Amritsar, March 19

Jagmohan Singh, a 1984 anti-Sikh riot victim, passed away in Amritsar. He was 72 years old and is survived by his wife, two sons and three daughters. He and his brother Gurinder Singh were eyewitnesses of the 1984 riot and never deterred from giving statements during the legal battle against the culprits.

Jagmohan’s son Bhupinderpreet Singh, who now works in the education wing of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), said his father had not been keeping well for some time and he passed away at a hospital in Amritsar on March 17 due to a cardiac arrest.

Gurinder recalled that their house was burnt down by a mob on November 1, 1984, in Delhi. He said even though the court had directed the family be given compensation, it was never paid as the opposition challenged the verdict and the matter got delayed due to legal implications.

“We used to live in the Shastri Nagar area of Delhi, which was dominated by Congress leader Jagdish Tytler then. Our house was looted and burnt to ashes. In December 1984, we shifted to Amritsar and fought a legal battle against Tytler and his men,” he added. “Following a trial spanning several years, it was on my brother’s statement that the Delhi court convicted Mangal Sen alias Billa, Brij Mohan Verma and Bhagat Singh. The only regret is that the main orchestrators could not be punished in my brother’s lifespan.”