A Delhi court on Tuesday issued a production warrant for 1984 anti-Sikh violence convict Sajjan Kumar, for January 28. District Judge Poonam A Bamba issued the production warrant for the former Congress leader after authorities in Tihar Jail could not produce him in court on Tuesday, PTI reported.
Kumar and two others – Brahmanand Gupta and Ved Prakash – face charges of murder and rioting in connection with the killing of a person named Surjit Singh in Sultanpuri in 1984.
Last month, the Delhi High Court had found the 73-year-old guilty of murder, promoting enmity between groups, and defiling public property in another case related to the pogrom. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment. The judgement had reversed a lower court’s verdict acquitting Kumar in 2013.
After his conviction, Kumar had resigned from the Congress party and had also moved an appeal in the top court. Kumar was sent to jail after he surrendered before a trial court on December 31. On January 14, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Delhi government to seek its response to Kumar’s appeal.
Violence broke out after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards on October 31, 1984. At least 8,000 people died in the violence, which lasted for five days.
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