Amarinder Singh Welcomes Sajjan Kumar's Conviction, Says 'Justice Finally Delivered'

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday welcomed the conviction of senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar  in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case by the Delhi High Court .

Kumar has been sentenced to life-imprisonment in a case which relates to the killing of five Sikhs in Raj Nagar part-I area in Palam Colony in South West Delhi on November 1-2, 1984 and burning down of a Gurudwara in Raj Nagar part II.

Singh, while welcoming the conviction, said “it was a case of justice finally delivered to the victims of one of the worst instances of communal violence in independent India”.

He, however, also said that neither Congress nor the Gandhi family had any role to play in the riots. The Chief Minister also lashed out at the Badals for dragging the Gandhi family into the case. 

Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had called it a “historic judgement” and said “wheels of justice have finally moved”.

“It is Sajjan Kumar today, it will be Jagdish Tytler tomorrow then Kamal Nath and eventually the Gandhi family,” Kaur was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times .

Tytler is another Congress leader who has been accused of organising and participating in the massacre.

The president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, Sunil Kumar Jakhar, also welcomed the verdict, saying the party has been clear that whoever was involved in the riots should be brought to justice.

“Yes, justice has been delayed but delivered finally. Nobody is above law and anyone who is involved in such a heinous crime should be brought to justice,” the Congress MP was quoted as saying by PTI.

He also said Congress leader Nath’s name never figured in the list of those involved in the riots. Nath took oath as Madhya Pradesh chief minister on Monday.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the conviction of Kumar should not be politicised and the law should take its own course.

 “It should not be linked to the political atmosphere prevailing in the country. The law should take its course, there are appeals,” senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said. 

The ruling has been hailed by the leaders of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  

(With PTI inputs)