News agency PTI has reported that former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar has passed away.
After convicting him in the case of 1984 Sikh riots, the Delhi High Court sentenced him to life imprisonment in the year 2018.
Along with this, on February 12, 2025, a court had sentenced the former Congress MP to life imprisonment in the case of murder of two Sikhs in Delhi. He was serving his sentence in Tihar Jail.
Safdarjung Hospital has issued a statement saying that 84-year-old Sajjan Kumar was brought by the police to VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital in an unconscious state at around 11 am, he was immediately admitted and measures were started to bring him back to consciousness.
"Despite all necessary medical and life-support measures, he could not be saved and died at 12:30 pm."
"He had high blood pressure and Parkinson's disease and had been hospitalized several times before."
On the death of Sajjan Kumar, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) executive member Surjit Singh Gadhi told news agency IANS that what he did after the assassination of Indira Gandhi can never be forgotten.
He said, "Those wounds are still green, till today he has not repented for this incident."
Congress leader Pawan Kheda told news agency IANS that he received the sad news of the demise of former party MP Sajjan Kumar and paid tribute to him.
Who was Sajjan Kumar?
Sajjan Kumar has been a Congress leader and was active in Delhi politics since the 1970s. Sajjan first contested the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections in 1977 and was elected councilor.
In 1980, Sajjan Kumar defeated Chaudhary Brahm Prakash in the Lok Sabha elections and became MP for the first time.
Sajjan Kumar was accused of being involved in the Sikh riots in 1984 and Congress canceled his ticket in the general elections held in the same year. In 1991, Sajjan was once again elected MP. But after this he had to wait for 13 years to enter Parliament.
In the year 2004, Congress gave him Lok Sabha ticket. Sajjan contested the elections from Outer Delhi seat and was elected MP.
After being convicted in 2018, he resigned from the membership of Congress.
What were the cases against Sajjan Kumar?
On October 31, 1984, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was shot dead by her security personnel and after this anti-Sikh riots broke out in many parts of the country including Delhi.
The first case related to Sajjan Kumar was related to the murder of five Sikhs in Delhi Cantonment area.
Five Sikhs, Kehar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Raghuvinder Singh, Narendra Pal Singh and Kuldeep Singh, were murdered in Rajnagar area of Delhi Cantt.
Jagdish Kaur was a key complainant and eyewitness in this case. Her husband Kehar Singh and son Gurpreet Singh were killed in the riots. Raghuvinder, Narendra and Kuldeep were his brothers and Jagsher Singh, another witness in the case.
HS Phoolka, the lawyer for the victims, had told BBC correspondent Avtar Singh that on November 1, 1984, Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh were burnt alive in West Delhi.
Phoolka says, "Both of them were murdered and burnt alive. Their house was looted. Jaswant Singh's wife, daughter and nieces were also beaten badly by the mob. This mob was led by Sajjan Kumar."
In the records of this case, Jaswant Singh's daughter is victim 'Y' and witness number 11. According to records, he had alleged that around 4-4.30 pm the mob came again and attacked his house from the front and back.
He further said that he saw a crowd of thousands of people outside, who were carrying bricks, sticks and iron rods. The crowd started beating him and his head was hit with a brick.
The wife of the deceased had recorded a statement before the committee of Justice JD Jain and Justice DK Aggarwal on November 6, 1991, that she had later seen the photograph of the accused in a magazine and had identified him as the person who had instigated the mob.
A case was registered against Sajjan Kumar and other accused in 2005 on the recommendations of Justice GT Nanavati Commission.
CBI had filed two charge sheets against the accused in January 2010.
