A Delhi court has charged former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar for committing two murders during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi’s Raj Nagar locality. The court has also held him responsible for instigating the mob which led to the horrendous anti-Sikh riot in 1984 and he has been charged under sections 147, 149, 148, 302, 308, 323, 395, 397, 427, 436, 440 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in connection with the murder of the father-son duo Jaswant Singh and Tarun Deep Singh. Delhi court, earlier on December 4, also said there is ample evidence to prove that an unlawful assembly or mob of several thousand persons armed with deadly weapons had committed large-scale looting, arson, or destruction of property of Sikhs to avenge the killing of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by two Sikh bodyguards.
Sajjan Kumar charged for murder in 1984 anti-Sikh riots | Key Points
1. Jaswant Singh and Tarun Deep Singh were burnt alive in the anti-Sikh riot and their family members had filed a case against Kumar for leading the riot and murdering the father and the son. In addition to this, the family of the deceased also accused Sajjan Kumar of setting their house on fire on November 1, 1984.
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2. A case was filed against the former Congress minister at the Saraswati Vihar police station and he was identified by one of the eyewitnesses after showing his photograph.
3. However, the case was shut in 1994 until SIT had opened it again, advocate Harpreet Singh Hora apprised. The court has heard arguments of both sides and the matter is now listed on December 16 for formal framing of charges.
4. On December 4, additional Sessions Judge M.K. Nagpal read the order which said they had enough evidence to make a prima facie opinion that the accused was not only a participant of the said mob but also leading it.
5. "The above incident of attack on the house of complainant took place at the hand of said mob only and in the said attack not only the house and other household articles of the complainant were looted and destroyed, by fire or otherwise, but also the killing of her husband and son took place and even the complainant and the other victims suffered injuries at the hands of participants of such mob," the court order read.
