1984 riots: CBI seeks time to reply to Sajjan's plea

The CBI today sought time from a Delhi court for filing response on a plea by Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and three other accused seeking removal of agency's nine witnesses, claiming that they were "irrelevant" in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
District Judge J R Aryan asked the CBI to file its reply on September 30 on the application of the accused and fixed it for arguments on the same day.
The court also fixed September 30 for CBI's reply on another plea of the accused seeking to summon records of the two other riots related cases which have already been decided.

CBI Prosecutor D P Singh told the court that they require more time as they have to see files of the old cases which have been decided by other courts long back. He said they have not been able to see the files as yet.
The court had earlier framed various charges including murder and rioting against Kumar, Brahmanand Gupta, Peru, Khushal Singh and Ved Prakash in connection with killing of a man in Sultanpuri area in the riots that had occurred after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. Accused Khushal Singh has died.

The CBI had earlier said though the charge sheet pertains to killing of six persons but it was only restricting the charge relating to murder of Surjit Singh and not of other deceased in respect of whom the trial had already taken place.

Kumar's counsel said in the plea that CBI had filed a consolidated charge sheet of three separate FIRs and the nine prosecution witnesses, who are not related to the murder of victim Surjit Singh, should be removed.
He said three separate FIRs were registered for the murder of six persons but if CBI was restricting its case to only one murder, then the witnesses who are not related to this murder should be removed.

Earlier, CBI had orally opposed the plea saying it is for the agency to decide who are relevant or irrelevant witnesses and whom they want to remove.
The court is yet to fix a date for beginning the trial by recording statements of prosecution witnesses.