1984 riots : Fresh probe likely; Badal writes to PM

Chandigarh, The Central Government is likely to order a fresh probe into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi with a government-appointed committee recommending the setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT). Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “direct and personal intervention” to initiate probe into a “pre-planned 1984 Sikh genocide”.
The committee, headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice GP Mathur (retd), was set up on December 23 last year to look into the possibility of re-investigation of the riots that broke out in the aftermath of the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It submitted its report to Home Minister Rajnath Singh last week, recommending the setting up of an SIT for a fresh probe into the riots, sources said.
As many as 3,325 Sikhs were massacred by armed mobs during the riots.
An order to this effect is likely after the February 7 Delhi Assembly elections as the Model Code of Conduct is in place in the national capital, the sources added.
Badal in a letter to Modi today sought the constitution of an SIT at the earliest to probe all cases related to the killings. He also urged the NDA-led government to take an immediate call on the recommendations of the Mathur committee. The swiftness with which the panel has come out with its report has surprised many.
Badal’s demand ahead of the Delhi elections, where Punjabis accounts for around 25 per cent of the electorate, has raised many an eyebrow since the SAD has been part of the NDA for long but the victims continue to await justice apparently due to lack of “political will”.
As the Delhi poll scene hots up, both the BJP and SAD are trying to woo voters by raking up sensitive issue with senior leaders such as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Badal dubbing the killings a “genocide”. Sikh votes have a considerable influence in 12-13 seats.
In his letter, the Chief Minister sought to apprise Modi of SAD’s constant struggle for the victims of the 1984 riots in Delhi and other parts of the country. “On the demand of the SAD, the Justice GP Mathur (retd) panel had been constituted in December 2014 by the NDA government to examine the possibility of constitution of an SIT to reinvestigate the1984 genocide,” the letter says.
The Chief Minister said the former SC judge in his 45-page report has now suggested setting up of an SIT and also “favoured” re-investigation of cases where crucial evidence has allegedly been overlooked.
“Several such cases were closed by the Delhi Police and never sent to the court for trial. Even two high-profile cases involving Congress leaders Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler need to be re-investigated,” demanded Badal. The Chief Minister said the issue had so far been brushed under the carpet by successive Congress governments at the Centre.
“Now, the recommendations of Justice Mathur (retd) panel are being seen as a ray of hope for the hapless victims of the 1984 genocide who had been denied justice so far,” said Badal.
He urged Modi to give appropriate instructions to the Ministry of Home Affairs to initiate setting up of an SIT without delay. The AAP had revived the issue before assuming power in Delhi and party Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had recommended the setting up of an SIT to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. Nine commissions have so far submitted their reports but the victims’ families continue to allege lack of action against top leaders.
(With agency inputs