Jagdish Tytler: Court: At first glance, it appears that Tytler incited rioters to attack Sikhs

New Delhi: A Court in Delhiwhile he ordered the impeachment of the congressional official Jagdish Tytler in a case involving the killing of three Sikh men in Pul Bangash during the 1984 Anti-Sikh riotssaid that the material produced prima facie shows that the accused was a member of an unlawful assembly of persons in the Gurdwara at that place.
“He incited the mob and incited them to destroy/damage Gurdwara Pul Bangashkilling Sikhs and looting their property,” the court headed by Special Judge Rakesh Syal said. The order was issued on Friday and a copy of the 57-page order was released on Saturday.
Three Sikhs – Sardar Thakur Singh, Badal Singh and Gurcharan Singh – were burnt to death on November 1, 1984, in the violence that followed the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The court said it appeared that Tytler incited the crowd by shouting “Maro, maro” and “Pahle maro, phir luto (First kill, then rob)” and telling them that the rioters could do anything to the Gurdwara because the Sikhs had killed their “mother” or Indira Gandhi.
The court found that Tytler had instigated the rioters to commit violence against Sikhs. “Some members of the aforesaid unlawful assembly of which the accused was a member committed mischief by setting fire to Gurdwara Pul Bangash with the intention or knowledge that they were likely to cause destruction of the said building,” the court found.
The court rejected claims by Tytler's counsel that three key witnesses – Harpal Kaur, Harvinderjit Singh and Abdul Wahid – testified decades later to incriminate the Congress leader. “As argued on behalf of the victim, discarding the statements of these witnesses merely on account of delay would amount to compounding the injustice already done to them. In view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, it is held that the delay in naming the accused as the person who instigated and instigated the violent riots against Sikhs cannot be a ground for acquitting the accused,” the court said.
The Court agreed with the prosecutor's argument that the eyewitnesses were unable, out of fear, to give truthful testimony before the various authorities, committees and commissions investigating the riots, and stated that it appeared that the families of the victims who witnessed the killings and looting had their own safety and that of their families as their top priority.
The court also rejected the defence counsel's contention that the Central Bureau of Investigation had filed final reports exonerating Tytler from any involvement in the events at Pul Bangash. The court held that the mere fact that final reports were filed against the accused did not per se entitle him to be acquitted of the charges.
The complainant in the case, Lakhwinder Kaur, wife of the late Badal Singh, was represented by senior advocates HS Phoolka and Gurbaksh Singh, while the CBI was represented by public prosecutor Amit Jindal.