DGP Prateep Philip allowed to wear cap, badge marked as ‘evidence’ in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case
The Hindu
Mr. Prateep, as Assistant SP, had miraculously survived the human bomb blast on that fateful night in Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991
IPS officer Prateep V. Philip, who on Thursday retired as Director General of Police, Training, was permitted by a court to temporarily take possession of his bloodstained cap and name badge, which were marked as material objects in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
Mr. Prateep, as Assistant SP, had miraculously survived the human bomb blast on that fateful night in Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991. In the impact of the blast, he had sustained injuries and his cap and name badge had fallen off. They were collected by the Special Investigation Team as part of evidence from the scene of the crime. They remained in the custody of the trial court since then.
A few days ahead of his retirement, a petition was filed on behalf of Mr. Prateep before the First Additional Sessions Court seeking to allow him to take possession of the cap and name badge. The trial court concluded the trial in the assassination case and pronounced judgment on January 28, 1998. The convicted persons and the respondent in the case have exhausted all their appeals and all the material evidence and objects available with the Special Investigation Team are no longer required to be preserved, said the petition.