Sajjan Kumar's acquittal in 1984 violence 'painful', says SAD chief Badal

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday dubbed the acquittal of former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case related to the killing of a man during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi as ''painful'' and ''shocking'' and said it was a ''black day'' for the country's minorities.

A Delhi court gave Kumar the benefit of the doubt while acquitting him. The Congress leader was accused of various offences punishable under the Indian Penal Code, including promoting enmity between different groups (Section 153A), abetment of any offence (Section 109), murder (Section 302) and rioting (147).

The riots had broken out after the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.

The acquittal of the Congress leader is “painful and shocking”, Badal said in a statement.

''This has hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community which is still waiting for a final closure to the wounds afflicted by the Congress party and its henchmen who are still evading justice on one pretext or another. The acquittal amounts to rubbing salt on the wounds of the community,'' he said.

Asserting that the State had ''plainly failed'' to establish what should have been an open and shut case, Badal said, “Whosoever is responsible for the inability of the state to prove what is obvious as broad daylight owes an explanation on this. Be it complicity or ineptitude of the prosecution, this development is a shame for the civilised world”.

Stating that the Sikh community had been waiting for justice to be delivered in the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases for 40 years now, Badal said, “The inability of the State to bring the butchers to justice is bringing a bad name to the country in the comity of nations”.

Badal assured the Sikh community that the party would continue to assist the 1984 massacre victims and fight their cases relentlessly till the guilty were brought to book.