1984 anti-Sikh riots: Court orders reopening of case against Tytler

Mangalore Today/CNN-IBN

New Delhi, April 10: A Delhi court on Wednesday ordered reopening of case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler for his alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The court also set aside order of the trial court which has accepted the CBI closure report in 2010.

Reacting tothe court order, the Congress leader said that he has nothing to say about it. "I have nothing to say. Let the CBI re-investigate the case. I have played no role. I have nothing to reveal or hide."

 

Lawyer HS Phoolka, representing riot victims, said, "CBI’s clean chit to Jagdish Tytler has been rejected by the court. The court has also directed the CBI to further investigate the matter. The CBI will record statement of all witnesses in the case again."

The Congress said that law should be allowed to take its own course. Congress spokesperson Renuka Chaudhary said, "This is not new case. It’s going on for long time. Let the law take its course. Till now there is no proof against Jagdish Tytler."

Meanwhile, the CBI said that it will first study the order and then decide whether to re-investigate or to move a higher court against this order.

The CBI had filed a closure report against Tytler in April 2009. The report was later accepted by the magistrate who said there was no evidence against Tytler to try him.

The case relates to the killing of three persons near a gurudwara in Pul Bangash area on November 1, 1984.

The victims, however, had challenged the order saying the CBI had ignored crucial evidence and not recorded the statements of three key witnesses in the case. The CBI on the other hand claimed that people living near the gurudwara had already been examined and the witnesses cited by the counsel for the victims were unreliable.

CBI lawyers had told the court that Tytler was at former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s funeral at the time of the riots. The agency therefore sought the rejection of the victims’ demand for a further investigation.

Apart from Tytler, Congress leader Sajjan Kumar is also facing proceedings in the anti-Sikh riots case. He is facing trial for the murder of Sikhs near the Delhi cantonment area. The court has reserved the order on the case against Sajjan Kumar.