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Congress leader Jagdish Tytler
– Photo : Amar Ujala
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A Delhi court on Friday framed charges of murder and other charges against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. When asked by the court, Tytler pleaded not guilty and wanted to face trial. Finally, the court has directed the prosecution to start trial against the accused.
Congress leader Jagdish Tytler appeared before special judge Rakesh Siyal. The court asked him whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute him under sections 143, 153A, 188, 149, 380 and 436 along with 302 and 109 for murder, rioting and inciting murder etc. and whether he confesses his crime. Tytler denied the charges against him. This case is related to the murder of three Sikhs near Gurdwara Pul Bangash on November 1, 1984.
The court, while framing charges against Tytler on his plea, directed the prosecution to produce witnesses in the case. The court posted the matter for hearing on October 3. On August 30, the court had said there were sufficient grounds to proceed against the accused. He was acquitted under Section 148 of the IPC.
The case relates to the burning to death of Badal Singh, Sardar Thakur Singh and Gurbachan Singh and setting ablaze the Pul Bangash gurdwara on November 1, 1984, a day after the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi. The Delhi police had registered the case on the same day. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a fresh case in November 2005 on the recommendations of the Nanavati Commission, which was constituted in 2000 and submitted its report five years later. However, a closure report was submitted against Tytler earlier.
The trial court took cognizance of the chargesheet filed in the case on July 26 last year and issued summons to Tytler to appear in court. Tytler filed an anticipatory bail plea. In August last year, the sessions court granted Tytler anticipatory bail in the case. The court granted him a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and a surety of the same amount.
The chargesheet states that the CBI confirmed Tytler’s presence at the crime scene based on the testimony of six witnesses, four of whom saw him instigating the mob. The CBI, in its chargesheet filed in May 2023, had accused Tytler, a former Union minister, of inciting and provoking the mob gathered near the Pul Bangash gurdwara to riot on November 1, 1984.
The chargesheet said a witness had alleged that Tytler got out of a white Ambassador car in front of the gurdwara and incited the mob by shouting “Kill the Sikhs, they have killed our mother!” The mob, already enraged by the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards the previous day, killed three people. Most witnesses said they failed to hear what Tytler said to the mob, but they saw him getting out of the car and making a speech, which triggered the uproar.