35 years on, Sikhs hope for justice

KANPUR: The Sikh community in Kanpur welcomed the formation of a four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe circumstances that triggered riots in Kanpur, following the assassination of then-PM Indira Gandhi in 1984. Kanpur was the worst-hit after Delhi, recording 127 Sikhs deaths, but only a few cases were registered.
The community is upset the police filed closure reports for want of evidence in most cases.

Late Gurbachan Kaur, sister of Avtaar Singh
On Tuesday, SIT headed by former Director General of Police (DGP) Atul was tasked with a "threadbare investigation" into cases in which accused were let off after an initial probe and a final report filed by police. Constituted on the directives of the Supreme Court, the SIT will submit its report to the state government in six months.
Avtaar Singh, 62, a grocery shop owner and resident of Bamba Road Gumti No. 5, who was 25 in 1984, lost seven members of his family, including his parents and five siblings. He said he's hopeful that the culprits, who have been roaming free for 35 years, would be arrested and sentenced to death. "I am highly thankful the BJP-led state government has set up a SIT to conduct a fresh probe into the massacre. None of the earlier governments-Congress, Samajwadi Party or BSP- empathized with the agony of families," he said.
“On November 1, 1984, as we were fleeing our homes, seven of my family members were battered and set ablaze before me. The mob killed my five brothers, Gurmukh Singh,10, Chhatrapal Singh,12, Gurcharan Singh,14, Joginder Singh,16, besides my 20-year-old sister Gurbachan Kaur, who was to get married after a month. My father, Sardar Vishakha Singh, 50, and mother, Saran Kaur,45, were also burnt alive,” said Singh, while recounting the 1984 horror to TOI.
‘127 Sikhs were killed, 4,200 houses, shops burnt down’
He said what’s more painful, was the attitude of police, who refused to acknowledge the murder of my family, when we approached them with a complaint.
President of Gurudwara Banno Sahib, Sardar Mohkam Singh said, “Nearly 127 Sikhs were killed, 4,200 houses and shops were burnt down, 1300 families were displaced and loss of property pegged at Rs 43 crore. Also, 2,845 writs were filed in court.”
Another elderly, Manjeet Singh, alleged soon after riots broke out on October 31, 1984, a curfew was imposed across the country.
“There was no curfew in Kanpur for nearly 35 hours to allow mobs to run amok and unleash a bloodbath on streets. The district administration did not provide the correct death toll. I can emphatically say at least 300 Sikhs were butchered,” he said.
Kanwaljit Singh Manu, vice-president, minority welfare board praised the state government’s initiative to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
“Since many years, we have been demanding the government take steps to ensure justice in 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases and punish the killers,” Singh said.
Vicky Chhabra, chairman, Punjabi Academy, Kanpur, said they submitted several memorandums to senior leaders and dignitaries in the previous and in present regime, demanding arrest and investigation.
“We hail the chief minister, although 34 years have passed, but we are hopeful, victims’ family will get justice,” he said.
After Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was convicted in Delhi recently, Sikhs in Kanpur got hope.