New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) Around 500 members of the Sikh community Thursday protested outside the Congress office here demanding the names of party leaders involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
The protest came after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said during a TV interview that “some Congressmen were probably involved” in the anti-Sikh riots following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
The protesters, belonging to the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, broke barricades, raised slogans against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and waved black flags.
The protesters also flashed placards that said: “CBI should question Rahul Gandhi.”
“In the last 30 years, many have died waiting for justice. Only exemplary action against the guilty Congress leaders may provide closure to the families of those who died in the riots,” said Manjeet Singh G.K., president of the Akali Dal’s Delhi unit.
Though welcoming Arvind Kejriwal’s demand for a probe by a Special Investigation team (SIT), Singh questioned the Delhi chief minister for taking support from the Congress “which was behind the 1984 riots”.
Police said a few protesters were detained and taken to a nearby police station and were later released. The protest continued for a couple of hours and police used water canons to disperse the crowd.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday met Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung and submitted a request for a SIT to probe the riots in which more than 3,000 people, mostly Sikhs, were killed.