1984 riot victims in Gurgaon get relief amount after 32 yrs

GURGAON: The victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Gurgaon on Sunday finally got justice as after 32 years, the Garg Commission recommendations were implemented.

During a ceremony organised by the Riots Action Committee, 42 of the 150 victims of anti-Sikh riots were issued checks by the state government at the Sadar Bazar gurdwara here.

The committee claimed the government has promised to compensate all the victims over the week.

As per official records, as many as 47 persons were killed in Gurgaon and 17 others, including two teenage girls, were killed in Pataudi on November 2, 1984. Victims recall that 300 houses were gutted in Gurgaon alone.

After a prolonged struggle, the community said the government had finally implemented the recommendations of the Justice (retd) TP Garg Commission report, submitted on April 29, which was constituted to look into the incidents of violence in the Pataudi and Gurgaon districts. “We cannot forget 1984 as people were dragged out of their houses and beaten to death. There are around 10,000 Sikh families in Gurgaon who have been directly or indirectly affected by the 1984 riots,” said JP Singh Sahni, the vice-present of the committee.

Earlier, the victims had written to chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar seeking his intervention in the matter so that the Garg Commission recommendations are implemented.

47 PERSONS WERE KILLED IN GURGAON AND 17 OTHERS, INCLUDING TWO TEENAGE GIRLS, WERE KILLED IN PATAUDI ON NOVEMBER 2, 1984