A prosecution witness in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case involving Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and others filed an application in a Delhi court, seeking police protection while alleging that she was approached by a stranger who asked her not to depose against the leader. Kumar’s lawyer rejected the allegation as “concocted… politically motivated”.
In the application, the witness, Cham Kaur, alleged that she was offered Rs 5 lakh if she agreed not to depose in court.
She was supposed to depose before a District and Sessions Judge, who did not hold proceedings on Thursday.
She, therefore, filed an application seeking protection. She alleged that a woman approached her with the offer of money since she had been struggling financially.
“Later when she met the woman, she told her that she will be paid between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh if she did not depose. She also offered more money if she wanted,” the application reads. It will come up for hearing on September 26.
Kumar’s advocate Anil Sharma rejected Cham Kaur’s allegation, saying her application was “frivolous, bogus and concocted”.
“This is the same witness who has never named Sajjan Kumar and has now moved a politically motivated application… In the last 34 years, we have never approached anyone related to the incident,” said Sharma.
Kumar, along with four others, is facing trial in connection with killings in west Delhi’s Sultanpuri area during the riots that erupted after former PM Indira Gandhi was assassinated. The court has framed several charges, including those of murder and rioting.
