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The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Secretary S Partap Singh on Tuesday stated that the life sentence awarded to former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar came too late, nearly 41 years after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, and argued that life imprisonment is not enough.
SGPC Secretary said that while the verdict provides some relief to the victims' families. "I think this punishment has come very late--it has been almost 43 years since the incident. After 40-43 years, justice is no longer justice; it becomes a mere formality. But better late than never. I thank the lawyers who supported us in this fight. However, I think life imprisonment is much less...But this is still a relief to them (victims' families)," Singh said. Meanwhile, Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) General Secretary Jagdip Singh Kahlon expressed disappointment on Tuesday, saying that Sajjan Kumar was not given a death sentence in the case. Speaking to the media, Kahlon said that justice would have been served even if Kumar had received life imprisonment. "We are upset that someone like Sajjan Kumar was not given the death penalty. I believe that if he had been sentenced to death, it would have been better, and we would have felt satisfied. However, after 41 years, even though he received life imprisonment, justice has prevailed. I respect the court's verdict," Kahlon said. Earlier today, the Delhi court sentenced Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment in connection with the killing of a father-son duo in the Saraswati Vihar area during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. This followed his conviction on February 12 for their murders. Special judge Kaveri Baweja sentenced Sajjan Kumar for the offence of murder (302) read with unlawful assembly (149) IPC. The 1984 riots erupted following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984, leading to the killing of at least 2,800 people in the national capital alone. (ANI)
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