1997 Connaught Place killing: HC grants parole to Rathi

The Delhi High Court Friday granted three weeks' parole to Delhi Police officer S.S. Rathi, serving a life term for killing two businessmen after mistaking them to be gangsters, to appear in an examination.

Rathi has been pursuing post-graduation (distance learning) course in forensic science from the Gobal Open University, Nagaland.

Justice Geeta Mittal granted three weeks' parole to Rathi to appear in his second year examination in the university's Delhi centre. The examination commences from June 19.

The court asked Rathi to furnish a personal bond of Rs.25,000 and a surety of like amount, and required him to furnish every detail of the examination to the jail superintendent prior to his release.

Rathi is serving the jail term along with nine other policemen for the broad daylight killing of two businessmen, who were mistaken for gangsters and shot dead in Connaught Place here in 1997.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and police also submitted their status report in the case, verifying the factum of examination. The Supreme Court upheld the life term given to 10 Delhi policemen in 2012.

The apex court had said Delhi Police crack team led by then assistant commissioner of police S.S. Rathi was guilty of "unprovoked, indiscriminate firing" on the businessmen - Pradeep Goel and Jagjit Singh - and later attempting to give it the colour of an encounter by planting weapons on the victims.

The CBI accused Rathi and his team of being trigger happy Mar 31, 1997, and killing Goel and Singh in the lure of Police Medals and promotions without even bothering to verify a tip-off about the movement of gangster Mohd. Yasin and his henchman in the busy Connaught Place area of the national capital.