Punjab: Akal Takht acting Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj on Thursday expressed concern over the acquittal of former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 riots case, saying it raises questions about the integrity of the investigating agencies. He also questioned who was behind the violence in Janakpuri, Delhi, if not Sajjan Kumar. He said, “His acquittal in this case raises serious questions about the integrity and seriousness of the government’s investigating agencies and is like rubbing salt in the wounds of the Sikh community.”
Gargaj said that two eyewitnesses to the violence – Gurcharan Singh and Harvinder Singh Kohli – had told the investigating agencies that Sajjan Kumar was leading the mob. “However, their statements were ignored by the investigating agencies,” he added. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Harjinder Singh Dhami said that Sajjan Kumar’s acquittal was a “grave injustice” to the victim families who had been waiting for justice for over four decades. Punjab BJP spokesperson Sarchand Singh Khiala, who is also a former president of the Sikh Students Federation, termed the court’s decision a “serious injustice.”
‘Old wounds reopened’
Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday said that Sajjan Kumar’s acquittal has “reopened the deep wounds” inflicted on the Sikh community. Sukhbir also criticized the investigating agencies for their “failure” to secure a conviction against Kumar.
Punjab: 1984 anti-Sikh riots, if not Sajjan Kumar, then who led the mob?
