A judicial body headed by a retired Supreme Court judge has recommended re-investigation into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The committee, led by former Supreme Court Justice GP Mathur, submitted its report to Home Minister Rajnath Singh last week, suggesting to probe the 1984 riot cases that were closed by the Delhi police, thus preventing them from reaching courts.
The Centre is likely to announce the formation of SIT and re-investigation of the riots after the upcoming Delhi Assembly Polls as the Model Code of Conduct is in place in Delhi, according to a PTI report.
The NDA government had appointed the panel to look into 237 cases related to the anti-Sikh riots that need attention. However, Justice Mathur committee has not mentioned it right away as to how many cases need to be addressed instantly.
BJP had demanded re-investigation of all the 241 cases (closed by police) pertaining to 1984 riots earlier as well. But only four were recommended for reopening by the Justice Nanavati Commission.
Of those four, CBI had filed chargesheet in two cases and five persons, including a former MLA, were convicted in another.
The anti-Sikh riots took place after two of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's Sikh bodyguards assassinated her on 31 October 1984.
At least 3,325 people were killed in the riots that affected Delhi as well as states including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Of all the deceased, 2,733 were killed in Delhi alone.
