1984 anti-Sikh riots: Death sentence for convict, another gets life sentence

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Tuesday awarded death penalty to convict Yashpal Singh for killing two men in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the first capital punishment in the case.

Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Pandey also awarded life term to co-convict Naresh Sherawat in the case.

Naresh Sehrawat, 68, and 55-year-old Yashpal Singh were convicted of killing the two men in south Delhi’s Mahipalpur during the riots. They have also been fined Rs. 35 lakh each.

The verdict on pronounced in the Tihar Jail due to security concerns after the attack on the convicts in the premises of the Delhi court.

On November 14, the court had convicted Singh and Sherawat for killing two men here during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the first conviction in the cases reopened by the SIT.

The Delhi Police had closed the case in 1994 for want of evidence. However, a Special Investigation Team on the riots reopened it. As per the records over 2,800 Sikhs were killed across India after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination by a Sikh bodyguard.