1984 riots: court asks CBI to verify death of one accused

A Delhi court today directed CBI to verify the fact about the death of one of the accused who, along with Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, was facing trial in a 1984 anti Sikh riots case.
District Judge Rakesh Siddhartha asked the agency to verify and inform the court about it on July 17.
The court was told by CBI prosecutor D P Singh that accused Peeriya died yesterday but the agency was yet to verify this fact.
The judge also said that prosecution witness Prem Kaur, who was present in the court, could not be examined today due to death of Peeriya.

The court, however, observed "witnesses are coming and returning without being examined".
To this, the prosecutor said on one occasion the witness could not be examined due to lawyers' strike and on another hearing, she had come on her own and was not summoned.

The court was also informed that another accused Ved Prakash was hospitalised.
The court fixed July 17 for verification of death of the accused and recording of evidence in the case.
Sajjan Kumar, Brahmanand Gupta, Peeriya and Ved Prakash are facing trial on charges of murder and rioting in the case of killing of Surjit Singh in Sultanpuri area of West Delhi.

The court had in July 2010 framed various charges, including of murder and rioting, against Kumar, Gupta, Peeriya, Khushal Singh and Ved Prakash in connection with killing of the man in Sultanpuri in the riots which had occurred in the aftermath of the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. Accused Khushal Singh has since died.
The trial court had also framed charges for the offence of spreading enmity between two communities against the accused in the case.