The Kanpur police have admitted that no records of the First Information Reports (FIR) filed in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh violence are available.
In reply to an RTI query from the All-India Riot Victim Relief Committee , the Kanpur Nagar police have said there are no records of the damage to property and the number of FIRs filed. The police said such records are automatically destroyed once in five years.
Committee president Kuldip Singh Bhogal said here on Saturday that after Delhi, Kanpur was the worst affected by what he called the 1984 “genocide,” and the victims were yet to get justice.
“The government says 127 innocent Sikhs were killed in Kanpur, but the real figure is around 300. In response to our question under the RTI Act, most of the police stations said no Sikhs were killed in their jurisdiction. There has been no arrest, and the records have been destroyed,” Mr. Bhogal said.
He said the committee would write to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, demanding a probe into the matter. He also demanded that the Special Investigation Team, set up to probe the riots in Delhi, look into the Kanpur violence, too.
“People say the Sikhs supported the BJP through the Akali Dal, now we want to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when will acchhe din [good days] come for the 1984 victims,” said Mr. Bhogal.
