Appeal to PM for justice to 1984 riot victims
Nirpreet Kaur, daughter of an anti-Sikh riot victim who has been on indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar against the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, has appealed to the Prime Minister to ensure that the chargesheet in the case, that was prepared in 1992, is filed in the court.
Nirpreet Kaur, daughter of an anti-Sikh riot victim who has been on indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar against the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, has appealed to the Prime Minister to ensure that the chargesheet in the case, that was prepared in 1992, is filed in the court.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, received by his office on Saturday, Kaur called for the formation of a special investigation team to thoroughly probe the massacre and punish the guilty.
Demanding justice for the countless victims of the massacre, she has also demanded that the CBI should be directed to file an appeal in the High Court against Kumar’s acquittal by a Delhi court on April 30. “This was not a riot between Hindus and Sikhs. It was a political riot,” she said.
Meanwhile, Delhi urban development minister Arvinder Singh on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to take political mileage out of the recent court judgment on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Singh said despite being in power for eight years in the centre, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance did nothing to provide relief to riot victims or to fast track the case.
“Whenever there are elections around the corner, the BJP suddenly becomes active and tries to woo the Sikhs,” Singh alleged.
Singh, a three-time Congress MLA from Gandhi Nagar in east Delhi, said his party has done everything it could for the riot victims.
“Our party gave a relief package of R144 crore for the victims but the Punjab government never disbursed the full amount. Many Sikhs migrated to Punjab but all of them are back in Delhi because they never managed to get work there. The BJP leaders claim they saw Sikhs being killed in riots but none of them ever came forward and deposed in the court,” Singh alleged.
Singh said sitting on dharnas would not yield anything. “If the victims feel they have not got justice, they can always move a higher court. The Congress’ policy is very clear - it will not shield anyone,” he said.