SIT investigation in 1984 riots: Kejriwal meets Najeeb Jung

Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday asked lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung to set in motion the process of setting up the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, by officially notifying it. In a letter to the L-G, Kejriwal asked him to appoint police officers from outside Delhi for a thorough and impartial probe of the most brutal incident in the capital’s history.

The Aam Aadmi Party convener thanked the L-G for supporting his government’s decision. Kejriwal also suggested names of three senior IPS officers from outside the national capital, who could be appointed to head the SIT, which is required to submit its report within one year.

‘Some of the witnesses are already old and setting up of the SIT is perhaps their last hope for getting justice in this country. Therefore, I request you to kindly expedite the setting up of this team,’ Kejriwal said. The Delhi cabinet, headed by Kejriwal had fulfilled the AAP’s election promise by approving the setting up of a SIT to probe, among other things, how half of the 587 FIRs registered after the riots were wrongly closed by the police under political pressure to save the Congress leaders who had allegedly led the mobs to kill innocent people in 1984.

The AAP is of the firm opinion that both the Congress and BJP are equally responsible for the lack of justice for 1984 riots victims. The Congress has tried every possible trick to save those who perpetrated and masterminded the riots.

The BJP, on the other hand, has used the riots as a political tool. It was in power in Delhi from 1993 to 1998 and at the Centre between 1998 and 2004. Except for shedding crocodile tears, this party did nothing concrete to ensure justice for the riot victims. The AAP hopes that the L-G would take all necessary steps to ensure that the SIT starts functioning at the earliest.