Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar died at the age of 80 at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on Thursday, August 20, news agency PTI reported, citing hospital sources. Kumar was serving a life sentence following his conviction in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
The hospital has not yet disclosed the cause of his death.
Kumar, a prominent Congress leader and three-time Lok Sabha MP, represented the Outer Delhi constituency during his political career.
Sajjan Kumar was serving life sentence
The former MP was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court in December 2018 for his role in a case linked to the killing of five Sikhs and the burning of a gurdwara during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
His conviction marked a major development in one of the long-running cases related to the violence that followed the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.
Kumar had remained a prominent political figure in Delhi and the Congress for several decades before his conviction.
From Congress leader to convicted politician
Sajjan Kumar served as a Member of Parliament from the Outer Delhi constituency and was among the Congress leaders whose political careers came under scrutiny over allegations connected with the 1984 riots.
His conviction in 2018 came after years of legal proceedings in the case.
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots remain one of the most contentious episodes in India’s modern political history, with survivors and victims’ families continuing to seek justice in several related cases.
Kumar’s death at 80 brings an end to the life of a politician whose career was closely associated with Delhi politics but was later overshadowed by his conviction in the 1984 riots case.
What happened in the 1984 riots?
The anti-Sikh violence erupted across parts of India after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.
Thousands of Sikhs were killed in the violence, with Delhi witnessing some of the worst incidents. Several investigations and court cases followed over the decades, with victims and their families repeatedly demanding accountability.
Sajjan Kumar’s case was among the high-profile prosecutions arising from the violence.
