A special court on Tuesday handed former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar a life sentence for his involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre. The ruling relates to the killing of a father-son pair in Saraswati Vihar, Delhi, during the bloody aftermath of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination.
The public prosecutor last week begged the court to impose the death sentence citing cases like the Nirbhaya case. Still, the court decided on life imprisonment. Sikh chief Gurlad Singh reacted to the ruling in disgust, saying, “We will not accept anything less than the death penalty. We are not happy with the verdict of the court. We will appeal to the government to go to a higher court and announce the death penalty for Sajjan Kumar.”
Leading a Violent Mob Would be a Conviction
Presently in Tihar Jail, Kumar was found guilty of heading a mob that ransacked and set Sikh residences ablaze in November 1984. Under Kumar’s sway, the prosecution maintained, the mob assaulted Jaswant Singh’s home, murdering him and his teenage son, Tarundeep Singh. Their house was looted and priceless possessions were taken.
Judge Baweja’s 139-page judgment, handed down by the court, slammed law enforcement divisions for lack of response. Citing witness statements that detailed how the victims were savagely whipped before being burned alive, the judgment found Sajjan Kumar responsible for the barbarous murders.
Victims Remember a Terrible Experience
Jaswant Singh’s wife, daughter, and niece were also harmed in the assault. Witnesses recounted the horrifying scene when Jaswant’s wife covered herself over him in an attempt to protect him and his niece tried to cover his son. The victims were viciously battered; Jaswant’s wife’s hand was broken when they yanked her bangles off.
Long Way to the Rightness
The conviction is a vital stage in the decades-long search for justice for rioting casualties. Already linked to the 1984 riots, Sajjan Kumar was also concurrently serving a life sentence for a different murder. The new ruling is apt to increase calls for more severe penalties and further high court appeals.
Thousands of people were killed as a result of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which have left marks on the Sikh population still not moped. Though the most recent ruling assigns a major character responsibility, much still calls for more severe punishment of perpetrators of the mass violence.