1984 riots: Court seeks Verma's presence on July 26

A Delhi court today directed controversial arms dealer and witness Abhishek Verma to appear before it in a 1984 riots case to record his statement on the issue of security sought by him.
The court is presently hearing the CBI's plea seeking permission to conduct polygraph test on Verma and Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, who has been given clean chit thrice in the case.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Shivali Sharma said Verma's presence was needed for recording his statement with regard to the issue of providing him security till he undergoes polygraph test as he apprehends threats to his life.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on July 26, when it has asked Verma to be present before it.
Verma's counsel sought exemption from personal appearance citing health problem which was allowed by the court for today.
During the hearing, the CBI's investigating officer (IO) said they have no problem if Verma is provided security round the clock till he undergoes lie detection test.

Regarding the main case, senior advocate H S Phoolka, representing riot victims, said the IO should be directed to record before a magistrate statements of witnesses who are aged over 80 years.
To this, the prosecutor said they would consider it and inform the court.

While Tytler has refused to undergo the polygraph test, Verma has given conditional consent saying he is ready to undergo the test if provide with round-the-clock security.
Verma, however, has agreed to the suggestion given by the counsel for the victims in the court that he be given round- the-clock security till he undergoes polygraph test after which the threat perception be re-assessed.
The court had on May 9 directed Tytler and Verma to give an "unambiguous" reply on whether they wanted to undergo lie detection test. It had held that the CBI's plea for obtaining their consent for the test was maintainable.

The CBI's move seeking permission to conduct polygraph test on Tytler and Verma came in pursuance to the court's December 4, 2015 order in which it was mentioned that the lie-detection test may be conducted, if required.
The case pertains to the riots at Gurudwara Pulbangash in North Delhi where three people were killed on November 1, 1984, a day after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Tytler, who has denied any role in the riots, was given clean chit by the CBI thrice in the case, but the agency was directed by the court to further investigate the matter. The victims had filed a protest petition challenging the CBI's closure reports in the case.

The court had in December 2015 directed the CBI to further investigate the matter and decided to monitor it every two months to ensure that no aspect is left uninvestigated.
The agency had reinvestigated the case of killing of Badal Singh, Thakur Singh and Gurcharan Singh near the gurudwara after a court in December 2007 refused to accept its closure report. The CBI has filed three closure reports in the case.