{
  "id": 2225267,
  "title": "As news of Sajjan Kumar’s death spreads, handful of supporters gather at Safdarjung",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/as-news-of-sajjan-kumars-death-spreads-handful-of-supporters-gather",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-20T21:11:44.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/as-news-of-sajjan-kumars-death-spreads-handful-of-supporters-gather-at-safdarjung-10842563/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A small group of approximately 30 individuals gathered outside the police station near Safdarjung Hospital on Thursday following news of the passing of former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, who faced conviction in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. Kumar had been incarcerated in Delhi's Tihar Jail since his sentencing to life imprisonment in 2018. He was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital around 11 am on Thursday, exhibiting an altered mental state, according to a hospital statement. The statement further revealed that Kumar, suffering from several health issues including hypertension and Parkinson's disease, breathed his last at the hospital around 12:30 pm. By evening, Kumar's family was present at the police chowki near the hospital, awaiting the resolution of legal procedures for his body's release, as he had succumbed while in custody. The gathering, primarily composed of Kumar's former supporters, numbered around 30 people, predominantly former Congress leaders from his influential days in Delhi. Kumar, a three-term Lok Sabha MP elected from Outer Delhi since 1980, resigned from the party in December 2018 following his conviction in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, which involved the killing of five Sikhs at Raj Nagar Part I in Palam Colony and the arson of a gurdwara in Raj Nagar Part II. Among those present at the hospital were Kumar's 65-year-old personal secretary, Kailash Khurana, who had been with him during all their court appearances, and other former associates like Bijender Singh, a former Nangloi MLA, and Delhi Mahila Congress leader Pushpa Satbir Singh. Kumar's appeal against his 2018 sentencing was set to be heard on the same day as his death, with his hearing rescheduled for today. His condition was described as very poor by Khurana. Bijender Singh further stated that they intended to take Kumar's body home the following morning, where it would be kept at his former office in Madipur.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Hindu",
        "title": "‘There was fire everywhere’: 1984 riot survivors recall the horror after Sajjan Kumar’s death",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/there-was-fire-everywhere-1984-riot-survivors-recall-the-horror-after",
        "published": "2026-08-20T16:01:57.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}