Kumar Bahukhandi
Sajjan Kumar (File Photo)
Who is Sajjan Kumar? What was his role in the 1984 Sikh riots? Under which charges has he been tried or is his trial ongoing in the court? Which courts have acquitted him and where has he been convicted? What has happened in these cases recently? Let us find out…
Congress leader and former MP Sajjan Kumar has been sentenced to life imprisonment by Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court in a case related to the 1984 Sikh riots. Sajjan Singh has already been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court in a case related to the same riots. In such a situation, after being found guilty in another case by the lower court, discussions have started about his major role in the Sikh riots.
In such a situation, it is important to know who Sajjan Kumar is? What was his role in the 1984 Sikh riots? Under which charges has the hearing been held or is going on against him in the court? Which courts have acquitted him, and where has he been sentenced? What is going on in these cases at present? Let us know…
First know – what was the 1984 anti-Sikh riot?
After the assassination of the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi in 1984, anti-Sikh riots broke out across the country.
June 1984: Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the terrorist who had captured the Golden Temple, was killed by the Indian Army under Operation Blue Star. Many of his companions were also killed along with Bhindranwale. It was Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who approved this operation. The sentiments of many people were hurt by the attack on the Golden Temple, the biggest religious place of the Sikhs.
31 October 1984: After Operation Blue Star, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was shot dead by her two Sikh bodyguards. After this incident, anti-Sikh riots broke out across the country. It is believed that three thousand to five thousand people died in these riots. More than two thousand people were killed in Delhi alone.
Now, after almost 41 years of this incident, Sajjan Kumar has been convicted in another case. Another Congress leader Jagdish Tytler is also facing cases. Apart from this, Congress leaders HKL Bhagat and Kamal Nath have also been accused in cases related to Sikh riots.
What was his role in the Sikh riots?
Sajjan Kumar’s name comes up in instigating riots against Sikhs in Delhi. Especially in areas like Sultanpuri, Cantt and Palam Colony of Delhi. According to the victims of the riots, while addressing the crowd in Delhi on 1 November 1984, Sajjan Kumar was heard saying – ‘Hamari Maa Mar Di, Sardar Ko Mar Do.’
In the cases filed against Sajjan Singh, many witnesses said in their statements that Sajjan Singh personally identified the houses of Sikhs and instigated the mob to attack. There were also allegations that Sajjan Singh’s supporters identified the houses and businesses of Sikhs in Delhi through the voter list and vandalized or set them on fire. Many Sikhs were dragged out of their homes and killed.
With which special incidents is Sajjan Kumar’s name associated?
Sajjan Kumar’s name comes up in the riots that took place on 31 October 1984. During this time, he instigated the mob in Delhi Cantt area. This mob committed arson in many houses. Following Sajjan Kumar’s instigation, a mob in Delhi Cantt’s Rajnagar area killed five Sikhs – Kehar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Raghuvendra Singh, Narender Pal Singh and Kuldeep Singh.
The fact-finding teams of People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) and People’s Union for Civil Liberties had reported in their report that in the riots that took place in Delhi’s Sultanpuri area, most of the Sikh victims had accused the Congress MP of instigating the mob. Many people later identified this MP as Sajjan Kumar.
How was legal action taken, in which cases was he found guilty?
Despite the existence of many important facts and evidence against Sajjan Kumar, charges could not be framed against him in any case. In 2002, a lower court in Delhi acquitted him in a case related to the Sikh riots.
In 2005, the CBI filed a new case against Sajjan Kumar on the basis of the GT Nanavati Commission report.
In 2010, the case was heard in Delhi’s Karkardooma court. Balwan Khokhar, Mahendra Yadav, Maha Singh and many others were made accused in the case.
In 2013, the court acquitted Sajjan Kumar. However, five people were convicted and sentenced in the case. There was tremendous anger among the victim’s side after this incident. A protester even threw a shoe at the judge hearing the case.
The Delhi High Court took up the matter when a victim and witness named Jagdish Kaur filed a case against Sajjan Kumar with the CBI. He was accused of instigating the mob that killed five Sikhs. The Sikhs who were killed included Jagdish Kaur’s husband and son. Also included were Jagsher Singh’s three brothers. Another key witness in this case was Nirpreet Kaur.
The CBI had told the High Court that eyewitnesses of these incidents had given Sajjan Kumar’s name to the commission formed for inquiry. In this, a demand was made to investigate the allegations against Sajjan Kumar in the massacre. However, the lower court had prevented the eyewitnesses from testifying. During the hearing related to this case, another eyewitness Cham Kaur had told the court that she had seen Sajjan Kumar addressing the crowd in Sultanpuri area.
In which case is Sajjan Kumar sentenced to life imprisonment now?
Sajjan Kumar has now been sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty in another case related to the 1984 Sikh riots. This case is related to inciting the mob in Saraswati Vihar, Delhi on 1 November 1984, in which Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh were killed. In this case, the prosecution had said that Sajjan Kumar incited the mob and looted and set fire to the houses and shops of Sikhs on a large scale. During this time, before looting and setting fire to a house, the mob burned two Sikhs alive.
The three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the case presented Jaswant Singh’s wife as an eyewitness against Sajjan Kumar. However, the lawyers appearing on behalf of Sajjan Kumar had demanded to reject her testimony. They claimed that Jaswant Singh’s wife came forward as a witness seven years after the incident. Therefore, her testimony cannot be trusted.
It is said that the first FIR in this case was registered in 1991, seven years after the incident. That too on the basis of an affidavit given on 9 September 1985, which the complainant had submitted to the commission headed by Justice Ranganath Mishra. In 2014, the SIT formed by the Modi government intensified the investigation of cases related to the 1984 Sikh riots and started digging into old cases.
