(Image source from: sikh-group-announces-$1-million-reward-for-sajjan-s-conviction)
Being disappointed and shocked over the discharge of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the anti-Sikh Riots case owing to lack of corroborative evidence, a Sikh group in US has announced a bounty of $1 million dollar for anybody making public any piece of evidence which would help in conviction of the politician.
Furthermore, Sikhs For Justice(SFJ) legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said that this is an opportunity for those who witnessed the killings to come forward with testimony and evidence to help victims in seeking justice against those Congress leaders who organized violence against Sikhs. SFJ has further assured of full legal assistance to those coming forward with tips, evidence and testimony which could lead to conviction of Kumar in the Delhi High Court.
In fact, Kumar had been booked by CBI in a riots case in 2005 based on the recommendation of Justice GT Nanavati Commission. The case deals with the death of five members of a Sikh family who were members of the same family and were killed by a mob in Delhi Cantonment's Raj Nagar area. Eyewitness Jagadish Kaur’s testimony account failed to convince the judge that Sajjan Kumar had, indeed, incited the mob which went on to kill the five people.
Nevertheless, legal options against Kumar haven’t been exhausted yet as the verdict can be appealed against in a higher court. Another prominent Sikh lawyer HS Phoolka has also announced that he would be filing a petition challenging the acquittal of Kumar in the Delhi High Court.
As a concluding factor, around 3,000 persons, mostly Sikhs, were ruthless killed by furious mobs on streets of Delhi in the Anti-Sikh riots, which were for encouragement after the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984 while congress party leaders Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler and HKL Bhagat were accused of inciting the mobs during the riots, an infamy Sajjan has managed to ward off for now. CBI asked the Delhi High Court to give a clean chit to Tytler, a demand which invited the intense anger of court even Bhagat died during course of investigation in 2005.
(AW:Samrat Biswas)
