This is an archive article published on November 18, 2015
1984 anti-Sikh riots: Will re-examine case against Tytler if fresh evidence is filed, says CBI
CBI took this stand in a submission filed a local court which had listed the case for pronouncement of order on whether to accept the agency's closure report.
New Delhi | Updated: November 18, 2015 01:26 AM IST
3 min read
Whatsapp
twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Jagdish Tytler
A year after it gave a clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, the CBI on Tuesday told a Delhi court that it is ready to re-examine the case against him if the victim’s family member furnishes fresh evidence in the case.
The CBI’s statement comes in response to a fresh plea filed by Lakhvinder Kaur — whose husband Badal Singh was killed in the riots that took place at Gurdwara Pul Bangash — to enable her to provide fresh information regarding witnesses quoted in the CBI’s final report.
Kaur had sought deferment of the case to enable her to furnish reliable information relating to material witnesses — Resham Singh, Chanchal Singh, Alam Singh, Jasbir Singh, Santosh Singh and Narender Singh — who have been quoted in the CBI’s final report.
Story continues below this ad
Family members of ’84 riots victims hold a protest at Karkardooma court on Tuesday. (Express Photo by Prem Nath Pandey)
“It is respectfully submitted that if the applicant (complainant) provides (details of) the material witnesses in the interest of justice in the present matter, then the CBI is ready to take up further investigation (based) on the additional evidence. It is prayed that CBI may be granted time… to examine the material if so supplied by the complainant,” said the CBI.
The CBI also told the court that “it has no objection” if the matter is deferred in order to grant time to the applicant to “get concrete information and whereabouts of material witnesses”. “The CBI is willing to examine the aforesaid witnesses… as they may be essential for a just decision in the case,” it said.
However, as Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Laler was on leave on Tuesday, the matter will be heard on December 4. The court on Tuesday was scheduled to pronounce its order on the clean chit given by the CBI to Tytler. The court was also to deliver its order on the protest petition filed by Kaur, challenging the CBI’s closure report.
Meanwhile, H S Phoolka, who was said to have filed Kaur’s petition, was taken by surprise when news of the CBI’s reply to the plea surfaced. He told The Indian Express that he was “neither consulted nor aware of filing of the application”.
Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies.
With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health.
His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award.
Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time.
Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More
3 min read
Jagdish Tytler
Family members of ’84 riots victims hold a protest at Karkardooma court on Tuesday. (Express Photo by Prem Nath Pandey)
