Witness comes foward

Sajjan Kumar ex congress MP

Chandigarh: The trauma Gurcharan Singh Rishi faced was so intense that for 23 years he stayed in oblivion, fearing that his persecutors may still be hounding him.

Though he survived the attempt on his life on November 1, 1984, in the Sikh genocide in Delhi, he continues to remain paralyzed and has burns waist below.

After all these years, he has finally received strength from Akal Takht that has asked people to come forward and testify against those who had indulged in the crime.

Having remained in hiding, first in Mohali and now at Balongi on the city’s outskirts, Gurcharan, whose entire family became victim of the riots, came out before the media today and said, “Even today Congress MP Sajjan Kumar’s voice echoes in my ears. While inciting his henchmen he told them not a single Sikh should escape, these dogs should be punished,” he said with a choked voice.

He said he was willing to make a statement before the CBI or any other court to ensure that the guilty are brought to book.

When asked why it took him so long to respond, Gurcharan, who was accompanied by his brother and some friends, said, “We registered an FIR in Delhi and took the same to the administration in Delhi and Mohali a couple of times, but no one listened to us. Till day not a single paisa has come to my family as compensation, but in the state I am in, it is not possible to continue my struggle for compensation or justice”.

Recalling his nightmare, Gurcharan said on November 1 he and his family were caught unawares by a mob led by Sajjan Kumar. “We were told that nothing will happen to us and they only wanted to ensure that no unwanted element was hiding in our house. The moment my father and my maternal uncle came out, they started hitting them. My uncle Santok Singh died on the spot. The rest of the family fled, but most, including my brother, were injured. I hid in the kitchen, but soon I was overpowered and thrown into a burning truck outside the house.”

He was rescued by Bonnie and Tarlok Chand, a Dalit and a Hindu neighbour, after the mob left. For three days they kept hiding in a burnt-down house of a relative.

On the third day, a rescue team took him to the ESI Hospital, while his father was taken to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. But they were discharged without much medical aid as a result of which Gurcharan till date has many open wounds on his legs and knees.

Gurcharan’s family approached the All-India Sikh Student Federation (AISSF) president Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad, who asked him if he was ready to face the media. Gurcharan told mediapersons that he saw Sajjan Kumar inciting his henchmen at Nawada in Delhi, who later burnt a Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Mohan Garden, where his father was the president and also properties of many Sikhs.

Apprehending threat to his life and his family, Gurcharan has sought CRPF protection and added that if anything were to happen to him, Sajjan Kumar should be held responsible.

Demanding that Sajjan and his henchmen like Kirpa Ram be punished, he said he was willing to file affidavits or statements as per law.