Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
* Says action should also be taken against Sajjan Kumar in Nangloi case
* Says justice could be expedited by putting Delhi riot cases on daily hearing
*Demands immediate compensation to victims
Chandigarh, Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Mrs. Harsimrat Kaur Badal today welcomed the central initiative to establish a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to go into the 1984 Sikh genocide cases besides urging Union Home Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh to release Rs 5 lakh compensation to the victims of the anti Sikh riots.
In a statement issued here, Mrs. Badal said she had met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to press for this demand as the entire Sikh community had welcomed the appointment of Justice Mathur Committee on December 23 to examine the possibility of re-investigation of ’84 Sikh genocide besides welcoming the announcement of the compensation for victims. “I have urged the Home minister to expedite the implementation of this decision besides taking the next series of steps to ensure justice to the victims of the 1984 carnage and bring closure to their sufferings”, she added.
The Union minister said now that voting process had been completed in Delhi, the time was appropriate to expedite the process of justice for Sikh genocide victims besides dispersing compensation to them. She also demanded daily hearing of cases to ensure quick justice to the victims.
Mrs. Badal said successive Congress governments at the centre had deliberately created obstacles to ensure the kingpins of the 1984 carnage could not be brought to book. Besides day to day hearing of all cases, she also demanded action against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar for his involvement in the Nangloi case.
She said in 1991, the police registered FIR No. 67/87 at Nangloi against Sajjan Kumar on the recommendations of the Jain-Aggarwal Committee and during investigation, his name appeared prominently in the statements of the witnesses, but the Delhi police gave a clean chit to him under pressure from the Congress and later filed a chargesheet in 1995 against other accused. “Delhi Police prepared a chargesheet against Sajjan Kumar for the murder of four Sikhs and the same was signed by the Inspector and the ACP. The charge sheet also recorded that he was not arrested due to a law and order problem and the court may summon him. This chargesheet has not been filed in the court till date” she added.
Referring to a sting operation, Mrs Badal said it was revealed that various SHOs of the worst hit areas in Delhi admitted that they had failed to act as a force and even acted in connivance with the then Congress government to give a free run to those who murdered and even burnt Sikhs alive. She said a separate inquiry should be constituted to probe the police- politician nexus in the riots.
She said that more than 7000 Sikh were killed in Delhi during ’84 Sikh genocide but so far just 13 cases of murder have seen convictions. “Only 30 persons have been convicted in the past 30 years. Of these 30, almost all are now on bail or their convictions have been condoned by higher courts”. She further added that the Ranganath Mishra commission, the first one set up to probe the riots, had given given names, addresses and complete details of 3,870 people killed in Delhi. She said according to the Delhi police only 1,419 were killed, whereas, the Delhi government had listed that 2,300 people had been killed. A separate committee later established that 2,773 people died in Delhi alone. These anomalies should be removed, she added.
Mrs. Badal also reiterated the commitment of Shiromani Akali Dal to fight till all the accused in the ’84 carnage are brought to book.
