Anti-Sikh riots: Punishment to 2 convicts today

After 34 years of anti-Sikh that broke out in the national capital, a Delhi court is expected to announce the quantum of punishment to two of the convicts- Naresh Sehrawat and Yashpal Singh today.

The kin of the victims are hopeful that the court will give capital punishment to Sehrawat and Singh.

Sangat Singh lost his brother, Hardev Singh, in Delhi's Mahipalpur area during the mayhem that broke out against the Sikhs in the aftermath of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination by Sikh bodyguards.

The two convicts are charged with murdering Hardev Singh. His brother, after more than three decades, hopes to find a mental closure.

"We are optimistic, and hoping for capital punishment for the convicts, only then the justice will be served. We have faced many difficulties, and are thankful to the Delhi Shiromani Committee for helping us to get justice," said Sangat Singh, while remembering his brother Hardev.

Sehrawat and Singh were earlier booked on the charges of criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, rioting, weapon possession, attempt to murder and murder etc under Sections 452, 302, 307, 324, 395, 436 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code.

According to official figures, about 2,800 Sikhs were killed by rioting mobs across India, including 2,100 in Delhi alone, during the 1984 clashes.