1984 riot case: Senior advocate Phoolka receives death threat

New Delhi, January 20

A Delhi court on Monday informed senior advocate H S Phoolka, who has been representing the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots in various cases, that the judge has received a letter giving death threat to the senior counsel.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjyot Singh Bhalla directed the CBI to file a response in the matter by February 11, a court source said.

The court was hearing a case related to the riots in which Congress leader Jagdish Tytler is an accused.

Reacting to the threats, Phoolka told the PTI, “These things would not distract me. During 35 year of fight, I have received such threats many times.”

The court had on November 25 last year pulled up the CBI for delay in recording of statements of controversial arms dealer Abhishek Verma, who is a witness in the case.

The case pertains to the riots at Gurdwara Pulbangash in North Delhi where three people were killed on November 1, 1984, a day after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, who has denied any role in the riots, was given a clean chit by the CBI thrice in the case, but the agency was directed by the court to further investigate the matter. The victims had filed a protest petition challenging the CBI’s closure reports in the case.

The court had in December 2015 directed the CBI to further investigate the matter and decided to monitor it every two months to ensure that no aspect is left uninvestigated.

The agency had reinvestigated the case of killing of Badal Singh, Thakur Singh and Gurcharan Singh near the gurudwara after a court in December, 2007 refused to accept its closure report. The CBI has filed three closure reports in the case. — PTI