Phoolka demands probe if Rajiv had any role in 1984 anti-Sikh

Senior advocate and AAP leader H S Phoolka today demanded an investigation to find out if Rajiv Gandhi had any role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots after the assassination of his mother and then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Phoolka, the AAP MLA from Punjab who has been representing the riots victims in various courts for over last three decades, made the demand after Congress leader Jagdish Tytler is reported to have said that Rajiv Gandhi drove a car and took him and a security guard to various places in north and west Delhi on November 1, 1984, a day after the killing of Indira Gandhi that sparked the riots.
 

Tytler claimed in a TV interview yesterday that Rajiv Gandhi recced some areas in an Ambassador car to assess the situation. He said Rajiv Gandhi was extremely anguished and had told party MPs from Delhi to visit their constituencies and take steps to contain the violence.

Phoolka told a news conference he would take up his demand with the Centre to reopen the whole issue in view of Tytler's statements and that the probe into this aspect may be handed over to the new Special Investigation Team(SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court.

As per reports, around 2,100 Sikhs were killed in Delhi alone during the anti-Sikh riots. Seven hundred Sikhs died in other parts of the country in riots.

Phoolka further said he has been informed that Congress party has taken a stand that Rajiv Gandhi had gone to the riot affected areas to pacify the crowd.

"This means that Congress admits that Rajiv Gandhi had visited these areas and the onus is on the party to show how the former prime minister pacified the crowd while the killings continued during and after his visit," he said.

Tytler reportedly said that Rajiv Gandhi had gone to the Lok Sabha constituencies of Congress leaders H K L Bhagat and Sajjan Kumar. He claimed that Rajiv Gandhi had visited Kingsway Camp, Sabzi Mandi, Ashok Vihar and Adarsh Nagar areas.

Tytler's role had surfaced in a case pertaining to riots at Gurudwara Pulbangash in north Delhi where three people were killed on November 1, 1984.

Tytler, who has denied any role in the riots, has been given a clean chit by CBI thrice in the case but the probe agency has been directed by the court to further investigate the matter.