Eyewitnesses recall horrific details of 1984 anti-Sikh riots

From being the daughter of a well-known father in the locality to facing nine years in prison and over 34 years of delayed justice, Nirpreet Kaur's journey to justice has been a hard fought one.

Nirpreet was just 16 years old when India's then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated. 

However, she came to know the impact of the event when her father and various other neighbours were brutally murdered by a mob in South Delhi's Raj Nagar area. Besides, the head of the Residents Welfare Association of the area,

Nirpreet's father Nirmal Singh was the head of Gurudwara Sabha. So, when the riot broke out Nirmal singh took it upon himself to make sure Sikhs in the area were safe."My father was head of Gurudwara Sabha and the RWA, so he had promised the residents that he would not let any Sikh die," Kaur said. 

Singh was allegedly called out of the house by a congress leader to strike a comprise with the mob and bring peace back in the area.

"They knew my father will do anything to strike a compromise and save fellow Sikhs, so they persuaded him to have a meeting with the leaders of the mob and solve the matter," added Kaur.

Kaur alleged that the meeting was never arranged and her father was directly handed over to the mob, which later tied him and burnt him alive.

Another eye-witness to the day is Jagsher Singh, who lost his three brothers. "Our neighbours had taken us to their homes to save us, but after Sajjan Kumar came to the locality, the mob started targeting residences of non-Sikhs as well, and we were left with no shelter," Singh recalled.

According to Singh, he had short hair at that time and so the mob left him, but his brothers who had turban were caught and assaulted with iron rods before they were burnt alive.

After today's judgement, both the victims lauded the verdict. However, Jagsher Singh demanded death sentence for the lives he had taken.