On his retirement, the police officer wore a bloodied hat

Chennai / News Agency

Pratip Philip, Director General (Training), Tamil Nadu Police Force, wore a bloodied hat and badges on his uniform on the day of his retirement from the Indian Police Service. The hat and badge were presented in court as evidence in the assassination of the country's former prime minister. The court allowed the officers to wear it on the last day of his service.

Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991 in the nearby village of Perambadur. Philip was present at the scene at the time. Philip, who was Kanchipuram's superintendent of police at the time, was injured in the attack. His blood-stained hat and nameplate were seized by investigators at the scene and presented to the court as evidence. The hat and name plate have been in the court's possession ever since.

On the day of his retirement, the District Sessions Court temporarily remanded the items to Philip and allowed him to wear them.

Philip asked the court a few days ago to get the items in his possession and get permission to wear them. "These things are very important to me emotionally," he said in his application. Both of these things are related to such an event, which caused me to experience mixed feelings of duty, justice, kindness, frustration and sadness at the same time. Respecting his request, the court handed over the items to him with a deposit of Rs 1 lakh and ordered to re-deposit them in the court on the day of retirement.

Philip has also announced that he will write a book on the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.