Court frames charges against Sajjan Kumar

Additional Sessions Judge Sunita Gupta ordered framing of charges against Kumar besides Balwan Khokhar, Krishan Khokhar, Mahender Yadav, Captain Bhagmal and Girdhari Lal under various sections of IPC.

The court framed charges under Sections 120-B (conspiracy), 302 (murder), 395 (dacoity), 427 (mischief causing damage to property), 153A (promoting enmity between different communities), 436 (mischief by fire or explosives) under the IPC.

All the accused including Kumar pleaded not guilty and expressed their wilingness to contest the charges against them.

The court had on May 15 ordered framing of charges against the Congress leader in an anti-Sikh riot case relating to murder and spreading enmity between two communities after finding prima-facie evidence against him.

CBI had accused Kumar of provoking people against members of a particular community during the carnage that followed the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, leading to the killing of five persons in Delhi Cantonment area.

In his defence, Kumar had claimed before the lower court that the accounts of CBI witnesses were not reliable as they had changed their versions a number of times.

The former Outer Delhi MP had also contended that the case against him could not stand as CBI re-registered it even though a Delhi court had given him a clean chit, accepting a cancellation report filed by Delhi Police.

CBI had filed two chargesheets against Kumar and others on January 13 in the riots cases registered in 2005 on the recommendation of Justice G T Nanavati Commission which inquired into the sequence of events leading to the communal riots.