Wife of 1984 anti-Sikh riots victim testifies in court against Jagdish Tytler

Lakhwinder Kaur, wife of Badal Singh, one of the three victims of arson at Gurdwara Pul Bangash during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, testified on Thursday that an eyewitness told her Congress leader Jagdish Tytler had incited a mob at the scene of the violence.

She said the ‘Granthi’ (Sikh priest), Surender Singh, had told her that Badal Singh was killed by the mob at Gurdwara Pul Bangash on November 1, 1984. “Granthi Surender Singh told me that he saw the incident from the roof of the gurdwara and it was Jagdish Tytler who was inciting the mob,” said Ms. Kaur, the first witness to depose before Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts.

“Tytler ne kaha... Sikho ko mar do ujad do, gurdwara ko aag laga do (Tytler said kill the Sikhs, torch the gurdwara),” she said as she broke down inside the court.

The next hearing in the matter will take place on October 15, when Mr. Tytler’s counsel will cross-question Ms. Kaur.

On August 30, Judge Rakesh Syal of Rouse Avenue Courts had ordered the framing of charges against Mr. Tytler, 80, under Sections 302 (murder), 109 (abetment), 147 (rioting), 153A (promoting enmity between groups), and 143 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code in the case.

On September 13, Mr. Tytler denied all charges and pleaded not guilty to the offences.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had registered the case on November 22, 2005 in th

Published - October 04, 2024 01:17 am IST