New Delhi, August 20: Former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar has died at Safdarjung Hospital after falling ill inside Tihar Jail, where he was serving a natural life sentence. The 80-year-old former representative for Outer Delhi had been convicted in multiple cases linked to the 1984 violence following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Legal representatives noted that his sentences were secured after special investigative teams reopened decades-old files.
“The Special Investigation Team instituted by the NDA government in February 2015 re-investigated the cases,” court records maintained.
His initial conviction came in December 2018 when the Delhi High Court found him guilty of abetting the murder of five individuals during the 1984 carnage. A second conviction followed for the murder of two men in the Raj Nagar area, resulting in an additional life sentence.
Following his 2018 conviction, Kumar resigned from the Congress party, ending a long political career that had previously sparked widespread debate and opposition criticism. His passing marks the conclusion of one of the most high-profile legal matters arising from the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
