Sajjan Kumar, convicted for role in 1984 riots , dies
He was serving life imprisonment for his role in the violence, which resulted in the deaths of many Sikhs. His controversies plagued his political career.
Sajjan Kumar, a former Congress member of Parliament convicted for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, passed away on Thursday at the age of 80 in a New Delhi hospital. He was taken from jail on Thursday morning after showing signs of "altered sensorium," but died at 12:30 pm despite medical and life-support measures. Kumar had a history of high blood pressure and Parkinson's disease, with multiple past hospital admissions.
His sentence expired on the Supreme Court hearing a parole plea by his lawyers, though he had been convicted again in 2025 for another riot-related murder case and sentenced to life imprisonment. The riots, which occurred following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, resulted in the deaths of thousands of Sikhs across Delhi and the nation.
Kumar began his political career as a municipal councillor in 1977 and represented the Outer Delhi constituency in the Lok Sabha in three terms spanning three decades. However, controversies over his alleged involvement in the riots led to his resignation from the Congress party in 2005, and he passed away in 2025.
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