Congress leader and 1984 anti-Sikh riots convict Sajjan Kumar dies at 80 in Delhi
Gurdeep Kaur, president of an association representing the 1984 riot victims, said Sajjan Kumar’s death was a natural one and that the victims did not receive complete justice.
She said that if the law had sentenced him to death or life imprisonment, the victims would have felt some satisfaction. However, she expressed regret that his natural death left them feeling that they could not get the punishment they had hoped for.
Gurdeep Kaur said Sajjan Kumar had faced allegations in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and had spent a considerable period in jail during the legal proceedings. Following his death, she said the anger and pain of the riot victims had resurfaced.
She added that the victims would continue their struggle to ensure strict punishment for the other accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases.
Sajjan Kumar, a former Congress MP died aged 80 at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital
He was serving life sentence at Tihar Jail after being convicted in two cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots
Timeline of Conviction
2010: He was charged with murder, rioting, criminal conspiracy, and inciting violence
2013: Acquitted by district court but CBI challenged decision in Delhi HC
2018: Delhi HC sentenced Kumar to life imprisonment
2022: He was granted bail in one case but emained jailed due to conviction in second case
2025: Court convicted him in second case related to murder of Jaswant Singh and his son, Tarundeep Singh
#WATCH | Delhi | Jag Parvesh Kumar (in a kurta), son of the late Congress leader and former MP Sajjan Kumar, arrives at Safdarjung Hospital pic.twitter.com/bb5KBMkqZd
— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2026
Sajjan Kumar, former Member of Parliament and leader of the Indian National Congress, is no more. He was brought dead to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital: Hospital sources
— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2026
ANI File Photo pic.twitter.com/BvYJR9PXcT
Kumar was serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail after being convicted in two cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
PTC News Desk: Sajjan Kumar, former Member of Parliament and leader of the Indian National Congress, is no more. He was declared brought dead at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital.
The Safdarjung Hospital confirmed his death.
He was serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail after being convicted in two cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Sajjan Kumar was a former Congress MP and a prominent political leader in Delhi. His name figured prominently in several cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
In December 2018, the Delhi High Court convicted him of criminal conspiracy and other offences in a case related to the killing of five Sikh members of a family and the burning of a gurdwara in the Delhi Cantonment area. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
In February 2025, the Rouse Avenue Court convicted Sajjan Kumar in another 1984 riots case involving the murder of two Sikhs, Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh, in the Saraswati Vihar area. He was again sentenced to life imprisonment.
However, he was not convicted in all the cases linked to the 1984 violence. In January 2026, a Delhi court acquitted him in a case related to violence in the Janakpuri-Vikaspuri area.
- PTC NEWS
