1984 Anti-Sikh Riots: Former MP Sajjan Kumar Acquitted In Delhi Murder Case
Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday acquitted former Lok Sabha MP leader Sajjan Kumar and other accused in a murder case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday (September 20) acquitted former Lok Sabha MP leader Sajjan Kumar and other accused in a murder case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The case was related to the murder of Sikh individuals in Delhi's Sultanpuri area, reported news agency ANI.
The former Congress leader is also accused of setting a Gurdwara on fire during the riots. Last month, a court called Sajjan Kumar the "principal abettor" in the case. The court said Sajjan Kumar was part of the mob whose sole intent was to burn the gurdwara in Gulab Bagh, Nawada, on November 1, 1984, and loot it. Two persons, Sohan Singh and Avtar Singh, were killed in the incident. The court also said that the mob wanted to burn homes of Sikhs in the area. The court said that Kumar had instigated others in the mob.
The 1984 anti-Sikh violence broke out after the assassination of erstwhile Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31 by two of her Sikh bodyguards.
According to the court, the mob even threatened to burn down Sikh homes in the area. Sajjan Kumar was the one who instigated others in the mob, it said.
"Accused Sajjan Kumar was also a part of the said mob, and the common object of the said mob was to set fire to the above said Gurudwara and burn and loot the articles lying therein, as well as to burn and destroy the houses of Sikhs situated in the said locality, to damage, destroy, or loot their articles or property, and to kill the Sikhs residing in that locality, in order to avenge the killing of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, news agency PTI quoted the judge as saying.
In July 2010, the Karkardooma Court filed charges against Sajjan Kumar, Brahmanand, Peru, Kushal Singh, and Ved Prakash in connection with the killing of six people during the Sultanpuri Sikh riots.
Meanwhile, the hearing against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the same case was postponed today. The proceedings were postponed by the Rouse Avenue Court to a later date.
The next hearing in this case is scheduled for October 13 at the Rouse Avenue Court.
The case was previously transferred from the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's (ACMM) court to the Session Court.
In this case, Jagdish Tytler is accused of being involved in the killing of three people, Badal Singh, Thakur Singh, and Gurcharan Singh, following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 during the Pul Bangash riots.
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