1984 Sikh riots: Delhi court directs CBI to expedite probe in Tytler case

Noting the sensitive nature of the matter, a Delhi court on Thursday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to expedite investigations into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case in which Congress leader Jagdish Tytler was given clean chit for his alleged role.

During the hearing of the case, the CBI informed Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Amit Arora that the lie detector test report is not yet ready, following which, the court granted two weeks time to finalise the report.

The CBI has to submit a report of lie detector test of Abhishek Verma, a key witness in the case and inform the Court about the development in the probe. The court has listed the hearing of the matter on March 8.

Verma, a witness in the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots case, had filed a writ complaint with Delhi Police in 2017, requesting them to enhance his police protection following a death threat e-mail.

Verma is a witness in the case pertaining to killings of three Sikhs- Badal Singh, Thakur Singh and Gurcharan Singh that took place at Gurudwara Pulbangash in North Delhi on November 1, 1984, a day after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Tytler is accused of leading a mob in the 1984 Pul Bangash case in which three Sikhs were killed.

The CBI had earlier given a clean chit to the Congress leader in the case but re-opened the investigation following the December 4, 2015, order in the wake of Verma's allegation. The court also ordered the agency to find out whether Verma's statement was authentic.

In December 2018, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa had said that the convict in 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Sajjan Kumar's surrender will give the witnesses and victims' family a morale boost and help put Jagdish Tytler and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath behind the bars.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, "We have seen in 1990 how Sajjan Kumar's men rioted when the CBI and police went to detain him. The Congress will try at every level to protect him." "His arrest will give new hope to Victims' family and eyewitnesses and it will give them a boost to put Tytler and Kamal Nath behind the bars," added Sirsa.

The Nanavati Commission has named Tytler as one of the organisers of the riots. He is also an accused in the killing of three Sikhs outside the Gurudwara Pulbangash in his Delhi north constituency.

The Akali Dal said that witnesses in the case were being threatened from time to time and their security has also been withdrawn. The Akali Dal leader also claimed that they were in possession of a CD in which Tytler has confessed about his role in the anti-Sikh riots.

According to official records, about 2,800 Sikhs were killed across India, including 2,100 in Delhi, during the pogrom that broke out after then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.

-ANI