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Few incidents may now be dealt with mainly for the purpose of showing
that the pattern of incidents was similar to those of Delhi. Smit.
Gurjinder Kaur ( No. 286) in her affidavit has stated:
“On 1-11-84, in the morning, I along with my husband late S. Balwinder
Singh, daughter Ginni aged 15 years, sons Manpreet Singh aged about 12
years and Bhupinder Singh aged 10 years and my employee Karnail Singh
was at my house situated at 81, Industrial Estate, Kanpur. In the
morning at about 10.30 a.m. about 500 - 600 persons came to my house.
They were raising slogans , ‘ Pradhan Mantri Indira Gandhi Zindabad”.
After breaking the gate they pushed out Fiat car No. UPG 8000 on the
road. Then, after breaking the inner gate and getting iron rods etc. in
their hands, came to the first floor. Then, they tried to break open the
channel gate but could not succeed. Upon this Ahmed shouted that the
cement grills be broken. Then Prem Die-maker, Ahmed, Mishra’s tenants
and others whose names I do not know but can identify if happened to
come before me came in by breaking the cement grills. Ahmed and Prem
Die-maker started beating my husband and Karnail Singh with attached and
iron rods. They were demainding two lakh of rupees from my husband but
the deponent’s husband had Rs.70,000 with him which he gave to Ahmed and
Prem Die-maker. In the meantime, while being beaten, Karnail Singh
jumped into the adjacent factory No.8. But the owner of that factory
Shri Gupta and his wife, on being pressed by the rioters turned Karnail
Singh out of their house. Then the rioters beat Karnail Singh with
bricks, stones and sticks and threw him in front of our factory. In the
meantime they came to the first floor and Ahmed hit my husband Balwinder
Singh with a Gamla in his head whereupon he fell down and they started
dragging him down. At this my daughter Ginni tried to save her father by
holding the hand of her father but Prem pushed her away. Meanwhile Ahmed
compelled the deponent to relieve her of the gold bangles and which she
was having on her person. After that they threw the deponent’s husband
on ground and the deponent car was set on fire and my husband Karnail
Singh were thrown in it. They also threw four to five wooden benches in
the fire. The fire raged and my husband and Karnail Singh were burning
in it. At this myself and my children screamed and shouted to help my
husband and Karnail Singh. Them some amongst the mob and Ahmed and Prem
shouted threatening that we shall meet the same fate if we fried (sic).
The deponent and her children got scared and kept silence. Ahmed and
Prem had a big hand in getting the deponent’s house looted and in
getting her husband and employee Karnail Singh killed. On 1-11-84 at
about 4 p.m. my brother-in-law S. Amarjit Singh who resides in
Govindnagar gave money to two policemen who then accompanied two Hindu
neighbours of his mohallaa who came in a tempo to rescue us and then we
all went to his house in Govind Nagar.
Smt. Amar Kaur (No.54), resident of Kakadeo area narrates another
incident of killing. Her husband had a motor repair workshop in
Transport Nagar and two of her sons were having separate business and
the third son works in the Indian Air Force. She has stated:
“I became very sad on hearing the assassination of Smt. Indira Ganhi and
started weeping. My husband S.Teja Singh was in the workshop in
Transport Nagar . Karamjit Singh (son) had a motor repair shop at
Gadariyan Purwa, Kanpur and my youngest son Varinder Singh was in IAF
and had come on leave and he was at home. On 1-11-84 at about 3 a.m. my
husband S.Teja Singh came home on a bicyccle. He was highly upset and
sad. My middle son Karamjit Singh did not come. That on 1-11-84 at about
12 noon a police veicle passed near my house and it was announcing that
curfew has been imposed and that nobody should come out. Sometime before
the arrival of this vehicle we were planning to leave for some safer
place but on hearing about the imposition of curfew we were satisfied
that nothing would happen now.
That on 1-11-84 at about 2 p.m. a mob of 2000 - 2500 shouting anti-Sikh
slogans came towards our house. From the window I saw that they were
having dandas, lathis, iron-rods, bricks, stones etc. in their hands.
They broke the boundary wall of my house and after breaking open the
door, started looting.
That when the rioters were breaking my boundary wall I made my daughters
and children jump to the house of the neighbour. Both my sons Kulwant
Singh and Varinder Singh also ran somewhere to save their lives. In the
house only me and my husband were left. When the rioters were looting,
they were shouting, ‘ Be quick, there are lot of things.’ On seeing me
the rioters pelted stones at me. I got badly injured and blood started
coming out from my head and ears. When my husband S. Teja Singh ran
towards the stairs, the rioters hit him with stones and fell down badly
injured. Then they beat him so mercilessly that he died. Then they
dragged him out and threw him on the burning motorcycle of S.Autar
Singh.
In my house there were big almirahs, big boxes, T. V. Fridge, beds,
crockery, utensils, jewellery, cash etc. and they were taken away by the
rioters. On 2-11-84 at about 5 a.m. my son Karamjit Singh, came along
with one Ajay (a rickshaw driver) on a cycle. When Karamjit Singh and
Ajay reached near the house some mohalla walas were standing there. They
asked as to who was there. My son replied that it was he, Karamjit. At
this the people standing there shouted to kill him as he had come.
People ran towards him. Karamjit left his cycle and ran. Dr. Mishra
residing at house no. 70/3, Vajay Nagar,Kanpur, hit my son with a spear
which hit him in the stomach and he fell down there. Then all the
rioters beat him mercilessly and set him ablaze after pouring kerosene
oil upon him.”
Reference to may be made to the affidavit of Smt. Manjeet Kaur (No.
106). She was a resident of Kakadeo area and has stated:
On 2-11-84 at 5 p.m. my landlord Mrs Bhatia and her sons Bhajana Lal
Bhatia and Naresh Bhatia compelled us to leave her house. Myself and my
husband begged them that they should allow us to remain there for 2 - 4
days more but they did not agree. Also we apprehended that if we did not
leave the house, both the boys would call the goondas and get us killed.
Left with no other option, we started from our house at 7 a.m. to seek
refuse elsewhere. When we were passing through A-1 Crossing there wee
some persons present here and there. They shouted, “Sardar jaa rahe hain,
maro, pakro.” On hearing this, people ran from all directions and caught
my husband and elder son Ravinder Pal and started heating them. After
beating them with lathis and stones, both of them were set on fire.”
These were certainly incidents of brutal killing and clearly exhibit the
animality in the rioters. Unless there was a total loss of respect for
human life, the manner in which the killings have taken place would not
have happened.
Reference may be made to the affidavit of Shiv Pyare Tiwari (No. 103 )
where he has said:
On 31-10-84 at about 7.30 p.m. when I was preparing my food at the shop,
about 500 persons started pelting stones at the shop. I get frightened
and came out of the shop. After sometime, the mob stopped a truck
passing that way, got diesel from it, poured diesel upon the shop and
set it on fire. I watched the burning shop up to 8 p.m. The mob asked me
to run away and abused me for serving at the shop of a traitor. They
threatened that if I did not run away they would throw me too in the
fire. I got scared and took the cycle from the shop and went to the
house of my employer.”
The Army not only helped in restoration of law and order but also looked
after evacuation , running of Relief Camps and provision of food and
clothing. It continued to be in the city till 7 p.m. of 12th November,
1984 and thereafter withdrew to the Cantonment. |
