The Supreme Court said today it will entrust as many as 186 anti-Sikh riot cases from 1984 to a new Special Investigation Team (SIT). Watch the video at the bottom of the article where Rajiv Gandhi justified Anti-Sikh Riots.
These cases, which have not yet been investigated by a Centre-appointed SIT, will be sent for further investigation to a new SIT headed by a retired high court judge.
In addition to a retired HC judge, the new SIT will have a serving police officer and a retired DIG-level police officer, the SC said.
The apex court took this view after getting a report on the SIT investigation into the 1984 Sikh riot cases from two retired SC judges.
When the Centre constituted the SIT in 2014, a total of 293 Sikh riot cases were entrusted to it. That SIT was to examine the necessity of further investigation into them.
Close to 3,000 people were massacred in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that were sparked by the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
Earlier this month, the SC took on record the final report submitted by a supervisory body appointed by it to look into the closure of 241 riot cases from 1984.
On August 16, the apex court had appointed the supervisory panel to examine the SIT’s decision to close 241 cases in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots matter, and asked it to submit report in three months.
The Centre had earlier said that of the 250 cases which were investigated by the SIT, closure reports were filed in 241.
Recently, HS Phoolka, senior lawyer, AAP Leader and a social activist who has been fighting for the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims released an old video which shows Rajiv Gandhi saying, “Bada ped girta hai, toh Dharti toh hilegi hi.” (When a big tree falls, the earth will shake)
Phoolka also demanded that Rajiv Gandhi’s Bharat Ratna be taken back. He was quoted saying: “A Prime Minister, who justified genocide and whose party was responsible for the massacre, can’t be a Bharat Ratna. We demand Rajiv Gandhi’s Bharat Ratna’s be taken back.” Phoolka said at a press conference that, “In 1984, on this day, nation’s prime minister had justified the killing of 3, 000 Sikhs in his address at the boat club in national capital. He had said that when a big tree falls then the earth shakes. Instead of punishing the culprits of such mass murder, he was justifying it.”
He added, “He not only failed to take action against accused Tytler and HKL Bhagat, he made them ministers in his cabinet. On November 16, 1984, the Home Minister of the country announced that the death toll in the Sikh riots was 684. It took him three years to realise how many had died after a report which assessed that 2733 Sikhs were killed”.
Phoolka also claimed that the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government had wiped the records of this remark. Watch the video below:
