Gurgoan: Delhi Court has framed charges against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar for rioting during anti-Sikh riots in 1984 but Rajiv Gandhi the then PM gave him a clean chit a long time back.
When a high-level meeting presided by PM Rajiv Gandhi reviewed the Punjab situation, Punjab DGP Julio Ribeiro, demanded action against Sajjan Kumar to which Rajiv Gandhi lost his temper and told Ribeiro not to raise the issue again.
I came to know about this sensational disclosure while reading the book” Bullet for Bullet’ authored by super cop, Julio Ribeiro, along with KPS.
Gill is credited with the historical achievement of freeing Punjab from Pakistan-sponsored terrorism at grave risk to their lives.
“During my journeys through the villages of Punjab and my interaction with numerous Sikh villagers, I found that the massacre of Sikhs in Delhi, following the assassination of Indira Gandhi was troubling them. They wanted to know why the government had not arrested the culprits and prosecuted them. They also wanted to know why political leaders who had instigated the rioters had not been arrested. It was difficult for me to answer such questions, The truth was that there was no political will to conduct investigations professionally, but could I tell them the truth “, writes Ribeiro.
He further writes that he was the only officer at these meetings with the PM to advocate the prosecution of politicians accused of inciting the mob to kill the Sikhs in Delhi after Mrs Gandhi's assassination.
"At first, Rajiv Gandhi did not react to what he said. After he had repeated his views the third time S.S. Ray, Governor of Punjab advised him no to voice this sentiment again in the presence of the prime minister," Ribeiro.
Ribeiro further expressed that he was not sure whether Rajiv had asked Ray to communicate this to him or whether Ray himself felt that the prime minister did not like any reference to the issue.
He further writes that he was not one to stay silent when convinced that grave injustice had been done. Besides, it was he who was fighting a difficult battle to win the hearts and minds of Sikhs, and he had to win this battle to succeed in the war against terrorism.
According to Riberio, Ray was away from a meeting with the PM to keep an appointment with the chief justice of the Supreme Court, and he took advantage of Ray, 's absence to raise the issue of the Delhi riots and killings again with the PM.
When he raised the issue, Rajiv Gandhi lost his temper. He had never lost his temper with him, but since he had been warned, he was prepared.
Rajiv Gandhi told to Ribeiro that he did not want him to raise this matter again. Rajiv Gandhi further said that he could not agree to prosecute Sajjan Kumar, a Congress loyalist, merely because of some false allegations being made against him adding that Sajjan Kumar was present beside the body of his mother throughout the time it lay in state and he was witness to this fact.
However, Ribeiro thought that it was fit to point out to the PM that since the commission had indicted Sajjan Kumar, the prosecution would meet the requirements of form.
He further writes that Rajiv Gandhi was not an autocrat at heart and was amenable to reason but one must remember that he was brought up to be obeyed. His family had ruled for generations.
He had a natural inclination to command. Yet he was intrinsically a decent individual with good instinct adding that in most cases he was prepared to listen.
Ribeiro laments that on this particular issue, he was influenced by the fact that Sajjan Kumar was a loyalist, totally committed to the Gandhi family and his instincts told him that he could not let Kumar down.
August 26, 2023
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Pawan Kumar Bansal, Gurgaon-based author and senior journalist
pawanbansal2@gmail.com
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