Zeeenews Bureau
New Delhi, Dec 18: In a major development, the Karkardooma court in Delhi has ordered the CBI to re-probe the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler and file the status report by 16th January. The latest development comes days after Jasbir Singh, the key witness in the 1984 riots case, had claimed in a TV interview that the CBI never contacted him and that he was willing to testify against former Union Minister.
Jasbir also claimed that since there were threats to his life and the fact that he was residing in California, it would be better if he could give his testimony via video conferencing. His interview was a major setback to CBI, which had earlier claimed that Singh was “untraceable” and asked for the closure of the case that revolved around the former minister’s involvement three months back.
Reacting to the court’s order, sources in the CBI said that Singh’s deposition would not make any difference to the case, as it will be difficult to congregate new evidence after 23 years.
Shortly after the court ordered the CBI to reopen the case, Jasbir Singh expressed happiness and thanked the media for its support. He said that all previous commissions, before which he had testified, had ignored him.
Twenty six of his family members were massacred in the ghastly riots.
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that CBI should now make a fair investigation into the Tytler case. He added that CBI’s ignorance of Jasbir is a reflection of the Congress led Central government’s pressure under which the investigative agency was working.
Meanwhile, Jasbir’s lawyer today said that his client will record his statement on January 14.
He added that although the court hasn’t issued any directions, Jasbir could record his statement either in the Indian High Commission in the US or in the court via video conferencing, meaning it won’t be necessary for him to come to India.
Reacting to the fresh development, Congress leader Jagdish Tytler had again categorically rejected all allegations against him as "baseless" and "unfounded"
Trying to dispel all misconception and confusion, Tytler told the mediapersons that Jasbir’s claims are baseless, as he was not present on the spot at the time of the incident.
Jasbir himself claimed that he was in Jagjit nagar at that time trying to save his family members and his house, which was set ablaze by the mob, then how can he be present at two places at one time. He stressed that Jasbir should come and record his statement, which would eventually clear all misunderstanding pertaining to the case.
The eyewitness account
Jasbir had told the Nanavati Commission on August 31, 2000 that "he had overheard Tytler rebuking his men on the night of November 3, 1984... “for nominal killing of Sikhs in his constituency". Jasbir also told the Commission that Tytler continued by saying that he had promised large scale killings, but his men betrayed him.
The case relates to an incident on November 1, 1984 -- in the aftermath of the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi -- when a mob set afire Gurdwara Pulbangash, killing three people.
As per the agency`s chargesheet, while three persons were killed in the incident - Sardar Thakur Singh, Badal Singh and Gurcharan Singh - charred bodies of two of them were found on which autopsy was conducted.
The agency said that despite its attempts to trace Jasbir, they failed to locate him as his family members did not provide much information on his whereabouts.
While the Sikh bodies have claimed that the CBI has not investigated the matter properly before deciding to close the case against Tytler, the agency claims that investigation was conducted after "taking into account all aspects including the conspiracy angle".
