Eyewitness Denies Falsely Implicating Jagdish Tytler
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In the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots case, a key eyewitness told a Delhi court that it is “wrong to suggest my testimony is false and fabricated,” denying claims of falsely implicating Congress leader Jagdish Tytler.
A key witness in the Pul Bangash Gurdwara Caselinked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, testified in a Delhi court that she was not coerced by the CBI or Sikh leaders to falsely implicate Congress leader Jagdish Tytler.
On Friday, Harpal Kaur Bedi, who witnessed the mob killing of three men during the riots that led to the burning of the north Delhi gurdwara, stated that she saw Tytler inciting the crowd, urging them to “loot and kill the Sikhs.”
The 70-year-old eyewitness explained to Special Judge Jitendra Singh that she remained silent out of fear for her only son’s safety and only revealed Tytler’s name to the CBI in 2016 after her son passed away.
During her cross-examination by Tytler’s attorney on Saturday, Bedi asserted,
“It is wrong to suggest that I was pressurised by the CBI or leaders of the Sikh community to name Jagdish Tytler in the case to falsely implicate him. It is further wrong to suggest that my entire testimony is a deliberate attempt to frame accused Jagdish Tytler in the case. It is wrong to suggest that my testimony is false and fabricated.”
The court has scheduled the next hearing for July 21 to record the statement of another witness.
The CBI, On May 20, 2023, filed a chargesheet against Tytler, alleging that he “incited, instigated and provoked the mob assembled at Pul Bangash Gurudwara Azad Market” on November 1, 1984, which led to the gurdwara’s destruction and the deaths of three Sikhs; Thakur Singh, Badal Singh, and Gurcharan Singh.
The chargesheet further claimed that Tytler exited a white Ambassador car in front of the gurdwara and urged the mob by shouting, “kill the Sikhs, they have killed our mother.”
The anti-Sikh riots erupted across the country following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.