Gustakhi Maaf Haryana
Pawan Kumar Bansal
S.C refuses early hearing of bail plea of Congress Leader Sajjan Kumar, convicted in Delhi riots against Sikhs-Rajiv Gandhi gave him clean chit long time back. When at a high level meeting presided by PM,Rajiv Gandhi to review Punjab situation, then Punjab DGP,Julio Ribeiro, demanded action against Sajjan Kumar, Rajiv Gandhi lost temper and told Ribeiro not raise the issue again.
I came to know about this sensational disclosure while reading book” Bullet for Bullet’ authored by super cop, Julio Ribeiro, who along with KPS.Gill is credited with the historical achievement of freeing Punjab from Pakistan sponsored terrorism at grave risk to their lives.
“During my journeys through the villages of Punjab and my interaction with numerous Sikh villagers, I found that massacre of Sikhs in Delhi ,following the assassination of Indira Gandhi was troubling them. They wanted to know as why the government had not arrested the culprits and prosecuted them. They also wanted to know that why political leaders who had instigated the rioters had not been arrested. It was difficult for me to answer such questions, The truth was that there was no political will to conduct investigations professionally, but could I tell them the truth “,
Writes Ribeiro.?
He further writes that he was the only officer at these meetings with the PM to advocate the prosecution of politicians accused of inciting the mob to kill the Sikhs in Delhi after Mrs. Gandhi’s assassination.
At first Rajiv Gandhi did not react what he said. After he had repeated his views third time S. S. Ray, Governor of Punjab advised him no to voice this sentiment again in the presence of the prime minister.
Ribeiro writes that he was not sure whether Rajiv had asked Ray to communicate this to him or Ray himself felt that the prime minister did not like any reference to the issue.
He further writes that he was not one to stay silent when convinced that grave injustice has been done .Besides ,it was he who was fighting a difficult battle to win the hearts and minds of Sikhs ,and he had to win this battle in order to succeed in the war against terrorism.
According to Riberio,Ray was away from a meeting with the PM to keep an appointment with the chief justice of the Supreme Court, and he took advantage of Ray,s absence to raise the issue of the Delhi riots and killings again with the PM.
When he raised the issue Rajiv Gandhi lost his temper. He had never lost his temper with him ,but since he had been warned ,he was prepared.
Rajiv Gandhi told to Ribeiro that he did not want him to raise this matter again. Rajiv Gandhi further told that he could not agree to prosecute Sajjan Kumar, a Congress loyalist, merely because of some false allegations being made against him adding that Sajjan Kumar was present beside the body of his mother throughout the time it lay in state and he himself was witness to this fact.
. However Ribeiro thought that it was fit to point out to the PM that since the commission had indicted Sajjan Kumar, prosecution would meet the requirements of form. He further writes that Rajiv Gandhi was not an autocrat at heart and was amenable to reason but one must remember that he was brought up to be obeyed. His family had ruled for generations. He had a natural inclination to command. Yet he was intrinsically a decent individual with good instinct adding that in most cases he was prepared to Listen. Ribeiro laments that on this particular issue he was influenced by the fact that Sajjan Kumar was a loyalist, totally committed to the Gandhi family and his instincts told him that he could not let Kumar down.,
