Retiring Cop Wears Bloodstained Badge From Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Day

Prateep V Phillip sustained injuries in the incident and due to the impact of the blast, his cap and name badge fell down.

Wearing the bloodstained cap and badge-- evidence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case - on the day of his retirement was a cocktail of emotions, says IPS officer Prateep V Phillip, who survived the ghastly attack that killed the former Prime Minister in a 1991 election rally.

The senior official, who retired as DGP (Training) was allowed possession of the cap and badge by a city court recently, allowing him to wear them on his day of retirement. Prateep V Phillip said he would pen a book on his experiences on the horrendous tragedy at Sriperumbudur on May, 21, 1991, that left at least another 14 dead after a suicide bomber of the LTTE blew herself up.

A city civil court granted permission to the IPS officer to wear on the last day of his service, the bloodstained cap and name badge that he wore on duty when the former Prime Minister was assassinated. Prateep V Phillip then served as Additional Superintendent of Police, Kancheepuram, and survived the human bomb blast that killed Mr Gandhi and others.

Prateep V Phillip sustained injuries in the incident and due to the impact of the blast, his cap and name badge fell down. 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.