New Delhi, January 13
Bhagwani Devi, a witness in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, is listed as untraced in police records. However, the 65-year-old, who lost two sons in the riots, is very much in Delhi and keen to give her testimony.
Bhagwani is not the only “untraced” witness ready to present her versions on the riots. There are at least nine more such witnesses ready to help protracted investigations into the mass killings.
Bhagwani claims that the police did not record her statement even once although she had been trying to give her testimony. She even filed affidavits before Justice M. L. Jain and A K Bannerji Committee in July 1987 and Nanavati Commission in 2005 seeking permission to present her version.
“My sons, Hoshiar Singh (21) and Mohan Singh (18) were dragged out of the house and burnt alive in front of my eyes,” said Bhagwani, who lived in Sultanpuri during the riots and now stays in Rohini.
“I lost everything when I lost my sons. I want the police to record my statement,” she told PTI, alleging that she had seen a Congress leader leading a mob and instigating it to “kill Sikhs”.
When asked why she kept quiet till date, Bhagwani, who earns her livelihood by working as maid, claimed that she had approached the police to give her statement, but the effort proved futile.
“The only thing the police did was to ask me to fill some papers for the loss suffered,” said Bhagwani recounting the 23-year-old developments.
She said a general fir was lodged in the Sultanpuri police station, but the police refused to file a complaint against the Congress leader.
