Inderjeet Kaur (54), who lost nine members of her family during 1984 anti-Sikh riots, has termed the death sentence to one of the accused “too late”. On Tuesday, a Delhi court awarded death sentence to one of the accused, Yashpal, and life term imprisonment to another. Inderjeet, a Phase 11 resident, said that she lost her father, four cousins, two aunts and two elder brothers when a mob of around 100 people entered their house in Janakpuri and brutally killed them. “My mother and I escaped the mob fury as we were not at home at the time of the incident. We had gone to meet our relatives that day, but we lost our entire family. After 34 years of the genocide, only one person has been awarded death sentence. What about those hundreds of people who killed our families, raped our daughters and burnt our properties,” Kaur said. Dalvinder Kaur (56), who had lost her father during the riots, said that thousands of people were involved in murdering the Sikhs in Delhi in 1984, so why the death sentence was given to only one person. “We lost everything that time and if the governments are saying that they did justice to us after three decades, it is wrong. We want that all, who were involved in the riots, must be hanged to death. What about the political leaders who openly killed our families? Only we know the pain of loosing our families,” Dalvinder said. Advertising President of 1984 Sikh Rights Association Kashmir Kaur said that though they welcome the court’s verdict, they feel it is too late. “In a democratic country like India, it took 34 years to get death sentence for one person, while there are proofs that the senior leaders of a national party are involved in the riots,” said Kashmir. Gurdeep Singh (60), who escaped death during the riots, said that he was almost killed when a mob of more than 50 persons cordoned off his house. “We have been fighting for justice for the past three decades and many witnesses have died during the trial, but nothing has happened. We, however, welcome the decision,” he More than 60 families of 1984 anti-Sikh riots are living in Phase 11 and Phase 9 where they were allotted houses.

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