‘Welcome verdict, but want death sentence’: 1984 anti-Sikh riots survivors, kin on Sajjan Kumar's life term

While the victims, kin of slain persons and members of the community welcomed the life term awarded to Sajjan Kumar in a murder case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots on Tuesday, they advocated capital punishment for the former legislator.

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A special court, saying the case did not fall in the "rarest of rare" category, handed out life term to Kumar for the murders of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh on November 1, 1984.

Jaswant's wife, who is the complainant in the case, and the state had sought death penalty for Kumar.

The offence of murder entails a minimum of life term in jail and death sentence as the maximum punishment.

Jagdeep Singh Kahlon, general secretary of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the judges for “ensuring justice”.

"The Saraswati Vihar case was reopened multiple times, giving us hope that one-day justice would be served. Finally, today, the hearing was conducted with fairness, and the culprits responsible for the killing of Jaswant Singh and Tarundeep Singh have been punished," Singh said.

He added, "Although we demanded the death penalty for Sajjan Kumar, we accept the court's verdict."

Kuljeet Kaur, a survivor of the anti-Sikh riots, recalled her ordeal.

"We can never forget how our fathers and brothers were killed before our eyes. Kumar was already serving a life sentence in the Palam case, and this time, we wanted the death penalty for him," she said.

Gurlad Singh, who was leading the protest outside the Rouse Avenue district courts premises before the verdict, urged the government to challenge the order before a higher court to enhance the punishment to death sentence.

"We will not accept anything less than the death penalty. We are not happy with the verdict of the court. We will appeal to the government to go to a higher court," Singh said, terming the offence a "pre-planned genocide".

Another riots' survivor, speaking to PTI, said while they accepted the court's judgment and appreciated the judiciary for delivering justice after 40 years, their fight was not over.

"We will continue our battle until the other accused, Kamal Nath and Jagdish Tytler, are brought to justice and given the death penalty," the victim said.