A defence witness in a 1984 anti-Sikh riot case today told a Delhi court that CBI was putting pressure on him to say that he had seen senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and two other co-accused indulging in riot activities.
Mr. Kumar is facing trial relating to the killing of six persons by a mob in Delhi Cantonment area during the riots.
The witness produced by Mr. Kumar to support his innocence in the riot submitted before Additional Sessions Judge Sunita Gupta that when CBI official Manoj Pangarkar had come to his house, he had told him that he had not seen the senior Congress leader and would not take his name for his involvement in the case.
“He (Mr. Pangarkar) was trying to put pressure on me to name Sajjan Kumar but I told him that when I had not seen him how can I name him? He asked me if I was scared to name him but I told him that I am a government servant and therefore, not scared,” Baldev Raj Khanna said.
74-ear-ld Khanna, a retired senior superintendent from Central Ordinance Depot, said he was asked by the CBI official to make a statement against three accused in the case including Kumar, former city councillor Balwan Khokkar and Mahender Yadav.
“Pressure was put upon me repeatedly to think again and again and that I should not be scared to name him (Mr. Kumar). But I told him (Mr. Pangarkar) that I was not scared, that since I had not seen him, I cannot name him”, he said.
He said that about four years ago, he had received a letter from CBI and was asked to visit the agency’s office within 10 days.
When he expressed his inability to appear before it due to his bad health, Mr. Pangarkar came to his house to inquire about the riots, Mr. Khanna, a Raj Nagar-II resident, said.
News Source: The Hindu
