Sajjan Kumar, Convicted Leader of 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, Dies at Age 80

Former Congress MP and leader Sajjan Kumar died on Thursday at the age of 80. According to initial reports, Sajjan Kumar was brought dead to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital. He was serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail after being convicted in two 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases. He emerged as a prominent face of the Congress in the 1980s from the North-West and Outer Delhi seats and was elected to the Lok Sabha three times (1980, 1991, and 2004). His political career was mired in controversy after his name cropped up in the 1984 riots. He resigned from primary membership of the Congress soon after being sentenced by the Delhi High Court in 2018. Sajjan Kumar was accused of inciting mobs and involvement in killings in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that broke out in Delhi after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. After a long legal struggle of nearly 34 years, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court on 31 December 2018.