New Delhi: Assuring the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots that justice will be ensured for one and all, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said a Special Investigation Team (SIT), after reviewing 286 cases, has recommended 22 cases to be reinvestigated.
Addressing a function to mark the 300th martyrdom anniversary of Sikh warrior Baba Banda Singh Bahadur at Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, the minister called upon the youth to come forward and get inspired by heroic deeds of the legendary warrior to fight against the divisive forces of terrorism.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, MPs Prem Singh Chandumajra and Balwinder Singh Bhunder and a number of other dignitaries attended the function.
A total of 3,325 people were killed in the 1984 riots.
Delhi alone accounted for 2,733 deaths while the rest occurred in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states.
Delhi Police had closed 241 cases citing lack of evidence.
Justice Nanavati Commission had recommended reopening of only four of them but BJP wanted re-investigation of all the cases.
The CBI had reopened and re-investigated only four cases.
In two of them, the probe agency had filed a charge sheet and in one, five persons, including a former MLA, were convicted.
The SIT was set up on February 12, 2015 following a recommendation by the Home Ministry-appointed Justice (retd) G P Mathur committee.
The three-member SIT comprises two Inspector General rank IPS officers and a judicial officer.
At the time of formation of the SIT, around one-and-a-half-years ago, the government had said it would submit its report within six months. However, the work of the SIT got delayed due to unknown reasons.
On December 10, 2014, the Narendra Modi-government had announced an additional compensation of Rs. five lakh to the kin of each of those killed in the 1984 riots, triggered by the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
Last month, the Home Ministry had announced that 1,020 families, who had been hit by the riots and migrated to Punjab from different parts of the country, will be given Rs. two lakh each as part of a centrally-sponsored rehabilitation scheme.
The move holds significance as Delhi's neighbouring state Punjab, where Sikhs are in majority, votes for new government next year. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress and BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal alliance are locked in a triangular battle in the state.
Earlier this month, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had written a letter to Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi asking Centre to disband its SIT and let the Delhi government form its own SIT to ensure justice to victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
