New Delhi, January 2
The Justice Nanavati Commission, which is inquiring into the 1984 riots and preparing to submit its report to the Union Home Ministry, sees a ‘pattern’ behind the attacks on Sikhs.
“The evidence does indicate a pattern in which the riots took place and the pattern in which the attacks took place on the Sikhs,” Justice G.T. Nanavati said. However, he refused to elaborate on the merits of the evidence taken into consideration by the commission.
“All evidence has been scrutinised and the report will be submitted to the Home Ministry with recommendations positively by January 31,” he said.
The Commission, the second one to probe into the riots after the Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission, is expected to give its finding on the causes of the riots, whether it was instigated by politicians as also the role of the police and law enforcing agencies.
Many Congress leaders, including Union Ministers Jagdish Tytler and Kamal Nath, late Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, Vasant Sathe and Sajjan Kumar, were examined by the commission.
Allegations were also levelled against former Union Minister H.K.L. Bhagat regarding his role in the riots. However, he did not appear before the commission citing health grounds.
On the long lapse of time between the actual occurrence of the riots and the examination of evidence impacting on the probe, the commission Chairman dismissed it as ‘minor’.
The commission was set up 16 years after the riots took place.
“Some of the police files relating to the riots were not traceable. But these files mainly related to corroboration of certain statements given by Sikh representative bodies and would not have any major impact on the commission’s work,” the retired Supreme Court Judge said.
— PTI
