1984 riots: Victims' kin challenge Sajjan Kumar's acquittal

Family members of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims Saturday challenged the acquital of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the case, saying the trial court failed to appreciate the large body of legally admissible evidence in its verdict.

Filing the appeal, Jagdish Kaur and Nirpreet Kaur, who had lost their close relatives in the riots, sought setting aside of the trial court's April 30 judgement.

The trial court had acquitted Sajjan Kumar in a case related to the killing of five people in Delhi Cantonment area during violence against the Sikhs following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi on Oct 31, 1984.

"The verdict was erroneous as the trial court had failed to appreciate that there was ample legally admissible evidence against Kumar to show that he had allegedly engineered the murders of five Sikh persons in Raj Nagar area of Delhi Cantonment," the plea said.

It was further submitted that the trial court ignored the statements of Jagdish Kaur, Jagsher Kaur and Nirpreet Kaur who were direct witness to Sajjan Kumar's presence and a "speech of hatred" given by him on Nov 2, 1984.