1984 anti-Sikh riots: 2 more arrested in Kanpur

PTI

Kanpur (UP), June 21

A special investigation team probing the 1984 riots arrested two more persons for mass killings and setting a house ablaze, in which three persons were charred to death, said a senior official on Tuesday.

Sent to 14-day judicial custody

The two arrested persons have been identified as Mobeen Shah (60) and Amar Singh, alias Bhura (61). They were produced before the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, which remanded them to 14-day judicial custody.

The arrests were made from Ghatampur and the number of those held by the SIT so far has reached six.

The SIT was formed by the Uttar Pradesh Government three years to re-investigate the cases related to the riots, which had claimed 127 lives in Kanpur. The riots followed the assassination of then PM Indira Gandhi.

The two arrested were identified as Mobeen Shah (60) and Amar Singh, alias Bhura (61).

They were produced before the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, which remanded them to 14-day judicial custody, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Balendu Bhushan Singh, who is heading the SIT. Amar Singh is a history-sheeter from Ghatampur and about a dozen criminal cases are registered against him. He is also actively associated with the notorious “Nanha gang” of the region, the DIG said.

They have been booked under Sections 396 (dacoity with murder) and 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) of the IPC, he said.

Efforts are being made to arrest all absconding perpetrators at the earliest, the DIG said.

The crackdown against the accused started on June 15 after the SIT arrested four prime accused from Ghatampur.

The SIT was constituted by the state government on May 27, 2019, on the orders of the Supreme Court and it has been probing the anti-Sikh riots for the past three years and efforts are on to nab more suspects, said the DIG.

The SIT earlier had identified 96 people as prime suspects, of which 22 have died. Complete information about 11 suspects was gathered and it helped the SIT to nab six of them so far, he said.

The DIG said the arrested persons had accompanied dozens of others in a couple of buses to reach Nirala Nagar for setting the house of one Gurudyal Singh on fire in 1984.

There were 12 families residing at Gurudyal’s house as tenants and during the attack, three persons were burnt alive. A rioter, identified as Rajesh Gupta, was also shot dead during cross-firing, he added.

“We have been investigating 11 cases after identifying 96 prime suspects exploring facts from witnesses settled in Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan. The SIT also found that 22 people have already died,” Bhushan Singh said.

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