Anguished Sikhs continued their protest on the third day against the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case on Friday in South East Delhi’s Mathura Road area and New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar area on Friday.
One of the victims of 1984 riots, Nirpreet Kaur, began an indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar on Friday.
“My father was burnt alive in front of my eyes when I was 16. We have faced several hardships since then. We expected the court to give a fair judgement but by acquitting Sajjan Kumar I have lost faith in the judicial system. I will remain on on fast till we get justice,” said Nirpreet Kaur.
She added, “In the charge sheet filed in 1992, Sajjan Kumar was the only accused. He was then a Congress MP. The charge sheet also stated that there is enough evidence against him and that he couldn’t be arrested due to law and order problems. The charge sheet has not been presented in the court till today. A SIT should be formed and an appeal should be filed in the High Court against the
acquittal of Sajjan Kumar. There should be day-to-day trial so that the decision is out in three months."
"I was 14 when the riots took place and I took shelter in a Hindu family house.
I had to cut my hair so that no body could recognise that we are Sikhs," said Jamshed Singh, a riot victim.
Angry protesters burnt tyres and shouted slogans against the acquittal of Sajjan Kumar. The police officials had a tough time controlling the mob as they did not allow vehicular movement on the road. Police officials had to divert the traffic through Ashram Chowk. The Rapid Action Force (RAF) was also called in to control the situation.
"We do not want our coming generation to complain. The riots were a pure case of State terrorism perpetrated on hapless Sikhs. We want to convey through the protest that we are not down or scared,” said Jarnail Singh, one of the protesters.
Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and KumarVishwas were also present there along with hundreds of their party supporters who had come to join hands in support of the affected riot victims.
The Aam Aadmi Party leaders also sat on a one-day fast to express solidarity with the protesters. The protesters sat on a dharna from morning till late evening. During the protest two minutes silence was also observed for
Sarabjit Singh.
"It's not an individual fight but everyone's battle. The politics and th judiciary in the country needs to be changed. People need to be united. It is not that the Sikhs bore brunt but Muslims were massacred in Gujarat and Hindus in Kashmir. We all are here to demand justice not for Sikhs but for ourselves. An incident like this can happen with any one. I will support them till the time they get justice" said AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal.