'We Were Beaten Up In The Police Station'

Staff Reporter, Times Of India. New Delhi, 30 May 2001

At about 8 in the morning on November 1, 1984, Avtar Singh Diwan heard a commotion on the street below his house. He saw a tempo carrying 20 or so people armed with iron rods. They were breaking open the locks of shops in Chuna Mandi, Paharganj.

"Three shops in our building - all belonging to Sikhs - were looted and the building opposite to ours was set on fire," said Singh on Tuesday, while deposing before the Nanavati commission inquiring into the 1984 riots in Delhi. "Sahni Paint House was set on fire and the Sahni brothers burnt alive inside while the mob went on a looting spree. The tempo's occupants were pointing out the shops that were targeted." All this was witnessed by two policemen who did not make an effort to stop them, he said.

However, it was on November 5 that the real ordeal began for the Singh family. "We heard the sound of gunfire and presumed the Army had moved in and was firing at the mob. A policeman came to our house and asked us to come down," Singh said. The family comprised Singh, his late father Faqir Singh, mother, four brothers, sister, his wife and two infant daughters. Narinder Singh, a cousin who had come from Punjab, was also with them. "We went down carrying cash and valuables with us in bags. But as soon as we went down, our bags containing valuables were snatched from us and we were forced to sit on Chuna Mandi road with our hands up."

"Narinder, who was not keeping well, was unable to raise his arms properly. Seeing this the policemen yelled at him and started beating him. One Armyman shot at Narinder and he fell down. My sister Ranjit, 13, rushed to tie her chunni around the wound but was hit by a policeman," said Singh.

After some time, the entire family was herded into an Army truck and taken to the police station. "We were all put in one small cell: Men, women and children. After a while, a policeman asked men to follow him to another room where some officials wanted to talk to us," said Singh. "Later we learnt that the officials were the SHO of the Paharganj police station S S Menon and additional DCP Amod Kanth."

"Kanth abused and beat up all of us and after sometime my father was taken to another room where he was again beaten. My cousin, who was bleeding profusely, was taken to hospital where he died on November 23," he said. Singh's sister Ranjit, unable to overcome the trauma, committed suicide some time later.

In his affidavit, Singh claims a false case was registered against the family on the basis of which they were lodged in Tihar jail from November 6 to 14.

On November 12, 1984, Singh and his father were allowed to go back home and collect their belongings, only to find the house ransacked. "They had taken everything. The place was a mess," Singh said.

Also deposing before the Commission on Tuesday was Swami Agnivesh, who toured several riot-torn areas.

"On the morning on November 1, 1984 I saw from the terrace of my house that several properties had been set on fire. Taxi stands belonging to Sikhs had been set on fire.

On his many tours through the affected areas, Swamiji saw shops and houses of Sikhs smouldering, marked by the conspicuous absence of policemen and firemen.

"On November 3, I went to Trilokpuri where I saw half-burnt bodies lying on the roads and some with smouldering tyres around their necks. The houses had been completely destroyed," he said.