Tytler incited mob in ’84 anti-Sikh riots: CBI charge sheet

The CBI has charged Tytler with murder, rioting, instigating a crowd, and defiling religious places among others in a charge sheet filed before a Delhi court.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday filed a charge sheet against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, alleging that he instigated the mob to attack a gurdwara in Delhi in which three Sikhs were burnt alive.

Congress leader Jagdish Tytler.

The agency charged Tytler with murder, rioting, instigating a crowd, and defiling religious places among others in a charge sheet filed before a Delhi court.

“The CBI has on Saturday filed a charge sheet against then member of Parliament Jagdish Tytler in the court of chief metropolitan magistrate, Rouse Avenue district court, Delhi, in a case related to anti-Sikh riots in 1984 following the assassination of then Prime Minister of India (Indira Gandhi), on 31 October 1984,” said a CBI spokesperson in a statement.

“Tytler instigated, incited, and provoked the mob assembled at Gurudwara Pul Bangash at Azad Market, Delhi which resulted in the burning of the gurudwara and killing of three Sikh people, apart from burning and looting of shops on November 1, 1984. There is evidence on record (regarding this),” the CBI spokesperson added.

After consideration of the report by Justice Nanavati Commission, set up by the Centre in 2000 to inquire into the incidents of the anti-Sikh riots, the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued directions to CBI to investigate the case against Tytler and others.

The federal agency had taken up the case on November 22, 2005. However, earlier, the agency had filed three closure reports in the case on different occasions saying sufficient evidence regarding the involvement of Tytler did not come up on record. However, the closures were challenged by the deceased’s family members.

The Delhi court had, in December 2015, directed the CBI to further investigate the matter and said it would monitor the probe every two months to ensure that no aspect is left uninvestigated. The Centre formed a three-member special investigation team (SIT) in 2015 to re-investigate serious criminal cases in connection with riots, which have been closed. Of the 199 cases examined by the SIT, 54 cases were of murder involving 426 persons, 31 cases involved bodily injury to about 80 persons, and 114 cases were related to rioting, arson, and looting. A total of 3,325 people were killed during the riots, with Delhi alone accounting for 2,733 deaths, while the rest took place in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, etc.

CBI last month collected voice samples of Tytler.

Arms dealer Abhishek Verma, who is facing CBI probe in several cases, had claimed that Tytler had paid money to one of the witnesses of the riots and settled his son in Canada.

It had taken nearly three years for CBI to conduct a polygraph test of Verma on December 4, 2018, despite orders of the court issued in 2015. Immediately before his scheduled lie-detection test by CBI, Verma claimed to have received a threat letter, after which he sought increased police protection. Meanwhile, CBI had approached Canada to seek details on the claims regarding the witness.