The face of Delhi politics 1984 riots convict Sajjan Kumar passes away

New Delhi: Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, died at the age of 80 on Thursday. Sajjan Kumar was rushed to Safdarjung Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

Sajjan Kumar, a three-time Lok Sabha MP, was once considered one of the most influential leaders of the Congress in Delhi politics. A politician from the Outer Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, Kumar was known as a strong leader, especially from the Jat community. However, the cases related to 1984 anti-Sikh riots completely changed the course of his political life.

The 1984 riots changed the political landscape.

Violence erupted in many parts of the country, including Delhi, after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. For the next several days, members of the Sikh community were targeted. Houses, shops and gurdwaras were set on fire and a large number of people were killed.

According to government data, nearly 3,000 people died in Delhi alone. However, the families of the victims and various organisations claimed that the death toll was much higher.

After three decades, the files of the investigation were opened again

After the riots, Sajjan Kumar was accused of inciting violence and instigating the mob, but no concrete legal action could be taken against him for a long time. His name did not figure as a prime accused in the reports of several commissions of inquiry and panels.

Nearly three decades later, in 2015, the central government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to re-investigate the closed cases related to the 1984 riots. After this, the files of old cases were re-opened and legal action against Sajjan Kumar was intensified.

The first major conviction in 2018

The biggest turning point in Sajjan Kumar's political career came on 17 December 2018. He was convicted by the Delhi High Court and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of five Sikhs and arson at a gurdwara in Palam Colony area.

After the conviction, Sajjan Kumar resigned from the Congress. After this, his political career came to an end.

Life imprisonment in another case in 2025

The matter didn't end here. In February 2025, a Delhi court also sentenced Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment in another case related to the killing of two Sikhs during the 1984 riots.

He was granted bail in a case related to the riots in April 2022, but could not be released from jail due to conviction in another case. He was lodged in Tihar Jail for nearly seven years.

He was not allowed to meet his wife

In April this year, Kumar had sought bail from the Supreme Court to visit his ailing wife. However, the court refused to grant him bail.

Now, at the age of 80, his death marks the end of a chapter in Delhi's politics that began with power and influence, but whose deepest connection came with one of the country's most painful chapters of communal violence.