By IANS
New Delhi : Former assistant commissioner of Delhi Police S.S. Rathi, who was awarded life term this week for killing two innocent businessmen in Connaught Place in 1997, Saturday challenged his conviction before the Delhi High Court.
Filing a criminal petition, Rathi said the trial court had erred in appreciating the evidence that he was neither present on the spot of the incident nor did he fire a single shot from his service revolver.
For no fault of his he should not be charged for murder, he said.
Rathi said he did not even order his subordinate staff for firing at the vehicle or the two people who were killed in a case of mistaken identity.
He prayed that the sentence be set aside and he should be acquitted.
Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar had Wednesday sentenced all the 10 accused policemen including Rathi to life term for gunning down two Haryana-based businessmen Pradeep Goyal and Jagjit Singh at Connaught Place on March 31, 1997.
They were shot dead in their car. A fellow passenger, Tarun Preet Singh, survived the firing with bullet injuries. He is the prime witness in the case.
The trial court refused to buy the theory of “mistaken identity” floated by the police in their attempt to cover up the shootout.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which probed the incident, said during the trial that the defenceless businessmen were fired at without being given mandatory warning.