25 Years after, sole survivor of Connaught Place shootout gets justice

Twenty-five years after the Connaught Place shootout, the Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Centre to grant a compensation of Rs 15 lakh to the sole survivor of the incident.

"A sum of Rs 15 lakh is awarded as compensation, which shall be paid along with simple interest at 8 per cent per annum, from the date of the incident till the date of payment," said Justice Prathibha M. Singh in the order dated April 26.

At the time when the incident took place, the victim, Tarun Preet Singh, was just 20 years old.

"The trauma is not limited to the individual but also to his near and dear ones, who have rendered physical, mental and emotional support to the petitioner, which may include his parents, spouse, and now, his children. While the disability can be characterised as being not a major disability, the fact that he has not been able to lead a normal life for the last 25 years cannot be ignored. For a young boy of 20 years, suffering of any kind of disability due to no fault of his cannot be justified or trivialised," the order said.

"In addition, a sum of Rs 2 lakh shall also be awarded as litigation costs to the petitioner. From the total sum payable, a sum of Rs 1 lakh, if already paid in terms of order dated December 10, 1999, shall be adjusted," the order said.

On March 31, 1997, the police had opened fire on a blue sedan at the Barakhamba intersection, killing two of the three occupants -- Jagjit Singh and Pradeep Goyal. The target of the operation was a gangster named Mohammed Yasneen, who was also meant to be in a blue sedan.