NEW DELHI, 25 October 2007 — Ten Indian policemen, found guilty of killing two businessmen in a fake shootout a decade ago, were handed down life imprisonment by a Delhi court yesterday.

The businessmen, Pradeep Goyal and Jagjit Singh, were gunned down on March 31, 1997, near Statesman building at Connaught Place.

Former Delhi Police Assistant Commissioner Satyaveer Singh Rathi and nine other policemen were handed down the punishment by Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar after he dismissed a plea by the CBI for death sentence for the accused. “The (prosecution’s) prayer for death sentence is dismissed. The court awards life sentence to all of you (convicts),” the judge said.

CBI counsel made a strong demand for death sentence to three of the convicts — Rathi and constables Mahaveer Singh and Kotharee Ram. The CBI counsel contended that the two constables deserved death penalty as they were the ones who had fired to kill Pradeep Goyal and Jagjit Singh mistaking one of them to be dreaded mobster Yaseen Mohammed.

The attorney said the two victims had together suffered eight gunshots — six fired by constable Kotharee Ram from his AK-47 rifle and two by Mahaveer Singh. A total of 34 rounds were fired by the police in the incident.

The counsel demanded death penalty for Rathi, saying he was the senior-most officer, responsible for the action of his subordinates. “It was under his guidance that the killings had taken place,” the CBI counsel contended. Lawyers representing various accused pleaded for leniency.

After hearing the arguments in the forenoon session, the judge reserved his verdict on the quantum of the sentence, which he delivered at 3.10 p.m. Rathi and his nine-member police team were convicted on Oct. 16 by the judge for their role in what came to be known as the Connaught Place shootout case, which the then police commissioner Nikhil Kumar had described as “a genuine case of mistaken identity.”

Besides Rathi, Ram and Singh, the others who were awarded life term included inspector Anil Kumar, sub-inspector Ashok Rana, policemen Shiv Kumar, Tejpal Singh, Sumer Singh, Subhash Chand and Sunil Kumar.

Welcoming the verdict, Goyal’s wife Neema said: “I am happy with the verdict.” Jagjit Singh’s brother, however, demanded death sentence for the guilty.

Rejecting the accused persons’ contention that the first shot had come from the victims’ car that forced the police to retaliate, the judge said: “The circumstances clearly show that there was no firing from inside the car, therefore the plea of self-defense taken by the accused persons stands proved false.” The testimony of eyewitness Tanunpreet Singh, sitting in the car during the firing, had proved it, the judge said.

UP Legislator, Wife Get Life Terms

Uttar Pradesh legislator Amarmani Tripathi and his wife Madhumani were yesterday handed down life sentences by a special court in Dehradun for the murder of poetess Madhumita Shukla.

District and Sessions Judge V.B. Rai gave life terms to Amarmani, a former state minister, Madhumani, their nephew Rohit Chaturvedi and an acquaintance Santosh Roy. The court also imposed a Rs.50,000 fine on each of the convicts.

The judge however acquitted Prakash Pandey, who had accompanied Santosh Roy — who shot Madhumita dead — saying that the evidence was insufficient.

Madhumita, 26, was found dead at her Lucknow flat on May 9, 2003. She was killed at the behest of Madhumani, who was opposed to Madhumita’s alleged affair with her husband.