Tytler's role in '1984 anti-Sikh riots' avers US report

Chandigarh, Mar 16: The US State Department's "Country reports on Human Rights Practices-2007" has reportedly taken note of former Union Cabinet Minister Jagdish Tytler's alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, while talking of India's track record in safeguarding human rights.

The report, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour on March 11, 2008 states: "In November a key witness in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case involving senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler resurfaced two months after the CBI declared that he was unreachable. On March 12, a Delhi court had pulled up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for its failure to file a status report in the riots case involving Tytler. The court had also directed the CBI to file its report in the case within a week.

On December 18, the court had ordered the CBI to reinvestigate the case after rejecting its closure report. Navkiran Singh of the Lawyers for Human Rights International, who is key witness Jasbir Singh's lawyer too, welcomed the development.

ANI