Victims of mass genocide can’t be left in lurch, says 1984 judge

RIOTS CASE A Delhi court pronounces death sentence on one and life term on another for killing two people during mob violence in Mahipalpur in the aftermath of the assassination of expm Indira Gandhi

NEWDELHI: Victims of ‘mass genocide could not be left in the lurch and that their allegations should also be given a fair hearing, a Delhi court observed on Tuesday while sentencing two convicts in a 1984 anti-sikh riots case.

Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Pandey noted that for 33 years the two men had escaped the process of law and said that it is time for the court to rise upon the cry of the victims and the demand of the society. The court awarded death penalty to convict Yashpal Singh for killing two men during the riots — the first capital punishment in the case. Co-convict Naresh Sehrawat was given life term.

Sherawat and Yashpal Singh were accused of killing Hardev Singh and Avtar Singh in Mahipalpur area of south Delhi during the riots that followed the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.on a complaint by the victim’s brother Santokh Singh, the police lodged a case. But in 1994, the police wanted to close the case citing lack of evidence. The case was reopened by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Judge Pandey said from the testimony of the eyewitnesses, it is clear that Yashpal had come to the spot in the bus on November 1, 1984 and that he was actively involved in the burning of shops of the deceased and the eye witnesses. The court also pointed that there was sufficient material and allegations in the affidavit given by one of the eyewitnesses, Santokh Singh, who is also the complainant.

While sentencing Singh to death, the judge said there is no material before it to consider that convict Yashpal had reformed himself. “He appears to be playing gimmick with the court and victims till date. He appears to be purposely hiding his income and properties,” the court said.

“The court is of the opinion that if he did not repent for last 34 years and his mentality did not reform when he was at large in society for such a long period. He attempted to mislead the court in order to escape his liability, his chances for reformation now are almost negligible,” the judge said in his verdict.

While convicting the duo, the court has said that ‘fair trial should not be fair to only the accused persons. It also said that the accused had never been even arrested till the pronouncement of their conviction on November 14. “The court recalls the feelings of the victims when the eyewitnesses appeared before the court on November 5 and expressed their grief that the convicts were roaming at large,” the judge said.

Stressing on the need for justice in such cases, the judge said such incidents break the trust between communities which, once broken, cannot be restored even after decades. “Incidents of this kind breaks entire fabric of trust and harmony against communities, t hereby severely affecting the knitting and assimilation of different religious and social groups. The inter-community trust is broken. Large scale migration takes place. In fact, the 1984 riots led to large scale migration of the people of the Sikh community, severely preju-

Two men were killed, three others injured after a mob armed with sticks and other weapons attacked them and threw them down from the first floor of a building in Delhi’s Mahipalpur. FIR (406/84) was registered at the Mehrauli police station the same day.

Chargesheet filed against Jai Pal Singh.

Santokh Singh, brother of three victims, filed an affidavit before Justice

Rangnath Justice Ranganath Misra Commission that was formed to probe the killings for filing a separate case.

Sessions court acquitted Jai Pal Singh of all the charges. The other two accused Naresh Sehrawat and Yashpal Singh did not face trial.

Hardev ran one of the three grocery shops in Mahipalpur. The other two shops in the same building belonged to his brothers — Kuldeep Singh and Sangat Singh. Hardev was unmarried and used to live in the shop. He was one of the two men who died.

A resident of Mahipalpur, Avtar was a regular customer at the three grocery shops ran by Hardev and his two brothers. He had come to buy something when the mob torched the three shops.

dicing their lives and livelihood in denial of the constitutional guarantees. Decades may be taken to rebuild the trust again,” the court said.

The verdict was pronounced in Tihar Jail after the local police moved a petition in the High Court citing security reasons and possibility of attack on the convicts on the premises of the Delhi court, said a senior police

Fresh FIR was filed on Santokh’s affidavit on the recommendation of Justice JD Jain and DK Aggarwal committee

Metropolitan Magistrate TS Kashyap accepted the untraced (closure) report filed in the case by the Delhi Police, saying the police could not gather evidence to prosecute Sehrawat and Singh

Central government constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) to reopen and further investigate anti-sikh

Brother of Hardev and Kuldeep. He ran the second shop and was present there when the mob attacked. He returned to his native village in Punjab’s Jalandhar.

Brother of Hardev and Sangat. He owned the third shop. He returned to his native village.

Surjeet was working as an electrician at Delhi Airport. He lived in a rented room in Mahipalpur, around 200 metres away from the grocery shops. The four men came to hide in his room. He now lives with his family in Rohini, Sector-16.

THE JUDGE SAID SUCH INCIDENTS BREAK THE TRUST BETWEEN COMMUNITIES WHICH TAKES DECADES TO BE RESTORED

officer.

The local police treaded a cautious path because they did not riots cases, which were either cancelled or closed for want of evidence.

The SIT intimated the Patiala House Court about re-opening and further investigation of the case

The SIT filed the chargesheet against Sehrawat and Singh.

The court convicted the two men.

Sehrawat was assaulted by Delhi’s Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) legislator Manjinder Singh Sirsa outside the courtroom moments after the court reserved its order on the quantum of punishment.

The court pronounced death sentence for Singh and life term for Sehrawat. Brother of Hardev, Sangat and Kuldeep. He was a “Granthi” at a gurudwara in Delhi Cantonment. He was at the gurudwara when the mob attacked his brothers in Mahipalpur. Santokh later became a complainant in the case and pursued the legal proceedings. want to have a situation like 2016 when the then JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar was allegedly attacked in the Patiala House Court.

A police officer said the local police had moved a petition on Monday requesting them to not announce the verdict in the court, since they were anticipating a law and order situation.

“We had anticipated that the convicts might be attacked since an untoward incident had happened last week also. The court accepted our petition and ordered that the verdict be pronounced in Tihar Jail. A large crowd had gathered at the court premises before the verdict and had the verdict been announced in the court, there would have been chances of a confrontation,” he said. NEW DELHI: Santokh Singh, who his brother in the 1984 anti-sikh riots case, triumphed after fighting a protracted legal battle for the past 25 years.

“We wanted both of them to be hanged. It has been 34 years and my son who was then 2-year-old still has scars on his body which he suffered during the riots violence. But we are satisfied with the court’s verdict. It’s not only our victory but a big victory for humanity,” said Santokh, 71, hours after a Delhi court awarded the first death sentence to a man and life term to another for killing two men and injuring three others during the riots in Mahipalpur.

Santokh is the elder brother of three of the five victims in the Mahipalpur case, including Hardev Singh who died in the attack.

He has been fighting the legal battle along with his two surviving brothers – Sangat Singh and Kuldeep Singh – and a neighbour Surjeet Singh since the case was registered in 1993, on his affidavit filed before Justice Ranganath Misra Commission.

Recalling what he witnessed on November 1, 1984, Santokh said, “My son, who was just 2-year-old then, suffered burns. A doctor in the camp saved his life. My son, who is currently living in Germany, still has those scars on his body. Out of my injured brothers, we didn’t find Hardev’s body then. Police found it later.”

Santokh reached Delhi with his two brothers from their native village in Punjab’s Jalandhar on Monday to be present for the court’s verdict.

“I wanted to inform my family members about this victory which has come after such a long wait. But by the time I called them, they had already watched the news about the judgment on television,” he said.

According to Santokh, he is lucky to have survived the violence because he had left his Mahipalpur home a day before his brothers and friends were attacked by a violent mob of around 1000 people on November 1, 1984.

“I was at a gurudwara at Delhi Cantonment where I was working as a ‘Granthi’. I rushed back home soon after I learnt about the attack on my family members. The scene that I witnessed there is still fresh in my mind,” he added.

Santokh said that though a case was registered in 1993 on his affidavit, they could not pursue the case because of the lack of financial support. “No politician came forward to help us get justice. We want to thank the SIT members for reopening our case and investigating it,” he said.

One of the riots survivors, who was present in the court during the verdict, called the judgment “a start”, saying the fight will continue till they get “complete justice” and bring all perpetrators to justice.