New Delhi: A day after being convicted in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, Congress leader Sajjan Kumar resigned from the primary membership of the party, sources in the party said on Tuesday.
The Delhi High Court on Monday set aside a trial court’s order acquitting Kumar and sentenced him to life imprisonment in the killing of five members of a family in Raj Nagar in Delhi on 1 November 1984.
“I tender my resignation with immediate effect from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress in the wake of the judgement of the hon’be high court of Delhi against me,” he said in the letter to party president Rahul Gandhi.
A bench of justices S. Muralidhar and Vinod Goel also convicted Sajjan Kumar for abetment, instigating violence against Sikhs and disrupting communal harmony. At least 3,000 people were killed when mobs allegedly led by Congress leaders targeted Sikhs after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
The court said the life sentence awarded to the Congress leader would be for the “remainder of his life” and directed him to surrender by December 31.
A Delhi trial court had acquitted Kumar in 2013 on the grounds that he deserved “benefit of doubt” as the key witness’ testimony was inconsistent.
Also read: Sajjan Kumar gets Life sentence in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case
Manjul comments on the continuous Congress support to Sajjan Kumar before he was stopped by the law.
Arvind Kejriwal welcomes court verdict
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal welcomed the court’s verdict today.
“I welcome court’s decision against Sajjan Kumar. At last after 34 years, the Sikh community got some justice. I hope other big leaders involved in this will also be punished and similarly, perpetrators behind the 2002 Gujarat riots and Muzaffarnagar riots also get punished,” said Kejriwal.