In the ongoing judicial proceedings concerning the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, a Delhi court on Monday mandated the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to locate and summon Manmohan Kaur, a key prosecution witness against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler. This directive was issued by Special CBI Judge Jitendra Singh after the agency reported that Kaur was untraceable.
During the court session, Judge Singh also recorded the testimony of another prosecution witness, Bal Kishan Arya, and scheduled December 20 for the appearance of additional witnesses Anuj Sinha and N D Pancholi. The public prosecutor for the CBI requested the court to allow further efforts to contact Kaur, a request that was granted by the judge.
Tytler, who was present in court, is implicated in the case linked to the killings of three Sikhs at Gurudwara Pul Bangash in New Delhi during the riots that swept the city following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. Earlier, on November 12, the court completed recording the statement of Lakhvinder Kaur, widow of one of the victims, Badal Singh, who was murdered by a mob at the same Gurudwara.
On September 13, the court formally charged Tytler with murder and other offences, based on allegations that he had emerged from a white car in front of the Gurudwara Pul Bangash on November 1, 1984, and incited a mob that led to the deaths of three individuals.
In a related legal development last year, a sessions court granted Tytler anticipatory bail, subjecting him to a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and similar surety. Conditions of the bail included a directive not to tamper with evidence or leave the country without court approval. The CBI has charged Tytler with various offences, including rioting, abetment, and murder under the Indian Penal Code.
