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INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - 1st April To 15th April - 2009
JAGDISH TYTLER SERVED CLEAN CHIT IN ’84 RIOTS CASE
On the eve of the lok sabha election, the CBI has recommended “no action” against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom. The clean chit to Mr Tytler evoked protests from Sikh groups, which have been alleging his involvement in the riots.
The CBI said that "sufficient evidence regarding the involvement of Jagdish Tytler did not come up on record.” A statement by the investigating agency, which reopened the case in 2007 on the direction of additional chief metropolitan magistrate of Delhi Sanjiv Jain, said the CBI has filed its report to a Delhi court recommending “no action” in a case related to an FIR against Mr Tytler filed in November, 1984. It said there were two affiants in this case — Surender Singh and Jasbir Singh. The CBI said Surender Singh, retracted from his first affidavit filed before the Justice Nanavati Commission alleging Mr Tytler led the mob and incited it to burn the Gurudwara and kill Sikhs. Jasbir Singh had left for the US, where a CBI team examined his statements. “However, the further investigation disclosed a number of inconsistencies and contradictions in the statements of Jasbir Singh and Surender Singh with the other evidence that came up on record. The analysis of all the evidence on record revealed that the statements of Jasbir Singh and Surender Singh were inconsistent, unreliable and unworthy of credit. The other witnesses had categorically refuted the claims made by them,” the CBI said. This is the second time that the CBI is seeking closure of the case of his alleged criminal conspiracy to engineer riots against Sikhs in 1984. In 2007 too, it had asked the court for permission to close the case arguing that it did not have sufficient evidence to proceed, but the plea was rejected.
Mr Tytler, who was accused by the Nanavati Commission probing the 1984 riots of having a "very probable" hand in organising attacks on Sikhs, refused to be cowed down by the opposition attack that his party has now become the “Congress Bureau of Investigation". "I feel vindicated. My reputation, career, family and children have suffered,” he said.
BJP spokesperson Balbir Punj said the clean chit was given on the directions of the Centre. "Otherwise, how did the CBI report which is supposed to be a secret get leaked to the media before hand? It has exposed the hypocrisy of Congress," he said.
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