1984 Riots Kin Devastated as Sajjan Kumar Acquitted in Key Case
Victims’ families vow endless fight for justice after 42 years of pain and court battles.
Heart-wrenching reactions poured in from survivors and kin of 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims outside a Delhi court on January 22, 2026, following the acquittal of former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case involving alleged incitement of violence in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas. Despite the acquittal in this particular matter, Kumar remains imprisoned serving life sentences in other riot-related murder convictions.
Nirmal Kaur, who witnessed her father being burnt alive as a child, broke down while recounting her 42-year ordeal of shuttling between courts in pursuit of justice. “My father was set ablaze before my eyes. I have spent my entire life believing justice would come one day,” she told PTI, adding that the verdict has shattered her family once again and left her feeling completely destroyed.
Another grieving widow expressed raw anger, demanding that the man she holds responsible be punished and hanged. “If not, we will stay outside this court forever—even if it means dying here. We have nothing left to lose,” she declared, her voice trembling with decades of suppressed rage.
Also Read: #JUSTIN: Delhi Court Acquits Sajjan Kumar in 1984 Riots Cases
Wazir Singh, representing another affected family, pointed out that Kumar has faced around 18 murder cases yet continues to evade full accountability. “He was behind the killing of thousands of Sikhs. Our families have spent lifetimes in courtrooms,” he said, vowing to approach the High Court and Supreme Court if needed, showing no fear in continuing the struggle.
Bagi Kaur shared one of the most harrowing accounts—ten members of her family were killed, and she still vividly recalls roads strewn with corpses during the violence. “We had to jump over dead bodies just to cross the street,” she remembered. Having attended every court hearing without fail for over four decades, she questioned why the architect of so many deaths remains alive when others faced execution.
The families described the acquittal not as closure but as yet another reopening of unhealed wounds—lost loved ones, stolen childhoods, and unrelenting grief. Protesters refused to disperse, their cries for justice echoing long after the verdict, signalling that their battle remains far from over.
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, triggered by the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, claimed thousands of lives and left deep scars on the community, with justice still elusive for many victims after four decades.
Also Read: #JUSTIN: Delhi Court Acquits Sajjan Kumar in 1984 Riots Cases
