CBI response sought on allegation Tytler influenced witness

A court here on Monday sought the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) response on allegations that Congress leader Jagdish Tytler tried to influence witnesses in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against him.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler asked CBI to clarify the efforts made by it to ascertain claims of controversial arms dealer Abhishek Verma that Tytler tried to influence one of the witnesses by giving him a hefty sum of money and promising to settle his son abroad.

The court has fixed the matter for October 28 after hearing the submission of senior advocate H.S. Phoolka, appearing for victim/complainant Lakhvinder Kaur, whose husband Badal Singh was killed during the riots, that in view the seriousness of the offence, the court should not accept the closure report.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Lakhvinder Kaur against the CBI's closure report - its third - giving a clean chit to Congress leader Tytler for his alleged role in the violence.

Phoolka, who is representing the victims, said the CBI's investigation was "faulty, tainted, dishonest and perfunctory".

The agency twice earlier gave a clean chit to the Congress leader. In April 2013, a sessions court rejected the closure report and ordered the agency to further investigate the killing.

The CBI did that but again filed another closure report on December 24, 2014 saying that there was not sufficient evidence to proceed against Tytler.