1984 anti-Sikh riots: If Akal Takht wants I am willing to apologise, says Tytler

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and one of the accused in 1984 anti-Sikh riots Jagdish Tytler on Thursday said if Akal Takht wants he is willing to apologise. "I have written a letter to the Akal Takht. I have faith in Granth Sahib. If Akal takht wants, I am willing to apologize and if found guilty I am even ready to bear punishment," Tytler said. Tytler also stated that as he belongs to the Sikh community, he will follow whatever Akal Takht says. A Delhi court had last month directed the CBI to write to the High Commission of Canada for information regarding a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, in which Congress leader Jagdish Tytler was given clean chit by it, and complete further investigation in two months. The court had on December 4, 2015, directed CBI to further probe the riots case against Tytler, saying the statement of arms dealer Abhishek Verma disclosed an active role played by the Congress leader in extending "helping hand" to a witness against him. The court had also said that as the CBI had filed closure reports in the case several times, it would from now on monitor the probe every two months so that no aspect of the matter is left uninvestigated. The case pertains to the riots at Gurudwara Pulbangash in North Delhi where three people were killed on November 1, 1984, a day after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The court's order had come on a protest petition filed by complainant Lakhvinder Kaur, whose husband Badal Singh was killed in the violence, challenging the CBI's closure report exonerating Tytler. The court had noted that the statement given by Verma to CBI in which he claimed that Tytler had sent the son of Surinder Singh Granthi, a key witness against him, to Canada cannot be a "sheer coincidence" and the agency should probe if the facts disclosed by Verma were true. CBI had re-investigated the case of killing of Badal Singh, Thakur Singh and Gurcharan Singh near the gurudwara after a court had in December 2007 refused to accept the closure report. CBI had filed three closure reports in the case. Tytler has denied any role in the riots. (With inputs from PTI)