Aditi Tandon, Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 16. In a significant development in the anti-Sikh riots case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, the widow of a victim who was burnt to death on November 1, 1984, today told a Delhi Court that the CBI hastily bailed out Tytler and didn’t counter-check his defence claims with key witnesses.
In the written arguments filed to support her petition challenging the CBI’s closure report against Tytler, Lakhwinder Kaur asked the CBI why it didn’t investigate the conspiracy angle against Tytler and why it didn’t question actor Amitabh Bachchan and Congress leader RK Dhawan to ascertain if Tytler was speaking the truth.
Tytler has said he had no role in the riots that left three persons, including petitioner’s husband Badal Singh, dead on November 1, 1984,. He said at the time of the riots, he was at Teen Murti Bhavan, close to the body of slain former PM Indira Gandhi.
The CBI, for its closure report, relied on CDs which Tytler supplied to prove his presence at Teen Murti House. However, the CDs neither mention the time nor the date. Yet, the CBI did not cross-check Tytler’s claims with actor Amitabh Bachchan and Congress leader RK Dhawan who were present at Teen Murti House and were seen in the CDs. “The CD showed the accused present at the gate of Teen Murti House very briefly.
RK Dhawan and Additional Commissioner of Police Gautam Kaul were standing next to Tytler. Amitabh Bachchan was also present close to where the accused was standing. These people were natural witnesses to prove the reliability of the undated and untimed CDs but the CBI did not examine them,” Lakhwinder Kaur said.
In another argument, the petitioner challenged the CBI for not probing the conspiracy angle.
“That day, Tytler went to the office of the Police Commissioner and yet the angle of conspiracy under Section 120-B, IPC, has not been investigated to ascertain the role of the accused in getting the release orders of persons arrested for killing, rioting and arson,” the petitioner said.
Further, although the CBI maintained that one US-based Resham Singh, the only surviving eyewitness to the Pulbangash riots, was not available for deposition when its teams went to the US, counsel for the witness GS Pannu today said on oath that he had approached the CBI repeatedly and that Resham Singh wanted to depose.
The case will come up for hearing on March 19.
