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Ahead of the trial court's pronouncement of the sentence for Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, members of the Sikh community led by Sikh leader Gurlad Singh organized a protest in front of the court on Tuesday.
Protesters were demanding the death penalty for Kumar, who was previously convicted for his involvement in the murders of a father and his son in Saraswati Vihar, Delhi, during the riots. In the matter, Gurlad Singh urged the court to deliver the aximum sentence to Congress leader Sajjan Kumar. Singh emphasized that more than 40 years have passed since the tragic events, and justice must be served. While leading the protest, Gurlad Singh stated, "It's a judiciary phrase that justice delayed is justice denied. Four decades have passed now. We demand only the death penalty for Sajjan Kumar. These cases fall under the rarest of the rare category, as the 1984 riots were a pre-planned genocide orchestrated by the Congress leadership." The Sikh community, still mourning the loss of their loved ones, hopes that this sentencing will bring some measure of closure and justice for the victims and their families, He added. Gurlad Singh is also a main petitioner in the matters presently heard by the Supreme Court in the Sikh riots cases in which the Supreme Court in 2016 had constituted the SIT in the matter. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja is scheduled to pronounce the sentence for Sajjan Kumar at 2 PM today. Kumar is already serving a life sentence following his 2018 conviction by the Delhi High Court in a separate case related to the anti-Sikh riots. During the last court session, the judge sought a psychiatric and psychological evaluation report from Tihar Jail authorities, following a Supreme Court ruling that mandates such an assessment before considering the death penalty. The prosecution, led by the CBI, submitted written arguments demanding the death penalty. They argued that Kumar's involvement in the riots amounted to genocide and ethnic cleansing. Additional Public Prosecutor Manish Rawat emphasized that Kumar's prior conviction in a similar case highlights the need for capital punishment, as life imprisonment would be insufficient for the severity of his crimes against humanity. 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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