him: 8216;Today, I will get a medal,8217;8221; says Arvind Malhotra, General Secretary, St Stephen8217;s Alumni Association.

Of Kamte, Malhotra said: 8220;He had the strength of a tiger and the heart of a teddy bear,8221; he says.

8220;It is tragic that police officers and our friends like Kamte have to die like this. We cannot ignore the lessons this episode has taught us,8221; Malhotra says.

The college re-union reflected that ethos: 8216;He died so we could live8217; and 8216;we will not tolerate terrorism8217; was the centrepiece of the notices set up for the alumni, usually a board that buzzes with news of the results of cricket matches and upcoming get-togethers. And many said, 8220;We will remember what caused Ashok8217;s death.8221;