This whole case came about because of her original complaint (which had not been acted upon) and her consistent statements to all the commissions of inquiry that looked into the case and the investigating officers. She testified to witnessing the murders of her husband (Kehar Singh) and son (Gurpreet Singh) around 1:30-2 pm on 1 November 1984, while hiding at a neighbour’s (PW-3) house. She also saw the mob beat and burn Narender Pal Singh to death, and saw the mob take away Raghuvinder Singh and Kuldeep Singh (who were her cousins) while hiding on the roof of her own house at around 7:30 am on 2 November 1984. At around 9 am on 2 November 1984, while she was on her way to lodge a report at a police post, she saw Sajjan Kumar give his speech asking the mob to kill Sikhs and those sheltering them.

He is the brother of Narender Pal Singh and Raghuvinder Singh, and cousin of Kuldeep Singh. He also hid in the same neighbour’s house as Jagdish Kaur, and saw the mob drag Kehar Singh and Gurpreet Singh out of their own house and kill them on the afternoon of 1 November 1984. He left PW-3’s house at around 10 pm, and around that time he saw an Ambassador car arrive at the area, from which Sajjan Kumar emerged. He then observed the exchange between Kumar and a group of 30-40 persons, when Kumar told them to burn the houses of Hindus who were sheltering Sikhs. PW-3 tried to bring in a car to rescue Narender, Raghuvinder and Kuldeep, but this failed because of the mob. PW-3 then sent Jagsher out of the house at around 6 am, fearing for his safety. When outside, Jagsher witnessed the mob beat and set another Sikh man on fire, who he was later able to identify as Narender. Jagsher escaped the area and got an Army friend to help save his brothers, but when they returned to the area, he found Raghuvinder and Kuldeep also dead. They picked up a few relatives including Jagdish Kaur and her surviving children.

Nirpreet Kaur (PW-10)

She is the daughter of the Raj Nagar gurudwara’s president Nirmal Singh. She witnessed the mob kill her father on 1 November 1984 in a gruesome manner, using phosphorus to ensure he burnt to death after he managed to survive the first two attempts to do so by jumping into a drain. She also witnessed the mob attack and set fire to the gurudwara on 1 November 1984, and corroborated the testimony of Jagdish Kaur about Sajjan Kumar’s presence at the public meeting the next morning.

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1984 Mass Killing: Why Delhi HC Reversed Sajjan Kumar’s Acquittal

What convinced the Delhi High Court to convict the Congress leader? Jagdish Kaur’s testimony played a key role.

Vakasha Sachdev

Published: 17 Dec 2018, 10:54 PM IST

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On Monday, 17 December, the Delhi High Court reversed Congress leader Sajjan Kumar’s acquittal by a trial court in 2013 for his involvement in crimes committed in Raj Nagar, Delhi Cantonment, during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

A bench comprising Justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel convicted the Congress leader for conspiring towards and abetting murder, rioting and setting a gurudwara on fire, as well as promoting enmity on the grounds of religion and damaging a place of worship.

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1984 Mass Killing: Why Delhi HC Reversed Sajjan Kumar’s Acquittal

What convinced the Delhi High Court to convict the Congress leader? Jagdish Kaur’s testimony played a key role.

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Topics: Murder Genocide Gurudwara