1984 riots witness a proclaimed offender, says Tytler

BLAME GAME: RTI application filed by Tytler hints at Jasbir's rather murky past.

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Keywords: Tytler, CBI

New Delhi: The fate of Congress leader Jagdish Tytler will be decided by the testimony of Jasbir Singh - key witnesses in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

After Tytler was given a clean chit by the CBI, it was Jasbir, who broke years of silence to claim that he had seen Tytler inciting the mob.

But Tytler has now hit back. An RTI application filed by him hints at Jasbir's rather murky past.

The RTI application filed with the Delhi police reveals that Jasbir is in fact accused in an assault case, and also allegedly tried to bribe some eyewitnesses.

According to documents available, an FIR was registered against Jasbir Singh at Delhi's Indraprastha police station in 1997.

Jasbir is accused of allegedly assaulting the sister of another 1984 riots victim, Kamlesh Kaur.

When he failed to appear in court, Jasbir was declared an absconder by an Additional Sessions Judge on January 21, 2004.

Court documents also say that a woman named Darshan Kaur accused him of buying off some eyewitnesses. Darshan Kaur had claimed in court that Jasbir spent Rs 25 lakh to bribe eyewitnesses from deposing. She had claimed that Jasbir did this to protect a top politician.

When CNN-IBN spoke to him on phone, Jasbir Singh claimed this is a move to demoralise him.

“These cases have been conjured to tarnish my image,” he said.

But for Jagdish Tytler, who has consistently questioned Jasbir's credibility, its pure gold.

Tytler said, “If he is a witness I will surrender.”

Jasbir has been actively resisting CBI's efforts to get him to come to India to depose in the 1984 riots case.

He says he wants to depose via teleconferencing from California, as he faces a threat to his life if he comes to India.

But the documents raise doubts on whether he fears harm or if he is afraid of being arrested if he returns.