1984 anti-Sikh riots: No fresh FIR against Jagdish Tytler, CBI to court

New Delhi: CBI on Friday told a Delhi court that no fresh FIR has been lodged against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, who has been given clean chit in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, on allegations of influencing witness and money laundering.

CBI's reply came while responding to the court's query whether the agency has registered any case against Tytler under sections 193 (punishment for false evidence), 195A (threatening a person to give false evidence) of IPC and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

"An application has been moved on behalf of victim to know from CBI as to whether an FIR or separate complaint has been registered under sections 193 and 195 of IPC and PMLA.

"In this regard question has been asked by the court to the public prosecutor. He says no separate FIR has been filed.

The application stands disposed of," Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler said. The court has now fixed the case for July 30 for filing of protest petition against CBI's third closure report giving clean chit to Tytler in the case.

Senior advocate H S Phoolka and advocate Kamna Vohra, who were representing the victims, sought four weeks time to file the protest petition.

The court had earlier asked CBI to respond to allegations that Tytler had allegedly tried to influence a witness by giving him money and sending his son abroad and also alleged hawala transaction. During the hearing, Phoolka moved an application seeking status report from CBI as to what action it had taken on the allegations of influencing witness and hawala transaction.

On the allegation of sending witness Surinder Singh Granthi to Canada, he said documents are available with CBI.

"These two are separate offences and CBI should tell what action it has taken on these allegations. A separate case needs to be registered and action is to be taken on these two offences," Phoolka argued.

The CBI prosecutor, however, said that victims' counsel should file written arguments and the agency will reply, as it was not possible to answer each and every question individually.

He said a closure report was earlier also filed by the agency and it was accepted by a magisterial court.

The order was challenged before a sessions court which had directed CBI to examine several witnesses but addresses of some of them were not available.

Allegations of influencing witness and hawala transaction had surfaced from the statement of arms dealer and navy war room leak case accused Abhishek Verma, which was recorded before the court during the last hearing.

During arguments on CBI's third closure report, the agency had claimed that Verma had deposed before it that Tytler had told him in 2008 that he had met the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after which he got a clean chit over his alleged role in a 1984 riots case.

CBI had said in its closure report that Verma's oral evidence indicated that Tytler might have tried to influence witness Surinder, adding that this fact could not be verified as Surinder has since expired.

Verma, who is at present lodged in a jail and whose statement was recorded by CBI on August 5, 2013, had said that the conversation between him and Tytler took place after his release from jail in the leak case when they were going to a farmhouse of Gopal Kanda, the then Congress MLA of Haryana, in August-September 2008.

CBI had also recorded the statement of megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who had visited Teen Murti House where the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's body was lying in state.

Amitabh Bachchan, whose testimony was recorded on June 15, 2013, has told CBI that he does not recollect whether Tytler was present at Teen Murti House.

The agency had also recorded the statement of R K Dhawan, who was the special assistant to Indira Gandhi, and Gautam Kaul, the then additional commissioner of police.

The court had earlier issued notice to the complainant and victim Lakhvinder, whose husband Badal Singh was killed during the riots, on the closure report.

CBI had said it has conducted further probe in the case, as directed by a sessions court in April 2013, and filed a closure report in the matter.

The sessions court had on April 10, 2013 set aside CBI's closure report giving clean chit to Tytler and ordered reopening of investigation into the killing of three persons.

The case pertains to riots at Gurudwara Pulbangash in North Delhi where three people were killed on November 1, 1984 after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

CBI had claimed Tytler was not present at the gurudwara during the riots and was rather at Teen Murti House.

Tytler's alleged role in the case relating to the killing of three persons--Badal Singh, Thakur Singh and Gurcharan Singh--near Gurudwara Pulbangash was re-investigated by CBI after a court had in December 2007 refused to accept its closure report.

Some of the witnesses had alleged that during the riots, Tytler was instigating the mob to kill Sikhs, a charge strongly refuted by him.