Court asks CBI to locate witness in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against Tytler

New Delhi: A Delhi court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to make renewed efforts to locate and summon Manmohan Kaur, a key witness and approver in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler.

Special Judge Jatinder Singh urged the CBI to determine Kaur’s whereabouts after the agency reported that her location was currently unknown. The court had earlier summoned her as part of the ongoing proceedings.

During the hearing, the court recorded the testimony of another prosecution witness, Bal Kishan Arya, and scheduled the statements of two additional witnesses, Anuj Sinha and N.D. Pancholi, for December 20. Tytler was present at the hearing.

The case involves the killing of three Sikhs at Gurdwara Pul Bangash in Delhi on November 1, 1984, during the riots that followed the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The court had previously framed charges of murder and other offences against Tytler on September 13.

Earlier testimony alleged that Tytler had incited a mob after stepping out of a white car near Gurdwara Pul Bangash on the day of the violence. The court had also recorded the statement of Lakhwinder Kaur, the widow of Badal Singh, one of the three victims, who testified that her husband was killed by the mob.