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NEW DELHI. — A US federal district court has issued summons against the ruling Indian Congress party president Sonia Gandhi for shielding party officials allegedly involved in inciting attacks on Sikhs in 1984 in India, reported local media yesterday. Gandhi is reportedly undergoing medical treatment in the US now.
A class action suit against Sonia Gandhi has been filed by “Sikhs for Justice”, a US-based human rights group, along with victims of 1984 anti-Sikh violence under Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), said The Times of India online.
In the lawsuit filed before Eastern District of New York, SFJ and victims are seeking compensatory and punitive damages against Congress party president for her role in shielding and protecting Kamal Nath, Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler and other Congress party leaders from being prosecuted for their crimes against humanity.
The complaint has also cited discovery of a mass grave at Hondh Chillar Village of Haryana, northern India, in February 2011 to prove that cover-up continued for all these years.
The 27-page complaint against Gandhi alleges that between November 1 and 4, 1984 about 30 000 members of the Sikh community “were intentionally tortured, raped and murdered by groups that were incited, organised, controlled and armed” by the ruling Congress party.
The massacres took place after former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was killed by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31 for launching attacks on Sikh holy temple in Amritsar in northwest India’s Punjab state in the “Blue Star Operation” to crush a Sikh armed revolt.
According to attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor to SFJ, the lawsuit against Sonia Gandhi under the ATCA and TVPA is motivated by an interest in seeking some form of justice for the victims of 1984 massacre, will raise awareness to the international community regarding denial of justice to the victims and is a mean of holding parties in power accountable for their gross violations of human rights. — Xinhua.
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