New Delhi, May1: A Delhi court Tuesday acquitted Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. As anguished protests broke out among gathered crowds, an angry man hurled a shoe at the judge inside the courtroom.
Sajjan Kumar's acquittal came almost three decades after an estimated 3,000 Sikhs were killed in three days of riots in India's capital and elsewhere.
District Judge J.R. Aryan convicted the other five accused in the case related to the killing of five people in Delhi Cantonment area during violence against the Sikhs following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi on Oct 31, 1984.
As protests erupted among crowds outside the Karkardooma court complex, All India Sikh Federation president Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad flung a shoe at the judge.
"He (Mohammad) never intended to hit the judge but he wanted to show his resentment towards the judicial system which has failed to give justice to the Sikhs. He is in police custody," Mohammad's lawyer told reporters.
The court acquitted Sajjan Kumar but convicted five other accused for rioting, being armed with deadly weapons and murder.
The Congress leader was facing trial along with Balwan Khokkar, Mahender Yadav, Girdhari Lal, Kishan Khokkar and Captain Bhagmal for allegedly conspiring and inciting a mob against the Sikh community.
