Sikh Killings: Aam Aadmi Party Demands CBI Investigation
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court of India to reopen the cases of 1984 Sikh Genocide in Delhi – which is still disturbing the Sikh community.
However, AAP demands that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or some independent investigation agency should investigate these cases as AAP says it does not have trust in Delhi Police.
The Supreme Court decided on Wednesday to form a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to re-investigate 186 cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Earlier, a government-appointed SIT had closed these cases.
“These cases should be monitored by Supreme Court as it was done in Gujarat riot cases and resulted in a few convictions. If Congress is ashamed of its role in 1984 Sikh Genocide then it should throw Sajjan Kumar and Jagdeesh Tytler out of the Party immediately,” said AAP leader and former Rajouri Garden MLA Jarnail Singh.
He added that the Supreme Court ruling shows that the successive Congress and BJP governments turned a blind eye to the victims.
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“We hope Supreme Court will direct the Government of India to form special courts for time-bound investigation and trial of these cases. Victims have been waiting for justice for the past 33 years,” said Jarnail Singh.
Earlier, the Delhi Assembly had passed a resolution against 1984 Sikh Genocide on June 30th, 2015. Now, according to AAP, it is time for Indian Parliament to do the same in order to send a strong message against politics of hatred and communal violence.
An “anti-communal and ethnic violence bill” is pending in Parliament which should be passed immediately with provisions of fixing accountability of politicians, police and administration during communal or ethnic violence, AAP suggested.
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots had happened against Sikhs in India in response to the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. It is said that nearly 8,000 Sikhs were murdered in India by violent mobs while nearly 3,000 deaths were reported in Delhi.
Photo courtesy: AAP