Kanpur: The SIT formed by the Kanpur Police to probe into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case arrested one more accused on Tuesday, taking the total number of arrested to 35. SIT in-charge Balendu Bhushan Singh confirmed that they arrested the accused Rajveer Singh from Meerut on Tuesday. A total of 72 accused are still absconding in the case, he said.
The SIT (special investigation team) has been given time till September 30 by the government and the court to nab all the accused. The SIT in-charge said that continuous efforts are being made to arrest the remaining accused. Charge sheet has also been filed against 10 out of the total 35 arrested accused. The SIT was formed by the Uttar Pradesh government three years ago to re-investigate the cases related to the riots, which had claimed 127 lives in Kanpur.
The riots followed the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. The SIT was constituted by the state government on May 27, 2019, on the orders of the Supreme Court and it has been probing the anti-Sikh riots for the past three years and efforts are on to nab more accused. The SIT earlier had identified 96 people as prime suspects, of which 22 have died.
Also read: SIT arrests two more accused in 1984 Kanpur anti-Sikh riots case
The accused had accompanied dozens of others in a couple of buses to reach Nirala Nagar for setting the house of one Gurudyal Singh on fire in 1984. There were 12 families residing at Gurudyal's house as tenants and during the attack, three people were burnt alive. A rioter, identified as Rajesh Gupta, was also shot dead during cross-firing.
