New Delhi: It is a reminder of one of the saddest dates of Indian history -- Jan 30, 1948, when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. More than sixty years later, the first information report (FIR) of the incident has been displayed in a police station here "as a homage" to the father of the nation. The person behind the find is Madan Gopal, the station house officer (SHO) of Tughlaq Road police station in central Delhi. The FIR, originally written in Urdu, has been translated in Hindi, laminated and framed.
Both the original report and its Hindi translation have been put up on display at the station. "This is our way to pay homage to him," a senior police officer at the station said, not wishing to be named. "All the credit for this job goes to our SHO (Gopal)," he added. The FIR No.68, registered at 9.45 p.m., was lodged by an eyewitness Nand Lal Mehta. According to Mehta, Gandhi left his chamber at 5.10 p.m. for prayers and was walking across Birla House lawns in central Delhi with the support of Abha Behn and Kumari Behn. Two more girls and an aide, Brij Kishan Chandi, were walking alongside him. "Just as Gandhi approached the prayer hall, a man Narayan Vinayak Godse, fired at him from a distance of two to three feet. The three rounds hit Gandhi in his stomach and chest as he fell to the ground mumbling 'Hey Ram'," said the FIR. The attacker, who was later identified as Nathuram Vinayak Godse, was caught on the spot and a case of murder under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code was registered. The officer added that there may be some more such interesting reports present in the station. "It is a historic station and there may be some more of such reports involving luminaries or politicians in our records, but we will have to sift through them," he added.