Sajjan Kumar incited mob to kill, burn Sikhs, says CBI

NEW DELHI - Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar instigated a mob of around 300-400 people in Delhi’s Sultanpuri and Palam areas of Delhi Nov 1, 1984, to kill Sikhs and pillage their houses, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in its charge sheet before a city court Wednesday.

The CBI filed charge sheets against Sajjan Kumar and others in two cases of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja at the Tis Hazari Court here. This is the first time the CBI has chargesheeted Sajjan Kumar.

“Investigations conducted by us revealed that after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the then prime minister, on Oct 30, 1984, Sajjan Kumar, the then MP from Outer Delhi constituency, instigated a mob of about 300-400 persons, assembled at B-2 Block park at Sultanpuri to kill, burn the people of the Sikh community as they had killed Gandhi, and also to loot and burn their houses,” a CBI spokesman said here.

“Investigations further established that provocative speeches with common object as aforesaid made by the then MP to the mob gathered in the area of Sultanpuri, promoted instant and violent enmity against Sikhs and disturbed the harmony between two religious groups/communities of the locality, which resulted in the killings of Sikhs and burning and looting of their houses.”

“As a result of this provocative instigation of Sajjan Kumar, an unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapons like lathis, ballams, kerosene oil, guns etc. damaged the gurudwara of C Block and other blocks of Sultanpuri, set them on fire, went through several streets killing Sikhs, destroyed their properties by looting and burning their houses, and took away their dead bodies,” the spokesman added.

The CBI said the riots resulted in the killing of Hoshiar Singh, Mohan Singh, Ranjeet Singh, Basant Singh and his two sons Balbir Singh and Balihar Singh, and many others.

“Investigations further disclosed that Sajjan Kumar led an unlawful assembly, including four other accused persons armed with iron rod, kerosene oil, danda and swords, with common object entered into B-2 Block, Sultanpuri Nov 1, 1984 killed one Surjeet Singh,” the spokesman said.

The First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered at the Sultanpuri police station.

The CBI spokesman said Sajjan Kumar also incited a mob in Raj Nagar of Palam area in southwest Delhi to attack and set on fire a gurdwara, burnt vehicles and houses of Sikhs. The mob also caught hold of Nirmal Singh and burnt him alive.

Sajjan Kumar arrived in Raj Nagar in his Ambassador car around 10 p.m. Nov 1, 1984. He instigated the unlawful assembly by provoking it not to leave any Sikh alive, besides not even sparing any Hindus who had provided shelter to Sikhs, the spokesman said.

“After instigating the unlawful assembly, Sajjan Kumar left Raj Nagar and the mob looted the house of Jagsher Singh and thereafter set it on fire. The mob also looted houses of other Sikhs residing in that area, and also attacked the house of (a person called) Rajni where Raghuvinder Singh, Narender Pal Singh and Kuldeep Singh had taken shelter,” the CBI spokesman said.

“The mob then burnt alive Raghuvinder Singh, Narender Pal Singh and Kuldeep Singh in Raj Nagar area on the morning of Nov 2, 1984, the spokesman added.

A case was later registered at the Delhi Cantonment police station. After considering the findings of the Nanavati Commission, home ministry directed the CBI five years ago to re-investigate the cases concerning the involvement of Sajjan Kumar.