1984 anti-Sikh riots: Court acquits three cops, one other

NEW DELHI: A local court has acquitted four persons, including three Delhi Police officials, in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case for allegedly killing three members of a family, holding that the complainant and witnesses turned "hostile and contradicted their earlier statements".

Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau acquitted then Station House Officer (SHO) of Nangloi Police Station, Ram Pal Singh Rana, then sub-inspector Dalel Singh, then Head Constable Karam Singh and Satpal Gupta of offences punishable under the IPC, including murder, rioting, kidnapping and threatening to give false evidence.

Proceedings against two other accused-- Prem Chand Jain and Ram Niwas-- were abated as they expired during the pendency of the trial.

While acquitting the accused, the court noted that the testimony of complainant Gurbachan Singh, whose three family members were allegedly burnt to death by the accused on November 1, 1984, was inconsistent and he repeatedly changed his stand.

"It is highly unfair for the special public prosecutor and counsel for victims to blame the State when the witnesses i.e. alleged victims are themselves inconsistent and wavering as regards the incident and do not support their earlier versions," the court said.

It also noted that Gurbachan had claimed in his affidavit before Justice Ranganath Commission in 1985 that the three policemen and Satpal Gupta had killed his father and two brothers, but during his deposition in the court in 2004 he did not specify the names of the accused persons and also resiled from his earlier statement that he saw his relatives being burnt to death in front of him.

"No reliance can be placed on such uncorroborated version and the statement being contradictory, inconsistent which suffer from material contradictions, improvements and after thought embellishments," the court said.

"I hereby hold that Gurbachan is a non-credible,unreliable and untrustworthy witness whose testimony on the face of it is tainted with a sense of extreme hatred and vengeance for the ruling party of that time," the judge said.