Witness denies pressure to name Tytler in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case

New Delhi: A key witness in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case told a court on Saturday that she was not pressured by CBI or senior members of the Sikh community to name former Congress MP Jagdish Tytler in the case related to the killings of three Sikhs in north Delhi's Pul Bangash .

Harpal Kaur Bedi (70) made the assertions while being cross-examined in the court of special judge Jitendra Singh by Tytler's counsels. "It is further wrong to suggest that my entire testimony is a deliberate attempt to frame accused Jagdish Tytler in the case. It is further wrong to suggest that my testimony is false and fabricated," she submitted.

The court has posted the matter for recording the statement of another witness on July 21.

Sardar Thakur Singh, Badal Singh and Gurcharan Singh were killed on Nov 1, 1984, in the mob violence in Pul Bangash following the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

On Aug 30, 2024, a special court ordered the framing of charges against Tytler for offences of murder, abetment, rioting, promoting enmity between groups and being a part of an unlawful assembly. It said the material brought on record showed prima facie that the accused was a member of an unlawful assembly of persons at the local gurdwara.

On Friday, Bedi claimed that she initially kept mum, fearing for her only son's life, and revealed Tytler's name to CBI for the first time in 2016 after his death.