A Delhi court on Tuesday awarded the first death penalty in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. The court convicted Yashpal Singh who killed two men in the pogrom. The other convict Naresh Sehrawat was awarded life term.
While convicting the two, Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Pandey said, "The prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that both the accused persons took out the victims, who were hiding inside a room, injured them with dangerous weapons with the intention to kill and threw them down from the first floor, which caused the death of Hardev Singh and Avtar Singh."
Hardev was 24 while Avtar was 26 years old when they were murdered by Yashpal, a transporter and Sehrawat, a retired post master. Both of them are in their 50s and neighbours of the deceased.
Senior advocate HS Phoolka, who appeared for the riots victims confirmed that the area where the two men were murdered was Congress leader Sajjan Kumar's turf. "With Kumar case lined up for hearing in Delhi High Court, we are hopeful that the orders will come favouring the victims. It may not have a direct bearing on the case but the pronouncement today has definitely raised our hopes," Phoolka said.
He added that the verdict is the beginning of delivery of justice to the victims who have been waging the battle for the past 34 years. "It is heartening to see that they have been given relief," the senior lawyer said.
On November 14, the court had convicted Singh and Sherawat for killing two men here during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots — the first conviction in the case after the Special Investigation Team reopened and investigated five of the eight cases in 2015. The SIT which was constituted by the Home Ministry in 2015, said probe in the remaining three cases that involves Kumar, are still pending.
Earlier in 1994, the Delhi Police had closed the case for lack of evidence. As many as 18 witnesses were re-examined by the SIT, and it was an eyewitness testimony that proved crucial in getting the duo convicted.
The orders were pronounced inside Tihar Jail due to security concerns and possible attack on the convicts on the court premises.
The case was lodged on a complaint filed by Santokh Singh, brother of Hardev Singh.
On November 1, 1984, Kuldeep, Sangat and Surjeet were at their grocery shops in Mahipalpur when a mob armed with iron rods, lathis, hockey sticks, stones, kerosene oil, charged at them. The three rushed to another person's house to save their lives where they locked themselves in along with Hardev and Avtar, who were eventually killed. The trio, however, survived the attack, and identified Yashpal and Sehrawat as their neighbours who were part of the mob that set their shops on fire and attacked them.
After the SIT began investigation, it published a public notice on August 27, 2016 in leading newspapers of Punjab and Delhi requesting people acquainted with the facts of the case to give evidence. The SIT also found witnesses in different cases and even sought help from the Punjab government which formed a team to assist them.
Meanwhile, the Congress Tuesday welcomed a Delhi court's verdict sentencing one person to death and another to life imprisonment in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. The Congress said it was "proud" that the legal process was being allowed to work out its course. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the party's stand on the legal process is clear and asserted that there should be no external influences.
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