What happened
Former Congress Lok Sabha MP Sajjan Kumar died at Safdarjung Hospital after his health declined. Kumar was serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail; he was taken to hospital and declared brought dead. Kumar was 80 years old.
Kumar’s death created an electoral communication challenge for the Congress ahead of the Punjab Assembly election. Congress leadership largely kept quiet and did not offer immediate condolences. Only a limited number of prominent party functionaries, including Pawan Khera (Congress media and publicity head) and Devender Yadav (Delhi Congress chief), publicly expressed condolences.
Background and earlier position
Sajjan Kumar’s criminal cases were connected to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. The riots included retaliatory attacks across India, and Delhi recorded the highest death toll.
Kumar was accused of leading or instigating mobs during the violence. A trial court acquitted him in 2013 in a case tied to the killing of five Sikh members of a family and the burning of a gurdwara.
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