News Brief
Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar Convicted In 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots Case—What You Need To Know
Congress leader Sajjan Kumar (Photo by Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
A Delhi court on Wednesday (12 February) convicted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case related to the killing of two Sikhs during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, India Today reported.
The court will hear arguments on the quantum of sentencing on 18 February.
Currently serving a sentence in Tihar Jail for a separate murder case linked to the riots, Kumar was accused of leading a mob and inciting it to kill Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh in Delhi's Saraswati Vihar on 1 November 1984.
The riots erupted after the assassination of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards in the aftermath of Operation Bluestar.
The court had reserved its verdict last December after hearing the final arguments in the case.
During the hearing, the prosecution said that Kumar led an armed mob that engaged in large-scale looting, arson and destruction of properties of Sikhs.
Kumar, however, denied all charges against him while recording his statement in court.
The court had reportedly said there was "sufficient material" to suggest that Kumar was not only a participant but had also led the mob.
The former Congress MP has been previously convicted in multiple cases involving abetment, inflammatory speeches against Sikhs, and inciting communal discord.
After the Narendra Modi-led government's formation in 2014, a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) was set up to reinvestigate cases of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Kumar's conviction marks a significant step in the long-standing quest for justice for the victims of the anti-Sikh riots.
