B.RAMAN
In its online edition, “Outlook” has carried a
detailed chronology of the case against Jagdish Tytler, a functionary of the
Congress (I), in connection with allegations of his involvement in the murder
of some Sikhs during the massacre of about 3000 Sikhs in certain areas of Delhi
after the assassination of Indira Gandhi by two of her Sikh bodyguards from the
Delhi Police on October 31,1984. This may be seen at http://blogs.outlookindia.com/default.aspx?ddm=10&pid=2961&eid=5
2. The massacres led to two kinds of complaints by
sections of the Sikh community . The first was about studied inaction by the
Delhi Police in the face of the massacres without effective action to stop them.
The second was regarding the role of some functionaries of the Congress (I) in
the massacres. Three of the Congress functionaries accused by some sections of
the Sikh community of orchestrating the massacres were H.K.L.Bhagat, Jagdish
Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. Bhagat is since dead. Tytler and Sajjan Kumar faced
enquiries and investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
3. The Government of India ordered Ved Marwah,
former Commissioner of Delhi Police, to enquire into complaints of police
inaction. When it was found that he had taken his task seriously and was trying
to identify police officers guilty of inaction, the enquiry was taken out of
his hands. The whole thing was subsequently covered up.
4. The investigations by the CBI were perceived by
large sections of public opinion to be another cover-up exercise to protect the
Congress functionaries allegedly involved, particularly Tytler, who was alleged
to be close to the family of Indira Gandhi. Tytler did not suffer any political
or criminal consequences as a result of the investigations.
5.In 2007--- 23 years after the massacres--the CBI
submitted to the trial court a Final
Report claiming that there was not sufficient evidence to warrant Tytler’s
prosecution. As it was contended by some Sikhs that the CBI had not examined an
eye-witness living in the US, a Sessions Court rejected the FR and ordered the
CBI to further investigate the case and record the statement of the alleged
eye-witness living in the US.
6. The CBI did so and submitted another FR in 2009 claiming
that there was still no evidence to warrant the prosecution of Tytler. The
court accepted the FR this time and the case against Tytler was sought to be
closed once for all.
7. The “Outlook” narrative has quoted Ritu Sarin of
the “Indian Express” as finding out that two senior officers of the CBI had
recommended that the investigation should be completed and all the evidence put
up before a court in the form of a charge-sheet against Tytler and it should be
left to the court to decide whether the evidence is sufficient to convict
Tytler.
8. According to “Outlook”, Ashwani Kumar, who was
the Director of the CBI from August 2008 to November,2010, rejected their
recommendation and ordered the submission of an FR once again stating that
there was not sufficient evidence to warrant the prosecution of Tytler. This
was done. After his retirement, Shri Ashwani Kumar has recently been appointed
as the Governor of Nagaland. This appointment has come in for allegations in
sections of the media as a quid pro quo for his decisions favouring the
Government when he held office.
9. Following complaints by sections of the Sikh
community that there are other eye-witness now living in the US, who were not
examined by the CBI before submitting an FR for a second time in 2009, a
Sessions Court has ordered a further investigation of the charges against Tytler by
the CBI.
10. The massacres of about 3000 Sikhs after the
assassination of Indira Gandhi, with some functionaries of the Congress
allegedly playing an active role in orchestrating the massacres, has
illustrated the cover-up culture of the Congress, which pushed under the carpet
complaints of inaction by the Delhi Police and then sought to distort the CBI
investigation to ensure that no functionary of the Congress suffered adverse
consequences.
11. A clean chit was twice sought to be given to
Tytler on the basis of an incomplete investigation. He continues to be an important member of the
Congress, defended and protected by senior leaders of the Congress and he roams around as a free man appearing
in one TV channel after another to discredit the witnesses against him outside
a court of law.
12. In the years since 1984, the credibility of the
CBI as the premier investigating agency of the Government of India has
repeatedly taken a beating. The entire investigation process in the Government
of India stands discredited at the political and professional levels and hardly
anyone takes the CBI seriously
13. If the credibility of our criminal justice
system has to be restored and if we have to win the confidence of the Sikh
community, it is important that the further investigation against Tytler be
done in a time-bound manner by a special investigation team reporting directly
to the court.
14. We have failed to do justice to our Sikh
community for nearly three decades after the massacres were committed. It is
time to end this Government-sponsored charade of investigation and identify and
punish the guilty. ( 12-4-13)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd),
Cabinet Secretariat, Govt of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director,
Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For
China Studies. Twitter : @SORBONNE75 )
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