1984 riots: Verma threatened against continuing polygraph test, files plaint

New Delhi: Controversial arms dealer Abhishek Verma, a witness in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, has filed a police complaint claiming that he has been threatened in an email and told not to continue with his polygraph test as a witness against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler.

Verma on Friday had moved a city court accusing a forensic lab of defending Tytler during his lie-detector test.

In his complaint submitted to south Delhi's Mehrauli police station, Verma has said that he received an "extremely dirty and threatening email" late last night on his company's general email address.

Police said that they have registered a case under section 507 (Criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication, punishable with a term of two years) of the Indian Penal Code and are investigating the matter.

In the said email, the language of which is extremely "abusive and threatening", threats have been extended to me and my family, Verma said in his complaint. He alleged that the sender has furnished exact details of his residential address and the cars driven by him and his wife and has threatened to kill him and his family.

Verma claimed that he has been asked to drop the idea of "deshbhakti" (patriotism) and "not continue with my polygraph (lie-detector) test at Forensic Science Laboratory Delhi as a witness against Jagdish Tytler".

Verma, who currently has three personal security officers providing him security as per the Delhi High Court's directions, demanded that his security be enhanced.

He has been undergoing the polygraph test at the government-run forensic science laboratory in Rohini here. He had alleged in his application before a Karkardooma court that officials of the FSL were holding a "mini trial" and acting in an "unfair and biased" manner.

The court had on the last date put up the matter for hearing on October 30 when the CBI will also provide a status report on the test.

The case pertains to the riots at Gurudwara Pulbangash in North Delhi where three people were killed on November 1, 1984, a day after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.