1984 Delhi Sikh Genocide - Affidavits

Affidavit submitted before the Misra Commission

I, Shanti Devi, aged 39 years wife of S. Jaswant Singh, Resident of B-5/435, Nand Nagri, New Delhi do hereby solemnly affirm and state as under:-

1. That I was staying at B-5/435, Nand Nagri till November, 1984. along with me the following people were also residing in the house:

(i) My husband – Jaswant Singh 45 years who worked as a Salesman of Motor Car Parts. It was his own business.

(ii) Kamaljit Singh (18 years) my son who is studying in Class 12 in the Govt. School in Gandhi Nagar.

(iii) Renu (17 years), my daughter studying in class 10th by correspondence.

(iv) Seema (13 years), my 2nd daughter studying in class 9th in Nand Nagri Govt. School.

(v) My brother, Gauri Shankar Gaur Singh (55 years) who is working as an electrician in a Motor Workshop in the village Nand Nagri.

(vi) Hakumat Singh (30 years) my second brother who is working in a Motor Parts/Rubber Parts Shop in Kashmere Gate.

2. On the 31st October, after hearing the news of Mrs. Indira Gandhi's assassination we felt very bad. We had a plot of land in the Uttar Pradesh just across the border, near Nand Nagri and had to go and see it that day. Near the plot of land there stood a men who said "Yeh kisi ka shararat hei. Jab tak koi mujhe kahega main aapko kaisa maronga? Phir jab mujhe koi kahega mein aapko marunga." We thought that he was joking.

3. We took a bus and came home. At the checking post at the border, the bus was stopped and the policemen at the check post made all the sardars get off the bus. I asked them why they had done this and we told him we had done nothing. The policemen named Raj Kumar from Nand Nagri noted down my husband's name, age occupation, etc. Then the policemen let us go and we went home.

4. On the 1st early morning at about 7.30 AM a man came and told us to go inside. My brother who had gone to work early morning and who is a ‘Mona Sardar' came home and told us to stay inside and to hide my husband and son as people were killing sardars, burning their houses and properties all over the town. So they all came inside the house and from roof we saw that the Nand Nagri Gurdwara was being burnt.

5. Some time later, a man from the Mohalla came to our house and told us to remain inside. He also told us that the mob had urinated on the Guru Granth Sahib Book and then burnt it. After 15-20 minutes, we saw that the mob had reached the nearby shops owned by Sardars, and the cycle shop was being looted and burnt. It was the colony people who made up the 500-600 strong mob. They were shouting slogans like "Niklo Sardaro, Sardaro aapka nam nahi chhorehenge, Khoon ka badla khoon se lenge," and each time a sardar was killed they shouted "Indira Gandhi ki Jai".

6. They then arrived at our house and broke open the door. Meanwhile, I had hidden my husband and son in the loft. At that time the people came into the house. A friend of my sons named Bal Kiran told the mob that this was his house and I was his mother. He told us not to worry, and when the crowed wanted to search the house, I thought it wiser to let them do that.

7. During all this looting of my house the police in uniform were standing near by the mob and refused to help us. Instead we heard them saying "jo kuch bhi karana hai-jaldi-jaldi karo". The first policeman came only at 4 PM on the 1st and there was no such thing as curfew. While the police said this, the crowd jubilantly shouted "Khoon ke badle khoon" and said obscenities about mothers and daughters.

8. The mob was composed of people whom I know. The mob searched the house and went away. The second time, at about 3.30 or 4 PM someone from outside said who was in the opposite Tailors house, that there were men of the house who were hiding inside so the mob charged into the house again and at that time my son jumped out and knelt on his knees saying ‘Hamara kaya Kasur' – they took him outside and they brandished kirpans, lathis, Sariyas and were going to hit him. I ran in front to save him and got hit on my head. Blood flowed from the head. Next thing I saw was that they poured white powder on him and burnt him alive.

9. I fell on the burning body to save my son and caught fire myself. Then I remembered my daughters were inside the house alone, so I ran in and took them out and begged the neighbour at the corner house to let them be there. The women meanwhile told me there was no point in my returning to my home as the mob had already killed my husband as well.

10. At that time a man wearing a dress bearing a Congress (I) party sign came on side the house and told the women of the house "Amma isko chai pila de, Hamara Kam ek ghante mein pura ho jayega or phir ham agley block mein chale jayenge, Mein ek ghate me bheed ko lekar yahi se ja raha hoon."

11. Then I told the lady to call Kamla, Punjabi friend of mine who would look after us. But when Kamla came, she said she would be back in some time and never came. The lady of the house soon asked us to leave and said that woman Kamla would not come as she had seen her, carrying her things and going in the opposite direction. I begged to be allowed to spend the night and promised to leave the next morning but she refused.

12. I then took my daughter, including the sick one to my Sardar neighbours, brothers house who had rented it from a chamar. Buton reaching there the chamar refused to let them in. Finally I went to my son's friends house, a boy called Sudhir-and his family took us in.

13. We were there till the 3rd November. And there inside we heard "Indira Gandhi ki Jai" being shouted. The looting also continued in my house and in front of my eyes-my TV, Furniture, Fridge, Cooler and other household goods were looted.

14. On the 3rd November the Military vehicle came and we were told the safest way was to go with them. They let us at the Relief Camp at Shyam Lal College five days later met my brothers and other relatives who had been affected. As my brother was a Mona he told me he had seen that the people leading the mob were Congress (I) members. Among them was a Congress leader from the Kisan Dairy and other man Bhajan Lal, who was the shopkeeper of a kerosene oil shop. He was liberally distributing oil to the mob elements, and himself was leading the crowd to do the looting, burning and arson.

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