Emotional Cop Chose To Wear Bloodstained Badge From Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Day On Retirement

Phillip, who retired as DGP (Training) has been recently given the possession of the cap and badge by a city court which allowed him to wear them on his day of retirement.

Chennai: Some memories last a lifetime! IPS officer Prateep V Phillip wore the bloodstained cap and badge, evidence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, on the day of his retirement after he survived the gruesome attack that killed the former Prime Minister in a 1991 election rally.

Phillip, who retired as DGP (Training) has been recently given the possession of the cap and badge by a city court which allowed him to wear them on his day of retirement. On his experience of the fateful day, Phillip said he would pen a book on his experiences on the tragedy at Sriperumbudur on May, 21, 1991, that left almost another 14 dead after a suicide bomber of the LTTE blew herself up.

He chose to wear the bloodstained cap and name badge on the retirement day which he wore on duty when the former Prime Minister was assassinated. At that time he was servings as the Additional Superintendent of Police, Kancheepuram, and luckily survived the human bomb blast that killed the fromer Prime Minister and others.

He was injuried during the incident and due to the impact of the blast, his cap and name badge fell down at the time of blast. Since then, his cap and badge, which were part of the evidence from the scene of crime, collected by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), had remained in the custody of the trial court.

In his urge to get the possession of the cap and name badge that ahead of his retirement, the officer moved the First Additional Sessions Court seeking permission to take control of the items that are of "immense sentimental value" to him.

The First Additional Sessions judge T Chandrsekharan on September 28, granted permission for interim custody, on own bond of Rs 1 lakh and ordered they should be handed over to the court on or before October 28 after the purpose was fulfilled. The officer retired on September 30.

The cap and badge literally symbolised his blood, sweat and tears of his professional career which spanned about 34 years, the court further noted.

"Holding the cap and badge, in my capacity, at the closure of 34 years of service life, symbolises the trauma I went through, the exhilaration, the law, sadness - a cocktail of emotions. I was the only person on the planet who underwent the ordeal," Phillip, who retired on Thursday as Director General of Police (DGP), Training, told PTI.

The tragedy has transformed his life and perspective so much he resolved to dedicate his entire service life for the cause of the people.