1984 ANTI-SIKH RIOTS: Accepted SIT recommendations, will take action, Centre tells SC

Justice Dhingra Commission report says police, admn connived to hush up riot cases

A special investigation team (SIT) headed by retired Delhi high court judge justice SN Dhingra, which re-examined 186 closed cases in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, has castigated the prosecution and police for delaying the appeals after which case records were destroyed.

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The Centre told the Supreme Court that it has accepted recommendations of the Justice Dhingra Commission report and will take action as per the recommendations. “The whole effort of the police and administration has been to hush up the criminal cases concerning riots,” said the report.

The Commission noted that hundreds of affidavits were received by Justice Ranganath Misra Commission with respect to killing, arson, looting done by the rioters with names of accused persons. Instead of directing the registration of FIRs on the basis of these affidavits, ‘committee after committees were formed and this delayed registration of cases for years’, said the report.

Victims’ lawyer Harpreet Singh Hora said: “The victims have been stating that police and authorities acted in collusion. Now, the findings of this report endorse it.”

Hora said station house officer Survir Singh Tyagi of the Kalyanpuri police station had disarmed Sikhs and he was involved in conspiracy with others, and this case will be referred to the riots cell now.

A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde was informed by senior advocate RS Suri that they will file an application seeking action against the cops who were allegedly involved in the ghastly crime.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta informed the bench that the records of these cases are kept in the apex court registry and they should be returned to the CBI so that further proceedings can go on. The bench directed that the records be given to the ministry of home affairs.

Rots targeting Sikhs broke out in the national capital after the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh security guards on October 31, 1984. The violence had claimed 2,733 lives in Delhi alone.