1984 Delhi Sikh Genocide - Affidavits

Affidavit submitted before the Misra Commission

I, Susheel Kaur wife of Tarsem Singh aged 42 years, residence of EE-84, Shivram Park, Najafgarh Road, Nangloi, Delhi-41, presently residing at Qrt. No.1212, Sector-7, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-22, do hereby solemnly state on oath as under: -

1. That on 31.10.1984, in the evening I came to know about the news of assassination of Shrimati Indira Gandhi and was greatly grieved. My husband reached home at about 7.30 pm Nothing untoward happened on that day in our area.

2. On 1.11.84 at about 9 – 10 am it was learnt that in Nangloi Sikhs were being pulled out of buses and beaten. After some time people asked us not to go or send children out. They also told us that some dead bodies of Sikhs have been seen on the road outside.

3. After sometime I noticed smoke coming out from other colonies of Nangloi and Punjabi Bagh side. There was no commotion in our block. Somebody came and told us that some disturbance is apprehended. But we were busy in ourselves and did not lend much credence to it.

4. On 1.11.1984, at 4 – 5 pm, about 40 – 50 men came from some side. These people had iron rods, lathis, with them. Sensing trouble we hid ourselves wherever we could. My husband sought refuge somewhere else whereas I, along with children remained confined in our house.

5. The mob set on fire the Gurdwara situated nearby. They tore Nishan Sahib (religious flag of Sikhs) into pieces and threw the same in front of our house. But as my husband had hid himself in a neighbour's house, the mob went away after sometime.

6. On 2.11.1984, at about 7 am, one of our near relative came from Monohar Nagar (Shahpur) and he took my husband S. Tarsem Singh and my two sons aged 11 years and 15 years along with him.

7. On 2.11.1984 at 7.15 am, a mob comprising of 400 – 500 men came in our block. I along with my daughter went to the house of a neighbour after locking our house. Many other women had also assembled there. The men in the mob were having iron rods, lathis and tins and bottles of kerosene oil with them. They had come from the Adhyapak Nagar side, after setting many houses on fire there.

8. They did not break the lock of our house but instead, broke the doors with iron rods. I was helpless watching all this from the roof of the house of our neighbour. After few moments they entered the the houses and get it on fire.

9. Somebody told them that I was the owner of that house. They gestured and called me down. My daughter also came downstairs along with me when I came down, a Jaat type of man gave a lathi blow on my arm and said that a train load of corpses of Hindus has arrival from Punjab. In the meantime my daughter cried. Some people went towards her. Frightened and without understanding anything at all, I took shelter in a house nearby and bolted the door from inside.

10. After sometime I noticed that some people were trying to break the door while others were beating my daughter. They asked me to open the door.

11. When I opened the door, they at once poured kerosene oil upon me and ignited. I fell on the ground and the fire got extinguished when I tossed on the ground. But I was badly burnt. In the meantime they poured kerosene oil on my daughter's back and set her on fire. In the confusion that prevailed, I went to a house whereas my daughter ran into the house of somebody else.

I bolted the door from inside. The inmates of that house were already there. After sometime when I became a bit normal I found that my daughter was not there. My condition had worsened further. The inmates of that house gave me more clothes and applied some medicine on my burnt body. I left that place and with great difficulty reached the house of my relatives at Shahpur is three kilometers away. I covered this distance on foot. My husband, both my sons and daughter met me there.

12. At Shahpur, Dr. Kapoor telephoned Tilak Nagar police station, told them about my condition and requisitioned an emergency vehicle. The police people told that we should reach at the police station and arrangement to send us to hospital would be made there.

13. When I along with my sister-in-law reached police station, they flatly refused to help. Then I reached Deen Dayal hospital in a rickshaw. At Deen Dayal hospital two nurses told us that there was no arrangement for burnt patients and that we should go to Safdarjung hospital.

14. I came back to Shahpur where Dr. Kapoor's wife dressed my wounds. I remained there upto 7th and was being treated there. On 7th Nov., I went to the Pishori Gurdwara Relief Camp, Tilak Nagar. In the Relief Camp a team of doctors from All India Institute had also arrival. Seeing my serious condition, they took me in their car and got me admitted in the Safdarjang Hospital.

15. After about two hours of having been admitted in the Hospital, a police officers from the Nangloi Police Station came. He took down statement of myself and my husband. He got our signatures procured on the statement and went away saying that the copies of the same will be sent afterwards, but till now the copies have not been received. I was discharged from the Hospital on November 21.

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