Delhi Shootout case: ACP Rathi awarded life sentence

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 15:53 IST

New Delhi: A court has sentenced ACP Rathi to life imprisonment in the sensational Delhi Shootout case, television channels reported today.

Earlier in the day, the CBI had sought death penalty for suspended Assistant Commissioner of Police S S Rathi and two other policemen, who, along with seven others were convicted of killing two innocent businessmen in a fake encounter at Connaught Place in New Delhi, ten years ago.

Arguing for the CBI, Special Public Prosecutor S K Saxena had submitted before Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar that culpability of head constable Mahaveer Singh, constable Kothari Ram, whose bullets had killed the victims, and that of Rathi, (who was heading the team of policemen) fell under the rarest of rare category, warranting capital punishment.

Saxena, however, did not seek death penalty for the remaining seven convicted policemen in the case.

The court had, on October 16, held all the ten policemen including ACP Rathi guilty for gunning down two Haryana-based businessmen Pradeep Goyal and Jagjit Singh on March 31, 1997.

"All the convicted persons were members of a police force and were supposed to be custodians of law and the fact that 34 rounds were fired at the helpless occupants of the car, showed the extreme depravity of their crime," the prosecutor said.

Referring to courts' own findings in its 66-page judgement, Saxena said, "Law does not allow police to kill even a dreaded gangster like Mohd Yaseen."

The policemen had said they mistook the businessmen for Uttar Pradesh-based dreaded criminal Mohd Yaseen.

"The manner in which, they (convicted policemen) have killed these two innocent businessmen proved that they had a single intention to kill Yaseen," he said.

Opposing CBI's submission, Rathi's counsel said the offence allegedly committed by his client did not fall under the rarest of rare category as he was doing lawful duty.

Seeking a lenient view, his counsel, while referring to a Supreme Court judgement, said, "Judges should never be blood-thirsty. The criminal courts should not be swayed away by sensational nature of offence."

He also said that 54-year-old Rathi, who had received several gallantry awards for his services, should not be awarded capital punishment for the act which he committed while performing his lawful duty.

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