Who is Sajjan Kumar: The Congress leader convicted in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case?

The Delhi High Court on Monday convicted Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case and sentenced him to life imprisonment for criminal conspiracy to commit murder.

Congress leader Sajjan Kumar (R) during a massive protest against anti-employment policies of BJP and AAP Party at Talkatora Stadium on July 31, 2018 in New Delhi, India. (Photo via Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday convicted Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case and sentenced him to life imprisonment for criminal conspiracy to commit murder. Setting aside the acquittal of Sajjan Kumar and five others by a trial court, the court convicted them saying that the "criminals" had escaped prosecution and punishment for over two decades. "This court is of the view that the mass killings of Sikhs in Delhi and elsewhere in November 1984 were in fact 'crimes against humanity'. They will continue to shock the collective conscience of society for a long time to come," a bench of Justice S. Muralidhar and Justice Vinod Goel said. Who is Sajjan Kumar Sajjan Kumar is a veteran Congress leader, who was born on September 23, 1945 in Delhi. He won his first Lok Sabha election in 20014 and was a member of 14th Lok Sabha representing the Outer Delhi constituency. Kumar was elected to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi in 1977. Kumar is one of the most notable figures accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, in which about 2,800 Sikhs were killed across India, including 2,100 in Delhi. The violence broke out after then prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. Jagdish Kaur, a key witness, had identified Sajjan Kumar as a person who had instigated the mob during the carnage. She lost five family members, including her husband, in the violence. The case against Sajjan Kumar and others was registered in 2005 on a recommendation by the Justice G.T. Nanavati Commission. Kumar and five others were tried in the case involving the killing of five Sikhs -- Kehar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Raghuvender Singh, Narender Pal Singh and Kuldeep Singh, who were from the same family -- by a mob in Delhi Cantonment's Raj Nagar area. A trial court had in 2013 acquitted him. The Delhi High Court on Monday overturned the lower court’s order and sentenced Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment.