VHP welcomes court order over anti-Sikh riots

Bhubaneswar: VHP on Friday welcomed the Delhi High Court's ordered to renew probe into the alleged role of Congress Party leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the capital. More than 3,000 people, mostly those following the Sikh religion, were killed in riots in 1984 in retaliation for the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Tytler was among those accused of inciting mobs against Sikhs after Gandhi's death. "We wholeheartedly welcome the move as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) closed a case against him in November saying it could find no evidence or witness to establish his role in the riots," VHP State general secretary Gouri Prasad Rath said. The court's order for a reinvestigation came after an Indian news channel traced a key witness Jasbir Singh to California. Singh told CNN-IBN news channel he was willing to testify against Tytler if his safety could be guaranteed. The Delhi court on has asked the CBI to record Singh's statement and file a report by January 16. Singh said during the interview to CNN-IBN that he saw Tytler encourage a mob to attack Sikhs during the riots in November 1984 and that he also led an attack on a gurudwara or Sikh temple in Delhi. Three Sikhs were burnt to death in the gurudwara.

Singh, who reportedly lost more than 20 members of his family in the 1984 riots, subsequently left India. He told the television channel that the CBI had not contacted him so far for any deposition. Tytler is a member of parliament and a prominent leader of the Congress Party, the leading partner in India's ruling coalition government. He does not currently hold any government post. A judicial commission set up in 2000 to investigate the riots had suggested Tytler's role should be investigated following which he resigned his last ministerial post. Human rights activists have accused the Congress Party of being lax about punishing those guilty for the riots in which several Congress Party workers and leaders were allegedly involved. So far there have been about six convictions relating to the riots after prolonged trials and several cases are still being investigated. Sikhs comprise about 2 per cent India's population of 1.2 billion