NEW YORK: A witness in the 1984 anti-Sikh riot court case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler has threatened to set himself on fire in Toronto if prime minister Manmohan Singh does not meet him when he visits Canada from June 26-27 for the G-20 Summit.
"I will put a tyre around myself and burn myself just as was done to hundreds of Sikhs," Jasbir Singh told PTI.
"I am tired for waiting for justice, if our PM does not hear us then I want to grab the attention of all the foreign leaders and the world," he said.
Jasbir, 84, was a witness in a court case against Tytler who was given a clean chit by a Delhi court in April.
Although debunked by the CBI as not being a credible witness, Singh alleged that he saw Tytler inciting mobs.
"So many deaths and not one conviction...how much longer can we wait and so we need to do something drastic now," he said.
It is not clear at this point whether Jasbir intends to carry out the threat during the Prime Minister’s visit or this declaration is to grab headlines as Sikhs gather to rally for justice in Toronto during the global economic summit.
"I am going to do this on May 26...this is not a joke and this is not for media attention," Jasbir said in response to several queries by PTI whether this was a serious plan. "I lost 26 members of my family and if I cannot get justice then I am ashamed of myself.”
It is unlikely, however, that the Canadian authorities would allow such an incident to take place during the high-level meeting, but Jasbir has underlined that he will set himself "on fire as protest against the denial of justice to the victims of 1984 Sikh genocide”.
US-based Sikh, Resham Singh, claims that CBI officials refused to speak with him when they came to interview the two witnesses Jasbir and Surinder Singh in San Francisco and New York respectively.
In its decision, the Delhi court pointed out that the statement of Jasbir had "no relevance" and that the statements of Surinder Singh were "self-contradictory."
1984 anti-sikh riot witness threatens to set himself on fire - dnaindia.com
"I will put a tyre around myself and burn myself just as was done to hundreds of Sikhs," Jasbir Singh told PTI.
"I am tired for waiting for justice, if our PM does not hear us then I want to grab the attention of all the foreign leaders and the world," he said.
Jasbir, 84, was a witness in a court case against Tytler who was given a clean chit by a Delhi court in April.
Although debunked by the CBI as not being a credible witness, Singh alleged that he saw Tytler inciting mobs.
"So many deaths and not one conviction...how much longer can we wait and so we need to do something drastic now," he said.
It is not clear at this point whether Jasbir intends to carry out the threat during the Prime Minister’s visit or this declaration is to grab headlines as Sikhs gather to rally for justice in Toronto during the global economic summit.
"I am going to do this on May 26...this is not a joke and this is not for media attention," Jasbir said in response to several queries by PTI whether this was a serious plan. "I lost 26 members of my family and if I cannot get justice then I am ashamed of myself.”
It is unlikely, however, that the Canadian authorities would allow such an incident to take place during the high-level meeting, but Jasbir has underlined that he will set himself "on fire as protest against the denial of justice to the victims of 1984 Sikh genocide”.
US-based Sikh, Resham Singh, claims that CBI officials refused to speak with him when they came to interview the two witnesses Jasbir and Surinder Singh in San Francisco and New York respectively.
In its decision, the Delhi court pointed out that the statement of Jasbir had "no relevance" and that the statements of Surinder Singh were "self-contradictory."
1984 anti-sikh riot witness threatens to set himself on fire - dnaindia.com
