Reopen 1984 riots’ case against Nath: Akali Dal

New Delhi/Chandigarh, June 20 (IANS) The Akali Dal on Thursday asked the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in Delhi to reopen the case against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath for his alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

In a letter to the SIT, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) President Manjinder Singh Sirsa demanded Nath's name be included without delay and the statement of eyewitness Sanjay Suri and Mukhtiar Singh be taken up for probe.

Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal said his party achieved a milestone in quest for justice for the 1984 genocide victims by submitting fresh evidence to the SIT.

"The SIT has decided to reopen Parliament Street FIR in which witnesses accuse MP CM of leading murderous mob. Kamal Nath's arrest is set to become reality soon," Badal said in a tweet.

Sirsa said that an Akali Dal delegation met the SIT Chairman and provided the details of the witnesses.

"We gave him the details of all witnesses and requested him to immediately to book Kamal Nath, record the statements of the witnesses, arrest Kamal Nath and immediately file a charge sheet before the court so the trial can be carried on," he told reporters in the national capital.

In his five-page letter, Sirsa said that the offence against Kamal Nath comprises several crimes, including leading the mob to kill the Sikhs on November 1, 1984, rioting in/and around the area of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, arson and setting fire of Gurdwara Sahib as well as inaction and complicity of police officials in the crime.

The SIT, formed in 2015 by the NDA government, is empowered to examine fresh evidence in the 1984 massacre cases which were closed earlier.