Naresh Sherawat awarded life term, Yashpal Singh gets death penalty by Delhi court in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case

This is the first conviction in the cases reopened by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), set up in 2015. Delhi police had closed the case in 1994 for want of evidence. However, a SIT on the riots reopened it.

File image/ Courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: The Delhi Patiala House court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to Naresh Sherawat, handed death penalty to Yashpal Singh in one of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. Last Thursday, Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Pandey had reserved the order for November 20. Naresh Sherawat and Yashpal Singh had been accused of killing Hardev Singh and Avtar Singh in Mahipalpur area of South Delhi during the riots. The two were reportedly set ablaze. Yashpal Singh was assaulted by BJP MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa  on November 15 after a hearing in Patiala House Court. Families of those killed in the horrific clashes 34 years ago, said they were not completely satisfied with the verdict as they believed Sherawat also deserved a death term. "Why was Naresh Sherawat given a lifer? His family can still have options to go and meet him. Masterminds like Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar are still roaming scot-free. They should be brought to justice for the well-organized anti-Sikh pogrom," said Singh. This is the first conviction in the cases reopened by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), set up in 2015. Delhi police had closed the case in 1994 for want of evidence. However, a SIT on the riots reopened it. This is also the first death sentence pronounced in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case by a local court. The SIT demand was opposed by the counsel appearing for the convicts who sought life imprisonment for his clients, the minimum for the offence of murder. During the proceedings, the public prosecutor for SIT Surinder Mohit Singh said that it was "brutal murder of two innocent young persons aged around 25 each. It was a planned murder since the accused were carrying kerosene oil, sticks etc." Key witness identifies Congress leader Sajjan Kumar:   Key prosecution witness in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case on Friday identified Congress leader Sajjan Kumar before a Delhi court as one who had allegedly instigated the mob to kill Sikhs. Deposing as a prosecution witness, Cham Kaur told the court that she had seen Kumar allegedly addressing the crowd in national capital's Sultanpuri area in 1984 that Sikhs had killed "our mother" and instigated the mob to kill them.