3 arrested by SIT probing 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Kanpur

A special investigation team probing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots on Thursday arrested three more people who were allegedly part of a mob that had set houses ablaze here killing several people, an official said.

As many as 127 people were killed in the riots in Kanpur. The special investigation team (SIT) was formed by the Uttar Pradesh government three years ago on the orders of the Supreme Court to reinvestigate the cases.

The SIT has so far arrested 22 people in connection with the violence that occurred following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards in Delhi on the morning of October 31, 1984.

The fresh arrests were made in two cases, one of which was lodged with the Naubasta police and the other with the Govind Nagar police.

The three arrested have been identified as Chandra Pratap Singh (67), Anil Nigam (61) and Ram Chandra Pal (61), the younger brother of Kailash Pal who was arrested on Tuesday.

They were produced before a court, which remanded them in judicial custody for 14 days, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Balendu Bhushan Singh, who is heading the SIT.

The accused have been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 147 and 148 (Rioting armed with deadly weapon) 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) 302 (murder) and 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house), he said.

Efforts are on to arrest 51 others of whom over a dozen have been traced but are currently absconding. They have been named in two separate FIRs lodged with the Panki and Govind Nagar police, the DIG added.

The crackdown started on June 15 after the SIT held four prime accused from Ghatampur, followed by two more arrests on June 21. Just 20 days ago, the SIT nabbed five more people.

On July 6, the SIT arrested four people, including two brothers — Yogesh Sharma (65) and Bharat Sharma (60) — both residents of Dabauli in Govind Nagar. Just three days ago, four more people were arrested.

It had earlier identified 96 people as prime suspects, of whom 23 have died. The details of about three dozen suspects were gathered and it helped the SIT nab 22 of them so far, the DIG said.

Those arrested so far, including Chandra Pratap and Anil Nigam, had attacked the house of one Swarn Singh. Both Swarn Singh and his son Gurvendra Singh were charred to death while Kailash Pal’s younger brother Ram Chandra had accompanied an armed mob to Dabauli to attack the house of one Vishakha Singh, the police officer said.

The rioters killed Vishakha Singh, his wife Saran Kaur, daughter Gurvachan Kaur, sons Joginder Singh, Gurcharan Singh, Chatrapal Singh and Gurmukhi Singh, he said Two family members, including Vishakha Singh’s son Avtar Singh, had managed to save themselves. Avtar Singh later disclosed the identities of seven prime accused, including Yogesh Sharma, his brothers Bharat Sharma, and former corporate Manish Sharma, who is evading arrest, the police officer said.

The DIG praised the 10-member police team who played a key role in nabbing the prime accused and announced a cash reward of Rs 10,000 for them.