1984 anti-Sikh riots: Delhi High Court upholds conviction of 88 people by trial court

NEW DELHI: In a significant development, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of at least 88 people in connection with 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

New agency ANI reported that the Delhi High court has upheld the conviction of 88 people by the trial court in connection with 1984 anti-Sikh riots in East Delhi's Trilokpuri area.

Delhi High court upholds the conviction of 88 people by the trial court in connection with 1984 anti-Sikh riots in East Delhi's Trilokpuri area. pic.twitter.com/gEEDJbLUnr — ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2018

As many as 2,800 Sikhs were killed in the violence, 2,100 of whom hailed from Delhi.

On November 20, a trial court in Delhi had awarded death sentence to Yashpal Singh and life imprisonment to Naresh Sherawat, both convicted in one of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases. 

The duo was convicted for killing two members of the Sikh community.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had sought the death penalty for the two convicts. 

According to the SIT, their act was a part of a “genocide” against members of a particular community and fell under the rarest of rare category of cases.

They were convicted of killing Hardev Singh and Avtar Singh in Mahipalpur area of South Delhi during the riots.

Their conviction is the first in the anti-Sikh riots cases reopened by the SIT, which was set up in 2015. Notably, the Delhi Police had closed the case in 1994 for want of evidence.