Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court has scheduled the Anti-Sikh Riots 1984 Pul Bangash Sikh killing case for clarification on May 30 after hearing arguments on the framing of charges. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a supplementary chargesheet against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler last year.
Special CBI Judge Rakesh Syal announced the date for clarification. Advocate Manu Sharma, representing Tytler, concluded his rebuttal to the CBI’s submissions, arguing that the CBI had previously filed two closure reports. Sharma also noted that co-accused Suresh Kumar Panewala, charged in 2009, was acquitted by the trial court. He questioned the reliability of witnesses who came forward only recently, despite the incident occurring in 1984.
The CBI completed its arguments on framing charges on April 16, asserting that there are eyewitnesses who saw Tytler “inciting the mob” during the 1984 riots. The agency maintains there is “sufficient material” to frame charges against Tytler. CBI’s Counsel presented statements from four eyewitnesses, including Surender Singh, who alleged that Tytler incited the mob following Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination.
This case involves the alleged killing of three Sikhs—Thakur Singh, Badal Singh, and Gurcharan Singh—in front of Pul Bangash Gurudwara on November 1, 1984. Jagdish Tytler is accused of being involved in these killings.
The CBI filed the chargesheet against Tytler on May 20 in connection with the anti-Sikh riots that erupted after Indira Gandhi’s assassination on October 31, 1984. Former Congress MP Tytler was granted anticipatory bail on August 4, 2023.
The CBI registered the case in November 2005, investigating the incident where Gurudwara Pul Bangash was set on fire by a mob, resulting in the deaths of Thakur Singh, Badal Singh, and Gurcharan Singh. The Justice Nanavati Commission of Inquiry, established in 2000 by the Government of India to investigate the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, led to the Ministry of Home Affairs directing the CBI to investigate Tytler and others.
Evidence gathered during the CBI’s investigation indicated that Tytler allegedly instigated the mob on November 1, 1984, leading to the burning of Gurudwara Pul Bangash and the killing of the three Sikhs, as well as the looting and burning of shops.