10 policemen of Delhi Police had, by mistake, killed two business men and injured a teenager in a shooting incident on 31 March 2011. The policemen, in civilian clothes had surrounded the victims traveling in a Maruti Esteem car at a traffic signal and apparently without any provocation and sprayed the car with bullets. Delhi businessmen Mr. Pradip Goyal and his friend Jagjit Singh died on the spot. The incident created a lot of commotion in the media. The inquiry was conducted into the incident by the CBI and charges were framed. The policemen were first suspended and later arrested and tried. After a short trial they were found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment.
The President was not at all happy at the turn of events. He sent an emissary to the convicted policemen and advised them to apply for Presidential pardon. The policemen did as advised. The President promptly pardoned them. The Presidents action was welcomed by the Delhi Police but was severely condemned in the media. The President called a press conference to discuss the issue.
At the press conference the President was asked as to how he could condone such a cold blooded and heinous crime. The President replied that nothing in the trial had brought out that the crime was premeditated. None of the policemen knew the businessmen. There was no motive for the crime. The Policemen had nothing to gain by killing the businessmen. It was a case of mistaken identity. The policemen were after a notorious gangster of UP. They had information that the gangster was traveling in a similar car. Unfortunately they attacked the wrong car. If they had killed the gangster, they would have possibly been given the Presidents Medal and the press would have lauded the achievement. He was fully convinced that it was a genuine mistake. Hence he felt that there had been a miscarriage of justice. Hence he had pardoned the policemen. He hoped that the pardon would help to restore the morale of the police and security forces and help in the war against crime.
Some of the media persons felt that the pardon would encourage the police to be trigger happy. The president felt that the media persons had never been in a do or die situation. When you are dealing with an armed gangster or terrorist, it was suicidal to ask questions first. Killing your own men in war happened quite often. Instances of shelling or air attacks on own troops are not unknown. Though every effort is made to avoid such instances, these things do happen in the fog of war and have to be condoned. Otherwise no one will fire his weapon in fear of accidentally killing somebody. No one would like to confront a gangster or a terrorist as if they don’t shoot in time, they would die. If that happens, how is the nation going to fight terrorism or the Mafia. How are we going to control an unruly mob that is looting or endangering life and property if the police become afraid to fire their weapons for fear of prosecution? How can law and order be maintained? The President said that he would never condone a death in custody case. The learned media and the prejudiced human rights activists must learn to distinguish between a deliberate misdeed and a genuine mistake.