One accused in 1984 riots is dead, court told

A court hearing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case was informed on Monday that one of the accused in the case has died.

District Judge Rakesh Siddhartha was informed that the accused Peeriya died on Sunday.

The court asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to verify the fact regarding the death, and adjourned the matter till July 17.

The court is currently recording the statements of prosecution witnesses in the case.

Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, Brahmanand Gupta and Ved Prakash are facing trial in connection with the killing of a man in Sultanpuri area in west Delhi during the riots that erupted after then prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her security guards.

The court had framed various charges, including those of murder and rioting, against them.

The CBI filed two charge sheets against Sajjan Kumar and the others in January 2010 in riots cases registered in 2005 on the recommendation of the Justice G.T. Nanavati Commission, which had probed the sequence of events leading to the violence.