Jasbir Singh Testifies to CBI - Part One

I am too exhausted to write today; I did want to put this out to you, though.

More tomorrow, I hope.

Another riots witness names Tytler, Sajjan before CBI
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Moga, December 26
After two days of grilling of Giani Surinder Singh, one of the two
eyewitnesses of the anti-Sikh riots being questioned by the CBI in
the USA, the two-member panel of the investigating agency questioned
the second eyewitness Jasbir Singh at Gaddar Memorial House in San
Francisco for more than four hours today.

The CBI recorded his statement with regard to the alleged role of
Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the riots. The questioning would
continue tomorrow, revealed Jasbir Singh while talking to The Tribune
on the phone this morning.

He said he had told the CBI officials that 26 of his family members
and relatives were killed in the riots and he saved his life by
hiding himself at the river-bed of Yamuna on November 1 and 2 and in
a High School building near the inter-state bus terminal on November
3 during the riots.

"I have told the CBI that the investigating agency should not term it
as riots because no person from other communities was killed,
therefore, it should be better to term the incident as genocide", he said.

"I have told the CBI very clearly that both Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan
Kumar were directly involved in the large-scale killings of the Sikh
families in Delhi", he said, adding that he had told the CBI
officials that he recognised both leaders.

The CBI has called him again for tomorrow.

Meanwhile, many Sikh organisations gathered outside the Gaddar
Memorial House and demanded justice for the victims of riots. They
also demanded the arrest of all those who were involved in the riots.
They raised slogans against the CBI alleging that they were asking
unnecessary questions to the witnesses.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, New York-based attorney and legal adviser to
the Sikhs For Justice, who accompanied Jasbir from New York to San
Francisco to record his statement, said they believed in the Indian
Constitution and laws but there was a need to formulate a "hate
crime" law in India, providing special prosecutorial procedures and
harsh punishments for crimes targeting religious minorities.

Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad, president of the All-India Sikh Students
Federation, announced that his organisation would file a writ
petitions in all respective state high courts where Sikhs were massacred.

Witness Statements Against Tytler.

This is the first time I've posted two posts about the same subject in one day. If you wish to check out today's first post about testimony against Tytler, go here. Evidentally one of brothers Giani Surinder Singh has given his damning testimony against the murderer Jagdish Tytler and how he incited the murder of us back in 1984. The other, Jasbir Singh is scheduled to testify later. Here is the latest story from

Newstrack India:

'84 Sikh riot: CBI records witness statements in US
New Delhi, Tue, 23 Dec 2008 NI Wire


A CBI team recorded witness Giani Surinder Singh’s statement in New York, USA regarding Jagdish Tytler’s role in organising massacre of Sikhs in November 1984. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York based attorney and legal advisor “SIKHS FOR JUSTICE” stated in a statement.

The CBI team recorded the statement of Giani Surinder Singh U/S 164 giving details of Jagdish Tytler’s role in leading and inciting mob to kill Sikhs during attack on Guruduwara Pulbhangash.

In this attack three Sikhs: Badal Singh, Thakur Singh an employee of DGPC and a former Delhi Police Inspector and Amarjit Singh were killed. The recording of witness Giani Surinder Singh U/S 164 will continue on December 23, 2008.

Attorney Pannun further stated that the CBI team will also record statement of witness Jasbir Singh regarding Jagdish Tytler’s role in organising massacre of Sikhs in November 1984. Despite initial reluctance by the CBI, it is through the constant efforts of Sikhs for Justice and All India Sikh Student Federation that the CBI finally agreed to record the statement of the witnesses in the United States.

On September 29, 2007, CBI filed a closure report regarding Jagdish Tytler’s role in massacre of Sikhs, stating witness Jasbir Singh cannot be traced and other witness Surinder Singh have refused to record statements.

AISSF and Sikhs For Justice, a US based human rights group produced US based witness Jasbir Singh before media within hours of closure report filed by CBI. Jasbir Singh who is presently living in US gave interviews to the media and showed his continuous willingness to record statement regarding Jagdish Tytler’s role in organising massacre of Sikhs in November 1984.

On December 18, 2007 Sanjiv Jain, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi Court ordered CBI to re-investigate the role of Jagdish Tytler in killing of Sikhs and record the statements of Giani Surinder Singh and Jasbir Singh.

As per attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, starting January 1, 2009 “Sikhs for Justice” in association with All India Sikh Students Federation President Karnail Singh Peermohammad would organise a “Justice Awareness Campaign” in order to reach out to witnesses and victims in 14 states where Sikhs were massacred in November 1984.

Sikhs For Justice, a New York based human rights group is fighting the legal battle in association with All India Sikh Students Organisation, President Karnail Singh Peermohammad to get justice to the victims of November 1984.

Defending Jagdish Tytler?

Yesterday I received a most remarkable comment on an old blog post, More On Mr. Jagdish Tytler. I will share it with you here and ask for your feedback, please.

Puneet has left a new comment on your post "More On Mr. Jagdish Tytler":

I don't know if anyone realizes this but Jagdish Tytler is really a Sikh. His mother was Dayal Kaur and father was a Kapoor.
His father had died when he was a baby and Tytler helped rear him, hence the name. Jagdish has gone to Gurudwaras his whole life and as an ode to his mother he got married in a Gurudwara by a Granthi. He would never dream of harming a Sikh because he loved his mother dearly.
Things got so twisted in 1984 and it was a case of mistaken identity. People made up stories out of rumors. He is a Sikh by blood.

I responded thus:

This is a most remarkable and controversial comment, so much so that I am going to write it up in a separate post, which I hope to get up later today. Here, I will only say that the only people who are "Sikh by blood" are our shaheeds. While one can be blessed to be born into a Sikh family, no one is born a Sikh; that is a choice, a decision. Being a Sikh is not genetic.

So...what do others say about Jagdish Tytler? From my research, whatever his mother may have been, he is no more a Sikh than was his master, Indira Gandhi. I still wish to see him dangling at the end of a rope.

After we dispose of these criminals, I'll be a good little Sikh and oppose the death penalty. No, maybe I won't. I'll be against it except for crimes against humanity. I will have to allow that one exception.

GENOCIDERS NEED TO BE CAUGHT AND TRIED

RADOVAN KARADZIC - CAPTURED!!

Is the only way to get justice to take matters into our own hands?

VAHEGURU! I hope not. I pray not!

KHALISTAN ZINDABAD!

More Laibar and Surinder - The Singhs Move Forward

So much going on right now. I have read in Sify News that Laibar Singh wants to go back to India if he can be guaranteed good medical care there.

Harpal Singh Nagra, President of the South Asian Human Rights group that was at the forefront of the fight for blocking Singh's deportation, said: “Though the CBSA told us last week that they will not enter the Sikh temple, I would now prefer that Singh should go back to India.”

He said: “Singh himself wants to go back if he is guaranteed that he will get the money for his medical treatment in India. We will raise money for him. I think he can get good treatment in India.”

We'll see if and how that plays out.

I read today in the Times of India that they are actually ready to depose Surinder Singh about Mr. Tytler's role in the murders in Delhi in 1984:


Printed from
The Times of India -Breaking news, views. reviews, cricket from across India


1984 anti-Sikh riots: CBI to record Surinder's statement today
21 Feb 2008, 0322 hrs IST,TNN

SMS NEWS to 58888 for latest updates

CHANDIGARH:

For Bhai Surinder Singh, a key witness in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case being investigated by the CBI, it's one battle won. The investigating agency contacted Singh's lawyer Navkiran Singh on Wednesday, informing him that his client should present himself in the local CBI office in Sector 30 at 11 am on Thursday to record his statement before DSP SS Kishore from Delhi.

However, there has been no word on Navkiran's other client, US-based Jasbir Singh, who apprehends threat to his life and has refused to come to India.

Both Jasbir and Surinder are witnesses against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, who has been accused of leading a mob against Sikhs during 1984 riots. Post the summons, Surinder sounded upbeat but claimed that the pressure was still there on his family in Delhi. "My daughter-in-law is being pressurized to lodge a false case of dowry harassment against me. In return, she is being assured a passage to Canada, where my son and her husband, now lives. We have been trying to send her to Canada for the past several years, but Tytler seems to have had an upper hand." Regarding his plea to the Punjab government to provide him security and means of livelihood since he cannot return to Delhi, adviser to the chief minister, Daljit Singh Cheema said the government "is doing the needful".

On Tuesday, he had told TOI that there had been no positive response from the CBI despite his attempts to contact it in the past one week. Earlier, on February 13, Surinder had reiterated his resolve to give his side of the story after years of "living under pressure and facing threat to life".

So much trouble in the world.

Nothing, of course, will ever make up for what happened in 1984. Justice against Mr. Tytler would be at least some justice. So will we finally get some justice for 1984?

We're waiting.

WE EXIST!

It seems that Sikhs willing to testify against Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar are coming forward. We have long suspected that the reason CBI never found anyone is that they were instructed not to find anyone. Here is an article from World Sikh News, telling of the most recent to come forward. We wish we had something we could testify to, but no one of note attacked us. Our prayers are with these latest to volunteer. It is, I think, a most dangerous seva.

Warning: Some of this is quite gruesome.



Sajjan Kumar incited mobs to kill Sikhs, says Gurcharan Singh


WSN Network

CHANDIGARH: "WE EXIST, You just don't see us" was the searing frontpage headline in a recent edition of the World Sikh News while bringing to the fore the continuous shame that haunted India as one of the other victim of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom came foreward to give a lie to the sham investigations by Delhi Police, CBI and others. That phenomena has caught on like bird flu for the Indian establishment. Yet another victim, a 42-year-old Sikh, has now said encouraged by other victims, he too is now willing to testify against Sajjan Kumar, the man accused by human rights activists and 1984 victims of leading the blood thirsty mobs but made a minister by Indian establishment. Gurcharan Singh, now confined to a bed and suffering, said Sajjan Kumar indeed incited the violence against Sikhs in Delhi and that he saw him actually doing that.

Not surprisingly, victim after victim has been claiming that, including those that the CBI found untraceable but the media found them within hours, only to see that they stayed steadfast to what they had initially claimed. The US based Jasvir Singh adamant on testifying and the India-based Surinder Singh being caught on camera by a leading Indian TV news channel CNN-IBN narrating in gory detail how Sikhs were burnt half-alive in Tytler's presence. Gurcharan Singh now says he saw Sajjan Kumar inciting a 1,500-strong crowd to kill Sikhs in the country's capital's Newada locality on November 1, a day after Indira Gandhi's assassination.

In a damning front page report on Wednesday (Jan 30), India's The Asian Age newspaper quoted Gurcharan Singh as narrating: "Sajjan Kumar told the rioters: ‘Is mohalle ka ek bhi sardar zinda nahin bachna chahiye. In kutton ko saza deni hai (Not even a single Sikh here must escape alive. These dogs must be punished).' He had come there specifically to direct the rioters, who were mostly from surrounding villages and bastis, but led by one of his henchmen, Kirpa Ram," Gurcharan Singh alleged. Then only 17 years old, the frightened young man claims he heard the Congressman's thunderous speech from the edge of the restive crowd that had collected near his home that morning.

"I wore a cap over my patka (under-turban) to disguise my identity," he said. According to him, baying for blood after Sajjan Kumar's venomous sermon, the mob began fanning out and targeting homes and shops owned by Sikhs. "They first set fire to the Singh Sabha Gurdwara at Mohan Garden and then stormed our home because my father Nath Singh was the president of the gurdwara," Gurcharan Singh said, recalling the worst morning of his life.

The killers did not spare any male Sikh. Gurcharan's uncle, who was visiting from Khurja, was hacked to death. His father was beaten mercilessly and left only because the attackers thought he was dead. "They thrashed my brother, Tejinder and me and flung our bodies onto a truck that they had just set on fire," he said. The two brothers were later dragged out from the smouldering vehicle by some young boys who had managed to hide from the killers.

The news report continues: "Gurcharan Singh escaped with his life, but only just. He has relived the horror and pain every single day for the past 24 years confined to his bed and completely dependent on the meagre care his poor family can afford. He was presented on Tuesday before the media by AISSF faction head Karnail Singh Peermohammed.

"He said he has decided to break his long silence after the recent appeal by the Jathedar (head priest) of the Akal Takht as well as positive interventions made by the Supreme Court. Gurcharan Singh believes "Sajjan Kumar was one of the masterminds of a state-sponsored genocide of Sikhs" and rightly deserves to be punished. But despite his own suffering, the bedridden Sikh nurses no grouse against anyone. "When they flung me into the burning truck I called out to Wahe Guru three times and I believed He (God) saved me for a purpose. Now it is up to Him to bring the guilty to book," he said.

It is wise of Gurcharan Singh to continue to have faith in Waheguru now, because the Indian state has failed him and the so-called leaders of the community who came into some political power have since found new agendas and secularized themselves, translating secularism as a move to shun all concerns of the community and their people.

Jasbir Ji and Laibar Ji and Kenya

There are two stories today that need to be reported, three actually, but two here, one concerning Jasbir Singh, one Laibar Singh, followed by a more personal statement.

The first is that the father of Jasbir Singh, the witness against [Jagdish Tytler] has reported that his son has been threatened in the United States. Here is the story .

84 Riots: My son being threatened, says witness against Tytler

By IE

Wednesday January 2, 09:23 PM

The father of Jasbir Singh, a key witness in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case
against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, today alleged claimed his son was being
threatened in the United States.

"Jasbir has told me that he was being threatened there," Sattu Singh said.

CBI had filed a closure report in the 1984 riots case involving Tytler and
had claimed that Jasbir, who had submitted an affidavit before the Nanavati
Commission that probed the riots, was not traceable. However, he told TV
channels claiming that CBI had never approached him to be a witness.

The investigating agency immediately sent him a request for recording his
statement to which he has not responded till date.

Asked about the possibility of Jasbir's return to India and assist CBI in the
case, his father said, "it's natural that if he comes here, the threats (to him)
would be more. They can even get my son killed."

He also claimed Jasbir's children, who are staying with their grandparents in
the national capital, were being threatened by some people apparently belonging
to the establishment.

"Four people came to the house and they started threatening. However, they
had to beat a hasty retreat after some neighbours intervened," he claimed.

The second story is from the Christian Radical , the zine of the Vancouver Catholic Worker Community about a community meeting in support of Laibar Singh. Although this meeting is primarily for those not of our Sikh and Punjabi communities, I thought it would be of interest to our readers, as well. I think that many of us have felt abandoned by the larger Canadian community.

And here is a shiny, brand-new blog, with only one post so far: Support Laibar Singh. Please visit it and comment.

And again, I hope someone has brought him a cheerful blanket.

Laibar Singh Community Meeting This Thursday

2nd EMERGENCY Community Meeting on Laibar Singh and Racist Backlash Against
South Asian Community

Thursday January 3rd at 6 PM
Lore Krill Co-Op
65 West Cordova (corner, just east of Cambie)
Wheelchair accessible.

Last Thursday there was an emergency
meeting called by concerned activists and allies to organize support for Laibar
Singh to stay in Canada. This meeting was also to organize against the racist
backlash fueled by the misinformation that various media outlets have been
spreading about Laibar and his supporters. We came together primarily as people
outside of the
Punjabi and Sikh communities, inspired by the strength and
solidarity that has been shown by those communities in the numerous actions that
have recently taken place in support of Laibar Singh.

This first meeting
was a success, with large attendance and the formation of 'Communities for
Laibar Singh'. At this meeting we resolved to take on a number of projects to
build support for Laibar, as well as find ways to support the work that is
already going on in the Sikh, Punjabi, other South Asian communities on this
front. Some of these projects include:
- A
public forum on Laibar's case, which will take place Saturday January
12th.
-Regular petitioning, tabling, and picketing on
campuses, skytrain stations, and other public places.
- Support for future
actions taken by the Punjabi and Sikh communities for Laibar Singh.

We
encourage people who are interested in getting involved with this campaign in
support of Laibar Singh to attend this meeting. This call is particularly for
allies in the community, acknowledging the need to disrupt the media's
characterization that support for Laibar Singh comes only from South Asian
communities. This call is also being made out of a sense of responsibility -
acknowledging that South Asian communities should not be alone on the forefront
to respond to current climate of increasing racist backlash.


For
more information please email
andrea_pinochet@hotmail.com.

My third story is more personal. Most of my husband's family lives in Kenya, which is currently suffering post-election violent upheavals. Their lives are in immediate danger. Without taking sides in this conflict, in some ways it reminds me of the kind of hatred and violence we experienced in 1984. I have posted about this in sometimes - 2. If you are interested, please read this post. Thank you.

--
Some see things as they are and ask, Why?
I dream things that never were and ask, Why not?
Bobby Kennedy

US Sikh Groups Rally For 1984 Justice

Now for absolute certain sure this blog will again be tagged as a spam blog. Three posts in one day! But this just came in and I want to get it up while my brain is in the blogging mode. And it has such a lovely picture of Mr. Tytler, who it seems is dying his hair these days!



1984 riots: Sikh groups in US rally for justice

Anirudh Bhattacharyya
CNN-IBN



STANDING FOR JUSTICE: Sikh groups in India and the US also want Tytler to hand to the CBI, the Doordarshan CDs.

New York: After CNN-IBN broadcast testimonies of key witnesses of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, Sikh groups across the world are pushing for justice.


Sikhs For Justice, a movement set up by 15 Sikh organizations in the United States, met recently at the Baba Makhan Shah Gurudwara in New York. Their objective is to ensure that those allegedly involved in killings during the 1984 anti-Sikhs riots are punished.


“We have two witnesses who will be present when the opportunity arises,” says Sukhwant Singh, Sikhs for Justice.


Sikhs For Justice is doing the groundwork to enable witnesses to testify against Congress leaders like Jagdish Tytler, Kamal Nath and Sajjan Kumar. But the resolution passed on Sunday goes further than dropping names. They demand a Judicial enquiry into the 84 riots, headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, that will look at the carnage not just in Delhi but also 9 other states. They also asked that the Akal Takht Jathedar and the SGPC appeal for witnesses to testify, offering them full protection.


“On behalf of Sikhs for Justice, in the coming two weeks, appeals will be made before the Supreme Court to take suo moto cognizance (of the cases). If the Supreme Court does not hear our pleas, then we will appeal to Sikhs at an international level, that they unite and go before the United Nations under the auspices of the Genocide Treaty, so Sikhs get justice,” says Balbir Kaur, Sikhs for Justice.


Sikh groups in India and the US also want Tytler to hand to the CBI, the Doordarshan CDs that he says show him near Indira Gandhi's body on 1st November 1984.
IBN



23 years since the riots, Sikh groups in America feel energized to form a front and start naming Indian politicians they believe were involved in the violence and to seek direct legal action in India. However, in Delhi, Sikh groups gathered at Majnu Ka Tilla gurudwara assuring support to Surinder Singh, whose chilling eyewitness account was broadcast on CNN IBN.


“It is not only Jasbir Singh or Surinder Singh who are a witness against Jagdish Tytler. There are many such people who are ready to give their account in the court,” says Karnail Singh, President, All India Sikh Student Federation.

Another Witness Against Jagdish Tytler Steps Forward

Another Witness Against Jagdish Tytler Steps Forward - there are also videos available at this link


New Delhi: On October 31, 1984, the then prime minister Indira Gandhi was shot dead by two of her Sikh security guards. Within hours, India witnessed its worst-ever communal riots.

Nearly 3,000 Sikh men, women and children were killed across the country.

The worst-hit was the national Capital where 2,733 Sikhs were killed. . (That is a truly bizarre and exact figure. I wonder if it includes my two little girls?)

Twenty-three years, 10 investigative commissions, 13 convictions and an apology from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh haven't done much to heal the wounds.

Nearly a fortnight ago, CNN-IBN tracked down Jasbir Singh, one of the key witnesses in the case, Jasbir Singh, to United States of America. This, after CBI said it couldn't trace him and therefore couldn't consider him a witness in the case.

Witnesses turning hostile was one of the biggest problems the prosecution faced in the case and the investigative agencies had to shut cases registered against various accused like senior Congress leader and former minister Jagdish Tytler.

But a CNN-IBN Special Investigation reveals the testimony of a never-before-known key eyewitness in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. The investigation has on tape, for the first time, the eyewitness account of Surinder Singh who claims he saw three men being burnt to death in the presence of Tytler.

Surinder Singh was reportedly the priest at the Pulbangash Gurdwara in north Delhi when the riots broke out. Given below is his testimony.

CNN-IBN: Te Tytler ne laayi aag onu? (Was Tytler the instigator?)

Surinder Singh: Jedi maheem di zimmedaari si o ose di si. Ek waari te main keh chukeyan o taan mere kolon likhwa ke le chuke hain asb kuch. Theek hai na. O jedi masjid hai na saamne, o masjid wale paase siga te lalkaare maar reha si oddaron lokaan nu ki.

Translation: (He was leading the charge. I have said it, I have given written statements. He was standing near the Masjid and egging on the mob, "Kill them! They have killed our mother.)

CNN-IBN: Tussi apni akkaan naal vekhya si? (Did you see this with your own eyes ?)

Surinder Singh: Mian apni akkhaan naal vekhyea teeno katal mere saamne hi hoye si. Badal Singh swere keertan karke 8 baje chala gaya. Te Azad market ch onu lokaan ne gher leya. a 1 tareek di gall hai, 1 st Nov di, Azad market ch public odey magar pai gai. O pajj ke amarsingh singh texla TV wale ne, road te hi onaa di dukaan si,onaa de ghar chhup gaya. Te o onu lab lub ke chale gaye te o mileya na, Ghantek baad ona nun fer pata lag gaya te fer o gharch hi wadd gaye. Te chat si odda ghar doosri manjil te. Oney apni kirpan kaddi hoyegi kise nu maaran layi par onu o kirpan kaddan hi nahi ditti,te duje bande ne pichheyon fadd leya te odi kirpan naal hi odaa tidd ( stomach) faad ditta. Utton assi dekh rahe haan sab kuchh. Assi te chuthi chat te haan te o te dooji chat te hai, te jadon taan odaa tidd faadta, tidd faadan naal banda marda nahi hai ik dam,marr da jaadon saans katti jaaye.

Translation: (With my own eyes I saw three murders. Badal Singh left after keertan at 8 am. The mob surrounded him at Azad market, I'm talking about November 1. He ran into the house of one Amarjeet Singh, and hid there. For an hour the mob could not find him. He came out an hour later. They spotted him. He ran to the terrace of the house. He brought out his kripan to defend himself. Someone grabbed it and stabbed him in the stomach with the kripan. We saw it all from our roof. After the stabbing Badal didn't die immediately.)

Surinder Singh: Te onnu thhalle suteya fer onane. Te thhalle sutt ke o redi hundi hai na koode wali,ode te onnu ladd ke leyaye hai, Gurudware de saamne,assi utton dekh rahe haan sab kuch, te naal hi nachde tapde log aa rahe hai, poore bhangre paunde,jiddaan vyaah shaadiyan da mahaul Honda hai na is tarah hi. Te saamne leya ke gurudware de, te onnu gurudware de saamne leya ke odde gale ch tire paaye hai, tire pehlaan hi otthe aa chukke sann. O jeda Badal singh si na onu jadon leyaye o tadap reha si banda ronda hai na jiddaan. Onaane odey Galey ch tire paaye, te odey uttey thoda jeya mitti ta tel chidkeya te onun aag laa deti, jeenda sadeya oh!

Translation: (They threw his body down from the second floor. Then they loaded it onto a garbage barrow. We were watching from the top. There they started dancing as if it was a wedding. They then brought him in front of the Gurudwara. There they put a tire around his neck, they had tires with them. Badal Singh was screaming and crying in pain but they put the tire around him, sprinkled kerosene and lit the fire. The man was burnt alive .)

Surinder Singh: Otton pehlan swere jadon attack hoya si, swere attack hoya 8 baje subah, ye mere naal inspector Thakur Singh si, o oddon Delhi committee de wich service karda si te sarkaar wallon retire ho chukeya si, police de vichchon. Te o raat da aaya hoya si Gurudware 31 tareek nu raat nu, 31 tareek nu hi lokaan na caran saad ditiyan si.. 8 -9 baje main katha kar reha haan te jedey sun rahe si unaadiyan caaran.. O police wala sadde otthe rehnda hi si kyunki odde behen -bhai jedey upar rehnde sann, swere jaddon onane sadde te hamla kitta te o mainu kehen lageya Gyani ji tussi bahar na jao mainu lokaan naal vartan da pata hai, main police vich rehaan te tussi pichhe rehna. Te o agge ho gaye main odey pichhe ho gaya. Uttey khalo ke kehen lageya eethe school khuleya hai Guru Teg Bahadur de naam te, bachchiyan da school hai 12 tak. Kehen lageya ki ethey 1,400 ladkiyan vichchon 1,200 ladki hindu hai, te 200 musalaman ladki hai. Te 60 teacheraan vichchon 50 teacheraan hindu ne te 10 teacheraan sikh dharma diyan ne. O samjha reha si lokaan nu par otthe samajhna kaun chanda si?

Translation: (In the morning, before the attack, at 8 am, Inspector Thakur Singh was with me. He was in our Gurudwara committee since her had retired from the police. He had come to the Gurudwara on the 31st. That night the mobs were already burning cars. In the morning when the attacks started, he (Thakur Singh) said Gyaniji don't go out. I've been in the police, stay behind me. He tried talking to the mob, told them there was a school nearby with Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims in it. But nobody was ready to listen to him.)

Surinder Singh: Police wale ne keha. SHO nahi si, SHO te thane ch band si, SHO sardar si Amarjeet singh, onu band kitta hoya si kyunki assi baad wich gaye hai na te saanu taan pata lageya. Othhe jidey aam police wale hunde ne o si.

Translation: (The policemen said the SHO was not with them. They said they had locked him up at the thana. Because the local SHO was a Sikh named Amarjeet Singh. He (Tytler) was there with the police.)

Surinder Singh also described the killing of another man that morning. A man who worked at a local television store, a revelation being made for the first time.

Surinder Singh: Badal jaddon geya na Amarjeet de ghar te Amarjeet da naukar mil geya te o vi sardar si te onu vi unaane maar ditta. Te odi laash vi Gurudware de stamen leja ke saadi. Teen matlab katal hue, Badal singh raagi da,police inspector Thankur Singh da te Amarjeet jo hai texla TV wala unaade naukar da.

Translation: (After Badal Singh hid in the TV shopowner Amarjeet's house. The mob found Amarjeet's servant. They killed him as well. The burnt him in front of the Gurudwara as well. So there were three killings, Badal Singh, Police Inspector Thakur Singh and Amarjeet's servant.)

Just days after the riots, Singh claims Tytler came to meet him at the Gurudwara.

Surinder Singh: On November 10, Jagdish Tytler came to the Gurudwara and asked me to sign on two sheets of paper, which I refused to sign.

Singh claimed that in his first deposition before the Nanavati Commission he had openly declared that if he faced pressure and death threats from Congress, he would turn hostile.

Surinder Singh: Nanavati naal meri gal baat hoyi te Nanavati ne mainu bulaya. Main saareyan saamne keha ki ye ye bande si par main onaanu keha main twaanu vi keh raha hun ki aaj sarkar dooji hai te main bayaan de ditta, kal nu sarkaar badal gayi main fer mukar jaana kyunki main marna nahi hai, seedhi jayi gal hai. Ye maine kaha Nanavati ko, sarakar ab fir badal gayi fir unka raaj hai.

Translation: (Judge Nanavati questioned me why didn't you speak up before, why have you spoken out after so many years. I told him that earlier it was the rule of the Congress Party how could've I said anything against them?)

CNN-IBN: Did they threaten you?

Surinder Singh: It did not happen once, it has happened so many times. Had I not done that things would've got over then itself because I am his sole witness, Jasbir Singh is nobody. He's come out of I don't know where. All this happened in front of me.

And here, if you have a strong stomach, is the interview with Mr. Tytler.

'I have CDs to prove I was not present at riot site'

New Delhi: Minutes after CNN-IBN telecast the statements of Surinder Singh, a Sikh priest who claims to have witnessed Congress leader Jagdish Tytler inciting a mob during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Tytler rubbished the statements.

In an exclusive chat with CNN-IBN Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Tytler said he had proof to negate Surinder Singh's statements.

Tytler claimed he was in possession of Doordarshan CDs that reportedly showed him near Indira Gandhi's dead body through the hours riots took place.

On a CNN-IBN special show conducted by Suhasini Haidar, Tytler also faced questions from H S Phoolka, the counsel for the '84 riot victims. The Congress leader said the timing of the appearance of the two witnesses reeks of a conspiracy against him.

Rajdeep Sardesai: You saw the statement Surinder Singh made on camera. I repeat what he said, "Tytler was instigating the mob saying 'Don't leave them, they have killed our mother.' What's your response?

Jagdish Tytler: He has also given an affidavit in Nanavati Commission saying he saw me at 9 o clock in morning. If you see the records when the session court trial took place, everybody said everything went wrong till 2 pm at that place.

Rajdeep Sardesai: Are you saying that what Surinder Singh has told us on camera is a lie? That he is changing his mind and that there's no question of you being there at the time uttering those words?

Jagdish Tytler: I just want to say that I have never been to that place and I have got the seven CDs of Doordarshan where I am with Indira Gandhi's body from 7 am to 3 pm. Everyone saw me.

Rajdeep Sardesai: Surinder Singh submitted his first eyewitness testimony before Nanavati Commission on January 12, 2002. At the end when commission finished it's hearing, it said there was credible evidence against Jagdish Tytler that needed to be investigated. So obviously Surinder Singh was being taken seriously. You are saying he is a liar?

Jagdish Tytler: I am not saying that. I am saying I have a proof that I was not there. I can give you the films just now. They are official DD films.

Rajdeep Sardesai: You claim you were there with Indira Gandhi's body?

Jagdish Tytler: I don't claim. I was there from 7 am.

Rajdeep Sardesai: But the bottomline is why should Surinder Singh say something like this?

Jagdish Tytler: After 21 years, this fellow comes and says all this. I don't understand this. There's someone behind this.

Rajdeep Sardesai: Who is behind it? Are you saying there are rivals within your party doing this? Are you saying these witnesses are only surfacing after you were given a clean chit by CBI last week?

Jagdish Tytler: I only want to know why this man did not go the sessions court trial in 1994. He did not go to any commission, he did not got to CBI when he was questioned.

Rajdeep Sardesai: He says he was frightened.

Jagdish Tytler: Frightened of whom?

Rajdeep Sardesai: Frightened of threats and pressures he was under. He says his life was under threat and he did not get the backing of the Delhi Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee. Therefore he turned a hostile witness.

Jagdish Tytler: It's all nonsense. He's talking rubbish. Can he name one or more Sikhs from the Gurudwara who can corroborate his statements? There must be other people too.

Rajdeep Sardesai: So you are saying that the granthi, who is on a hidden camera, is not speaking the truth. At no stage did you make that statement.

Jagdish Tytler: I was not there.

Rajdeep Sardesai: And despite that the Nanavati Commission said there was credible evidence? So you say the Commission is also lying?

Jagdish Tytler: Nanavati Commission only commented on his statement.

Rajdeep Sardesai: Surinder Singh says he turned hostile due to pressures. He claims he was abducted thrice, that police was hand-in-glove with powerful people.

Jagdish Tytler: I have a tape that shows I am not there. So the whole thing becomes a lie.

Rajdeep Sardesai: Why did you not submit the tape to CBI?

Jagdish Tytler: I did submit to CBI and the man himself has gone and said he did not see me. He got papers in his hand, legally.

Rajdeep Sardesai: So are you saying there was no question of pressure or threats?

Jagdish Tytler: The question does not arise. Inquiry must be done and I think there's a conspiracy. After 21 years the man comes and makes a statement like, 'Doosri sarkar aayegi main fir badal jaaoonga (I will change again when Government changes)' What kind of a witness is he?

Phoolka reacted to Tytler's claims. "He was given dates to testify but he did not produce the tapes. Had he produced the tapes in front of Nanavati Commission, it would have considered it. If he is right, that would have been the end of it. He chose not to produce it."

Tytler responded by saying the clippings were part of a Doordarshan show recorded in 1984 and that he couldn't have produced it immediately.

Phoolka, however, maintained Tytler could have asked the court to summon DD on the tapes. "But Mr Tytler did not do this. I think there is something wrong there," he said.

Rajdeep Sardesai: But why did Surinder Singh change his statement in affidavit, denying he had seen Tytler. Now he has come on CNN-IBN making these dramatic statements. How do you explain the changing testimony of a key witness?

Phoolka: Surinder Singh has explained it himself. There's nothing for me to say. Let me tell you. Surinder Singh was a witness but police never produced him in the court. The sequence is very clear. I want to thank CNN-IBN for exposing it. It's great.

Rajdeep Sardesai: Mr Tytler respond to this. Mr Phoolka says the Delhi Police did not react because they were working under your instruction. Ironically today, we have a Sikh Prime Minister from the same regime.

Jagdish Tytler: My point is that in that Gurudwara, Surinder Singh was not the only person. There were hundreds of others, too. Can he bring another couple of witnesses to say I was there?

Phoolka: Not everybody would have seen it. They were all running to save their lives.

Jagdish Tytler: Let me tell you there is no mosque near the Gurudwara. There's one 100 metre away from it. I was never on the street.

Rajdeep Sardesai: So you are denying what Justice Nanavati says, that there's credible evidence against you?

Jagdish Tytler: Completely. I was not there. I am telling you again and again. I cannot be at two places at the same time.

Rajdeep Sardesai: Why did you not produce the tapes earlier?

Jagdish Tytler: I am telling you I gave them to CBI. Probably he went to CBI and told the agency in the affidavit that he hadn't seen me.

Rajdeep Sardesai: Why would Justice Nanavati say there was credible evidence against him?

Jagdish Tytler: That was because of Surinder Singh's affidavit.

Suhasini Haidar: Mr Tytler, 3,000 people were killed in Delhi in those riots. Very few of them came out to speak. Is that not a testimony enough of the fear?

Jagdish Tytler: Let it be Surinder Singh's words against my tapes proving I was present somewhere else. Let the court decide what the truth is.

Ved Marwah who headed the first enquiry into the riots joined in the debate.

Suhasini Haidar: Does anything that Surinder Singh says surprise you?

Ved Marwah: It's very unfortunate that the proceedings have gone on for 23 years and if the witnesses are now changing their testimony, it's because the whole thing has dragged on for so many years. When I was called to Delhi Police – after the riots were over – I was given three months. But before I could complete it, I was asked to stop. Naturally, I couldn't proceed with it despite doing a lot of work. Commenting on Surinder Singh's or Tytler's statement is something that the investigative agencies must do.

Suhasini Haidar: But investigative agencies have failed and witnesses have retracted. Even Surinder Singh says he saw six policemen with the mob. How is the ordinary person expected to face up to such power?

Ved Marwah: That's true. If people can be burnt alive on Delhi roads, it doesn't speak too well of Delhi Police. That's what I was going to do if I was allowed to proceed with my inquiry. I had collected all records that did not put the police in very good light.

Suhasini Haidar: Mr Phoolka, is there any evidence you have that can nail Mr Tytler?

Phoolka: Full opportunity was given to Tytler. But he did not produce the CDs. So it proves he wasn't there (at Indira Gandhi's funeral). If he was, he would have placed it on record before Nanavati Commission.

Jagdish Tytler: I want to ask Mr Phoolka one question: there were 200 affidavits filed over that incident. Do any of them mention my name? Why me?

Suhasini Haidar: It's interesting you should say that. Surinder's testimony comes in the same week as Jasbir Singh's.

Jagdish Tytler: That's not his testimony. Jasbir's is a different case.

Rajdeep Sardesai: Are you suggesting, Mr Tytler, that it's all a conspiracy?

Jagdish Tytler: It's all a conspiracy.

Rajdeep Sardesai: By a section of Congress leadership?

Jagdish Tytler: I would not say that.

Rajdeep Sardesai: By your political rivals?

Jagdish Tytler: Anyone.

Rajdeep Sardesai: Is it people who wouldn't want you to come back to power?

Jagdish Tytler: That's for police to find out. CBI must find out.

Rajdeep Sardesai: Are you ready for a situation that Surinder Singh goes to CBI with the statement he has made to CNN-IBN?

Jagdish Tytler: Oh yes. He should also prove his case by bringing in more people.

Suhasini Haidar: Surinder Singh and Jasbir Singh are not the only people who accuse you. The CDs you speak of were not produced before CBI and they may not be there at all now.

Jagdish Tytler: It's part of government record.

Suhasini Haidar: Do you have those CDs with you?

Jagdish Tytler: I have a copy I got officially. DD still has the record.

Rajdeep Sardesai: Will you submit the CDs?

Jagdish Tytler: If they ask me, 100 per cent I will.

Rajdeep Sardesai: Two days from now are Gujarat elections, Narendra Modi has been accused of many things. In a sense, does Congress have blood on its hands for 1984?

Jagdish Tytler: Not at all. It's for CBI and court to decide.

Rajdeep Sardesai: You don't see any parallels between 1984 and 2002?

Jagdish Tytler: Not at all. I don't want to comment on this. All I want to say is I was not there and it's all a made-up story. Police must investigate this.

Suhasini Haidar: Can we have a look at the CDs?

Jagdish Tytler: Of course, I will give it to Rajdeep Sardesai just now. I will give it to CBI. Get a lie-detector test done on me and on that man too.

Suhasini Haidar: Mr Phoolka, what happens next?

Phoolka: If he has the CDs and if he can prove he was at the cremation during those hours, that's the end of it. But if he was so sure, he should have submitted it before Nanavati Panel.

Jagdish Tytler: Mr Phoolka, will you listen to me? You are a lawyer. Surinder Singh says he saw me at 9 am. But at the sessions court trial, the man whose brother died said the mob came in at 2 pm.

Phoolka: These contradictions are for the court to see.

Suhasini: Gentlemen, hopefully this will come up in court, hopefully it will go through a commission of inquiry that will come through with some concrete answers. Mr Marwah, before we end, what you are seeing here, what you have seen here is the testimony of one man, one man who could not speak in front of commission of inquiry and one Congress leader who was implicated in the riots. But we know that many senior politicians were also implicated in the riots, we know at least 3,000 people were killed. Is this what it has finally has come down to, that 23 years later the entire police force cannot find anyone at the top more guilty?

Ved Marwah: I think it is very tragic that no conclusion has been made about who is guilty and who's not in 23 years. But the sad fact is that I was the inquiry officer and I was given three months to complete and that didn't happen. And for the last 23 years some Delhi police officers have been filing one civil suit after another against me for doing that inquiry. So you see our criminal justice system is in a very bad shape and if things go on as they are people will lose confidence.

--
Some see things as they are and ask, Why?
I dream things that never were and ask, Why not?
Bobby Kennedy

Jasbir Singh WANTS TO TESTIFY

To avoid confusion, the gentleman wearing the black turban in the picture labeled 'Tytler Guilty' is Jasbir Singh., as is the above picture.

The other picture is of Jagdish Tytler.

I have heard that it is being said the Jasbir Singh Ji does not want to testify. Please read this story from The Times Of India. Does he sound even a little bit relunctant?

Reprinted from
The Times of India -Breaking news, views. reviews, cricket from
across India

Jasbir happy with order but cautious
19 Dec 2007, 0036 hrs
IST,TNN

SMS NEWS to 58888 for latest updates



NEW DELHI: Jasbir Singh, the man responsible for the court ordering a
re-investigation in the anti-Sikh riots case against Jagdish Tytler, told TOI
from California on Tuesday that he was happy with the order. He, however,
cautioned that justice was still a long way away.

"Twenty-six members of
my extended family were murdered. It was only because of the support of the
families of the victims that the case has come to this stage - otherwise it
would have closed," he said.

"This is the first step," he said.
"Thousands of Sikhs were murdered in a most brutal way and nothing was done to
stop them. But the order has given a new lease of life to the fight," he said.
Jasbir claims he was forced to leave the country after receiving death threats.
He, therefore, felt he would not be safe if he came to India to depose. "I don't
want to come to India to depose in the case. I want to remain in the United
States to give my deposition. My life is under constant threat in India. Had I
stayed there, I would have been dead by now," he said.

Jasbir's father,
Sattu Singh, was elated over the order. "Now we can hope for justice to be done.
I want my son to come here and look the culprits in their face and depose," he
said. Jasbir's mother however sounded a bit concerned with the proposition. "I
am scared that something might happen to him if my son comes here. It would be
far better for him to stay in America and depose," she said. Jasbir's wife
Prakash Kaur though happy with the court order was of the opinion that she would
wait till the culprits are finally punished. "The court's order has given me
some relief. But I would wait till the end and see the offenders punished," she
said.

Jasbir's mother-in-law, Gurdeep Kaur, was vociferous. "I want the
culprits to hang. We have endured the pain for many years and now I see hope,"
she said.

Oh, yeah, I totally agree with Bhenji Gurdeep Kaur. We have waited impatiently for TWENTY-THREE YEARS. TWENTY-THREE YEARS! That's a long, long time.

Eight members of our family were killed in our one house. There were others of our extended family killed elsewhere. Twenty-six members of his family were killed. Stalin, I think it was, said, 'One or two is murder. Hundreds or thousands are statistics.' This has been the attitude of the Indian authorities for nearly a quarter century. We are tired of waiting. For the first time in years, we see a glimmer of hope.

Nothing, of course, will bring our loved ones back. Nor should they be brought back. They are now our honoured shaheeds. In time, we will write stories and poems, and sing songs about them. They are and will, over time, become ever more recognised as part of our great history.

In the meantime, though, we need justice. We are not demanding that Mr. Tytler and Mr. Kumar be set alight and slowly burn to death while we watch, laughing. We are not demanding that their children be hacked apart in front of their mothers. We are not demanding that their wives, having witnessed the torture deaths of their husbands and children, be gang raped and then be left to fend for themselves. We are not even asking that their homes be looted and burned, nor that their sources of livelihood be destroyed. We are not asking 'an eye for an eye.' And we are not asking for vengeance. We are asking for justice. WE ARE DEMANDING JUSTICE.

This article, also from the TOI, wonders why Bhai Jasbir Singh went to the media rather than to the CBI. Oh my goodness, let me think for a moment. *rolls eyes* Might it just possibly be that he would like to live long enough to testify? Has that occurred to anyone at the TOI? In the media he is Jasbir Singh, Witness and Survivor. In India, he is a troublesome Sardar. He would prefer not to join the ranks of thousands of statistics, at least not before he has the chance to see justice served.

It is not clear how he will testify. It does seem clear to me, that we, the Sikh Community, need to keep a spotlight focused on our brother Jasbir Ji, in order to protect his life. As I stated above, to the Congress Party, he is just a bother that they would rather not contend with.

The Congress Party, of course, stands behind Mr. Tytler. To do otherwise would be to admit the culpability of their party in this whole horrible affair. That would be truthful, honest and courageous; Truthfulness, honesty and courage seem not to be traits of that party.

The TOI is further reporting that our witness also testified to the Nanavati Commission. What has taken so long? (See the preceding paragraph)

If you have not yet seen the TOI video, you may go here and watch.

Other Links:

NDTV: 1984 riots: Tytler's role to be reinvestigated

Sikh Sangat News: Even in United States, Jasbir Singh has enough reason to fear

CNN-IBN Article and Video: I saw Tytler inciting the mob: Jasbir Singh

Three Singhs - Laibar, Jasbir and Sukhvir - and a Tytler

Dear Friends,

I had another post written and ready to publish about Laibar Singh's continuing difficulties. But I stopped and thought. I am neither a preacher nor a beggar. You are all well aware of his situation and what is needed. For me to keep exhorting you would be, I think, disrespectful toward my readers. So unless something new comes up - assuming I keep control of myself - I will not keep writing about this unfortunate brother who needs our help.

A new story has come to light about someone willing, even eager, to testify against Jagdish Tytler, Mr. Jasbir Singh. I imagine I will, in the next few days be writing quite a bit about this. To whet your appetite, I suggest you go here, to IBN-CNN, read the story and watch the video.

One more piece of business. Does everybody remember Sukhvir Singh, the taxi driver assaulted in Seattle on Gurparab? Since he lives in the United States, he and his family bear the cost of his medical bills, which, as you can imagine, are quite high. A fund has been set up to help him. Any contributions can be sent to:

Gurdwara Singh Sabha
5200 Talbot Road
Renton, WA 98055

Phone: 425-226-2277.

Still more on Mr. Jagdish...

From NDTV.COM

84 riots: Tytler's clean chit questioned

Sunetra Choudhary Wednesday, October 3, 2007 (New Delhi) Congress leader Jagdish Tytler has much to thank the CBI for. The agency that has given him a clean chit in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case seems to have failed to follow up crucial testimony of a witness. The testimony of Jasbir Singh incriminating Tytler takes the case to an entirely different angle of conspiracy. But in its chargesheet the CBI simply said: ''Jasbir Singh could not be examined as he is abroad.'' What CBI has lost by not tracking Singh is the testimony he gave to the Jain Aggarwal Committee and the Nanavati Commission. In his affidavit Jasbir Singh said: ''I overheard Jagdish Tytler rebuking a group of men at the TB Hospital on November 3,1984, after Indira Gandhi's assassination. Tytler was shouting at them and telling them there had only been nominal killing of Sikhs in his constituency, so his position in front of central leaders was compromised. Tytler reportedly said he had promised large-scale killing of Sikhs.'' ''This testimony is the one that shows that there was a conspiracy. CBI should not close the case till they find this man,'' said H S Phoolka, Counsel for victims. CBI has a standard defence for these cases, they say they were handed the case 20 years too late and so no evidence, no witness. However their critics point out that the agency didn't try hard enough. Now the justice for carnage committee is filing a protest petition against the clean chit of Tytler.

--And from The Hindustan Times:

Indo-Asian News Service

New Delhi, October 04, 2007

First Published: 19:31 IST(4/10/2007)

Last Updated: 19:38 IST(4/10/2007)

Court questions CBI clean chit to Tytler in 1984 riots case

A special court on Thursday questioned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for giving a clean chit to former union minister and Congress MP Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in which nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed.

It directed the agency to continue the probe and asked it to file its reply by Nov 29.

... the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), a 'mini parliament' of the Sikh community, filed an appeal in the court questioning the CBI's decision even as thousands of Sikhs protested the agency's move.

...

Tytler was facing the charge of inciting people to violence on Nov 3, 1984, after the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Some 3,000(?) Sikhs were killed in the riots and thousands were injured. No reliable estimates are available on the damage to property but this is believed to run into billions of rupees.

The government had on Dec 29, 2006 announced a Rs 7.14-billion package for the victims to cover deaths, injuries and loss of property. (And how much, pray tell, is a dead Sikh worth?)

...

Last year, the central government had directed the CBI to reopen cases against Congress leaders Tytler, Sajjan Kumar and Dharam Das Shastri who were named by the Nanavati Commission for their role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

In his two-volume report on the riots, Justice GT Nanavati had observed that there was "credible evidence against Tytler to the effect that he probably had a hand in organising attacks on Sikhs".

Till now only 25 people have been convicted for the carnage. Among them is Kishori Lal, known as the "butcher of Trilokpuri" (the worst affected area of Delhi), who was sentenced to death seven times by the lower courts. The Supreme Court commuted them into life terms. (And again I ask, in slightly different words, how much is a Sikh's life worth?)

As many as 253 people were acquitted and 241 remained untraced. Investigations are pending against one and 42 are awaiting trial. Cases were withdrawn against three people and 11 first information reports were quashed.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=44e585e1-4b93-44b0-88d2-1de7866d7851

© Copyright 2007 Hindustan Times

WHY TRY TO FIT IN WHEN YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT?

More On Mr. Jagdish Tytler

This article showed up in The Hindu this bright Sunday Morning:

Date:30/09/2007

New Delhi

CBI has lost
credibility after clean chit to Tytler: BJP



Staff Reporter



‘The sentiments of the
Sikh community have been offended’ (*sarcastically*Oh, do tell! Maybe just
the tiniest bit?

)

NEW DELHI: Delhi BJP
president Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said that by giving a clean chit to Congress
leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, the Central Bureau of
Investigation has lost its credibility. “The sentiments of the Sikh community
have been offended due to it and people who were waiting for justice for the
last 24 years have been disappointed,” he said.

Stating that “the
Justice Nanavati Commission had also found Mr. Tytler to be the likely accused
person in this case and had asked for lodging a case against him”, Dr. Vardhan
said thereafter he was also been dismissed from the Union Cabinet in 2005.

Following the Commission report, the CBI had lodged a case against Mr.
Tytler in November 2005. “Weak evidence was prepared deliberately so that the
evidence may not stand in court,” Dr. Vardhan charged, adding that “`now the CBI
has decided to close the case it had started”. “The basis of decision is that
there is no sufficient evidence in the cases of the murder of Sikhs, riots and
arson. The CBI has made all the preparations to give Mr. Tytler a clean chit on
this basis. They have deliberately made preparations so that the Congress
leaders may be proved innocent,” he charged.

Describing the development
as “unfortunate”, he said the CBI had lost its credibility . “This is the same
CBI which had given Ottavio Quattrochi, an accused in the Bofors case, an
opportunity to withdraw money from his account and to get away from Argentina,”
he added.
© Copyright 2000 - 2007 The Hindu

My thoughts as I read that, maybe better kept to myself, but surely not my thoughts alone: Where is the spirit of Shaheed Beant Singh and Shaheed Satwant Singh now?

Yet, Again, Jagdish Tytler Goes Free

The following news story just showed up in my overflowing inbox.

I have often said that I would return to the subcontinent only for one of two occasions: to witness the execution of Mr. Tytler and his cronies or to celebrate the establishment of Khalistan. Unless something wild, weird and wonderful happens, it seems ever more unlikely that anyone will ever see my smiling face in 'India,' ever again. No surprise, of course, but still...

from Sify news

CBI closes anti-Sikh riot case against Tytler

Friday, 28 September , 2007, 22:49

New Delhi: The CBI on day closed a 1984 anti-Sikh riot case against
senior Congress leader and former Union minister Jagdish Tytler saying it was
unable to find witnesses to support its charges against him.

In its closure report filed before a court here, the CBI is understood to
have said that many of the witnesses in the case were either dead or did not
want to testify.

The closure report included the name of late Congress MP Dharam Das
Shastri.

Meanwhile, the agency filed a chargesheet in one of the related cases
in which one Suresh (not Sajjan?) Kumar was accused of inciting a mob against
the Sikhs.

Who are those refusing to testify? And why their refusal? Could it possibly be intimidation of some sort? I want to know.