New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday resumed
recording of statements of witnesses in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots
case allegedly involving senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar
following dismissal of the plea of the politician by the apex
court.
The proceedings started with the cross-examination of
Jagdish Kaur who rejected suggestions that she was implicating
the Congress leader at the behest of his political opponents.
"It is incorrect to suggest that the mentioning of Sajjan
Kumar was done and his presence in the meeting introduced for
the first time at the behest of his political opponents and
Gurudwara persons (Akali Dal)," Kaur, testifying as first
prosecution witness, said before Additional Sessions Judge
Sunita Gupta.
The witness, examined by I U Khan, counsel for Sajjan,
said "curfew (imposed after the assassination of the then
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi), was only a farce and in fact
people were moving in the streets. It is incorrect to suggest
that due to imposition of curfew, nobody was permitted to come
out."
The proceedings relating to the case involving the
killing of five persons began as the Supreme Court had said on
September 20 that the materials placed by CBI were sufficient
to proceed against Kumar.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had stayed the trial.
Kumar, a former Outer Delhi MP, is facing prosecution in
two cases in which he was accused of inciting a mob against
Sikh community in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi`s
assassination on October 31, 1984.
The trial court had in May this year framed charges
against Kumar and five others under Sections 302 (murder), 395
(dacoity), 427 (mischief to cause damage to property), 153A
(promoting enmity between different communities) and other
provisions of IPC.
CBI had accused Kumar of provoking people against
members of Sikh community during the carnage that led to the
killing of several persons in Delhi Cantonment area.
Besides Kumar, other accused in the case are Balwan
Khokhar, Krishan Khokhar, Mahender Yadav, Captain Bhagmal and
Girdhari Lal.
CBI had filed two chargesheets against Kumar and
others on January 13 in the riots cases registered in 2005 on
the recommendation of Justice G T Nanavati Commission which
inquired into the sequence of events leading to the riots.
PTI
