Sajjan Kumar pleads innocence in 1984 riots cases

New Delhi: Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar on Monday pleaded his innocence in connection with alleged killings of two Sikhs, Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh in Delhi’s Janakpuri, and another incident in Vikaspuri where one Gurcharan Singh was allegedly set ablaze, during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Deposing before Special Judge Digvijay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Courts, the 77-year-old Kumar stated that he was being falsely implicated and the cases against him were false and politically-motivated.

“I am innocent. I was never involved in this crime, not even in my dreams. There is no iota of evidence against me,” Sajjan Kumar said.

“Initially, I was not even named by any of the witnesses. Decades later, I was named. The case against me is false and politically-motivated,” he added.

The infamous 1984 riots broke out after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.

Decades later, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted on the recommendation of the Justice G.P. Mathur Committee to reopen 114 cases.

In August 2023, the trial court formally framed charges against Sajjan Kumar under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), but decided to drop the murder charge under Section 302, which had earlier been applied by the SIT.

In February this year, a trial court had sentenced the former Congress MP to life imprisonment for murder of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh in the Saraswati Vihar area on November 1, 1984, during the riots.

The SIT found that the accused was leading the mob and upon his instigation and abetment, the mob had burnt alive the above two persons and had also damaged, destroyed, and looted their household articles and other property, burnt their house, and also inflicted severe injuries on the person of their family members and relatives residing in their house.

Describing the 1984 riots, as one of the “darkest and most shameful” chapters in India’s history, the members of the Sikh community demanded justice and urged the trial court to sentence Sajjan Kumar to death.

IANS