A REPORT FR OM THE FARASH 8AZ~AR

PO LICE STA -, ~.2 f1! RELIEF CAMP

DAY ONE !.9....I...H.lEE
When the ne ws of the Prim e Minister's assassinatioa W~~ " -.,.,
announced on Octob e r 31, 1984 many of us, in our simplicity '
did not f 831 undul y n ervous. We moved around different parts
of the capit a l ci ty trying to assess the reactio"s of the
man on the straet . We wait8d to hear about an interim Prime
Minister and discu s sed the sequ o nce of events with friends
and coll eagu es . What we did not do was worry about the Sikh .
commun ity as a whole just because the assassins happened to
be Sikhs - af ter al l who worried about the Hindus when
Mahatma Gandh i was sh ot? We expocted shock, sorrow, indiffInence, disma y , ',)ha t wa did not ex pect was what began ~ the
31st evening and for somo of us has not ended yet, a~d ror
many thousands of others may novor e nd;
The burnin g of vehicles , stab bing and stoning began at 6.30 p.m,
at thc junction of Safdarjung and Lodi Roads. Mobs of 10
to 15 young men oimed at cars carrying Sikh passengers. At
7 p.m. we dr o ve up to a policeman conducting traffic at this
crossing; fivs vehi cles were burning around us. "StoP . the group
from stoning" wo shouted
"Th ey are only out after the Sardars"
we were told s oothingly by the policemgn, as if we shOUld not
worry about th3t. "Do o s th .: lt mean they should not be stopped?"
We asked. He asked us to driuo on - the police would be ~
their way, wo wer e rea ss ured. This reveals the attitudeP the
police :Ill 310ng th o way , with a fow oxcep tio~s.
For that entire night, th o next day a nd night after that,
through to the 8, rly hou rs of November 3, smoke filled the sky,
Peaoe marct, !s by co ncer n e d citiz~ns , frantl~telephone calls
~o the Pr es i j en t, the Homo Mi n ist er, the Police Commissioner,
a ~d app e ol s by p ri vata ci t iz ons ~ nd political leaders to stop
th e s e ns cll o s s ki lling, rioting , I Grl ti ng 'l nd '-'.Irson by calling in
th e army im m ~d i ~ t ~ l y w2nt strangoly unh eard throughout those
bizarr <J c! aY3.
On 3rd Novom bor mo rning, when tha co nc entr3 tion o~ the body
of th e l ato ~rime Minister wa s r eachi ng a crescendo with every
forc e and d ign it o ry inv o lv e d in th , arrangements for the
funeral, members of the 'NAG ARIK EK TA MANCH' came upon the
horror of burnt bodies lyi ng in tho narrow streets of
Trilokpuri, a tran s Jamuna r e s ~ tt 18me nt Colony not far from the
industrial complex of NOIDA. People we r a still hiding in the
charred r omai ns of thoir homas ., havinr had no food, water
or prot e ction from marauding mo bs for two nights and a day~

. 2.

-2-

The frus t ra t i on ~ nd anger at the inaction arou~d us was

con ve rt e d i n t o Q de sp e rate urg e ncy to provide the victims
with r e li l, f, me dica l ai d, and al thQugh Far too lat e ,
security. Wi th ha stily assembled Food suppli e s, medicines
and do ct o r s . A pa rt of our t e am r eached the police station
wh e r e , we we r e to ld, th e refug e es from Trilokpuri had been
taka n. Thi s w-s t ho beginning of Farash Bazaar.

.THE RELI EF CAM P.

Faras.h_ Baza a.r Naya Than,? is adjaCent to Jhilmil Colony in
th e Sha hd a r a at e o . A l a rge and well aPPointed ne w buildipg
.i t ha s some gr ou nds a nd two blocks of four floors of s mall
flats wa i t i ng f o r e l ectrical and wat e r conn e ctions before
being commi ssion e d as pelice r 1sid e nces. Ther e are 144
rooms, 72 kitch ens and 72 ba lconi e s most of which were
ope ne d Fo r t ho r o fug e es, the others being full of stores ,
and suppli Js . At its peak, the camp had almost 3000 people
which m3 ant 20 to a room. Balconi e s and kitchen corridors
wer e ' cr owd e d wi th refugees - the new born, th e sick, the
old a nd th e injured - but atl e ast it was~elt e r.
For alltDe abs e nce of the police and the ensuing nightmar e
in Trilokpuri SHO Dary a o Singh showed he was of a diFFerent
sort. He had s e nt his men to rescue the living o~ the 3rd
and h ad brought the m to his police statio" without any
instruct io ns Fr om high e r authorities.
It was in the midst of this that we arriv e d at Forash
Bazo ar at 7 p.m. A baby had just be en bor~ in the grounds
be h i nd 0 truck, an old man with a cracked skull, surrou,ded
by hi s wi fe a nd five s mall childre~ sat dazed in t he drive
wa y. All s hi ver e d with fr i ght and lack of clothing, many
c lu tc hod on to us scre a ming and crying. All we cou l d do
wit h n n ~ d o ct or , two young students and a handful if us
wa s to a rra ng3 ~ v e ryone into the rooms, pass ar o u~d biscuits
and c ") ndl ns , d r :' s s wounds, diagnose ailme nts and dispense
medi cin Gs , carr y i njured bod i es, calm the hyst e rical and
mak e a rr ang ~ mo n ts with th e pe ople of th e neighb o urhood to
pr e pa r e t he mo rn ing t oa for th o r e fug e es.
On N ov B m b ~ r 4 , rno o r gan i s e d rations, a t e am of si x do c t ors
,and co ll oc t e d out s i z ed cooking vossels From tent ho us e s.
A t oa m b3nn n wor k i mmediat e ly on a n aspect which pr ove d to
be of ut most im por ta nc e - the listing of peo pl e (men, wome n
childr en , b ~ bio s) in t he camp, in each room. We c ompiled
l ists o f mi s s i ng pa r so ns a nd id o ntiFi e d t hose nee di ng
imme dia t e m ~ di cal a tt onti on . We distr i bute d r o un d s of
,c)..a,thss as the y c ame i n - 01'1 0 piece e :3ch, tha n s e ts e ach,
''<>-J...
i,)xtr1il.:
woo:t.le ns r or t he childr e n, elde rly a nd sick.
.
'-.U',

..... _ .

-3-

Everyone of the 3000 refugee~ had spare clothes, Soap to wash

off blood stains, a hot mool, drinking watet and teo by the
end of the second day (November 5). The Nagarik Ekta Manch
h3d by then, contacted the newly appointed Relief Commissioner,
OESU, the Rod Cross and UNICE'. On tho third day a camp
officor, a sonior official, a magistrate on duty, the Municpal
Corpor~tion 3nd tho Rod Cr~ss arrived.
Last but not least,
unwelcome visitors such as the SHO of Kalyanpuri and Rampsl
Saroj whom tho refugees immediately identified as being among
their attackers worb also soen in the camp.
The bulk of the refugees in tho camp were from Block 32 of
Trilokpuri. The rest LUere frotn Blocks 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 21,
27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, and 36, As it h:'lppened they
were 011 accommodated in the two blocks of the residential police
colony, numberod 1 to 9 by us. In tho front building were
residonts from Nand Nagari, Vinod Nagar, Kalirspur, Brahmpuri,
Pratap Nagorf Kalyanp0ri, East Vinod Na~ar, Jwala Nagar,
Shakarpur, Sanjay Colony, OldSoemapuri, Lskshmi Nagar. Babar~u.
and somo families from Trilokpuri. In the rear buil~ing of
the station wero residents of 30, 32 and 34 blocks Trilokpuri,
$ometimes 15to a room if thr~e widows with tho it many bhlldzen
had decidod to huddlo together that first night. Above the
~ain 'thana' woro two largo dormit~rios and a small room where
25 familios From N}w Jwala Nagar, Biswas Nagar, Shakarputi,
8holanath Nagar and ,arash Bazaar had been brought to sarety
,y SHO Oaryao Singh although there was no burning and looting
i. their oroas - only fear 9nd tension.

-.THE

VI

crr MS

:t was into resting to cbservo tho conditions :lnd attitudes of

~h8 three s8ctions of thl3 camp.
1'18 Thana alock people, know,.
':0 us as 'Room 51' h8d fric'nds who C8!@ in cars wi th cooked Food
end hot t08 sQvaral times a day. They did not mix with the
other~ in th3 c3mp. complain ~ d about tho dirt and pl08ded
Constantly P or nut nF turn supplios. When the clothes were
borg distribwtod they wore tho only onos, who ~skod for matchi"~
cupottos, silk saroos, now shirts. Whon the Administration
unofficially offerod ~, 50/- par hood to each refugee to
loave tho camp they collClcbd thlJir dues a-rid loft promptly to
rClturn to their double storiod homos. Those who lost some
of thoir hnusohold proporty shoutod hysterically till they
managed to Collect almost doub~o the supplies from us and other
distributing ogoncios. Tho following profiles indicate the
condi ti on:

4.

-4-

Room No. 51 Thana Bl ock Farash

Baz~at:

Rawal Si.hgh Age 56 Ge ne ral Store Owner

545/A1 Ketkari Road, Vishwes Nagar
Wife J eginder Kau~
Childre n: Ranj oet
Da j i ndor
Pr i thipal

Ag[3
Age
Age
Ago
Ago

Davin dc r

48
20
23

19

10

Son
Son
Son
Son

House and posse s s i ons intact. Shop intact, Do not know the
e xact stat e . CamQ t o camp on 1/11/84
Norinper Singh 5/0 Jowahar Singh Age 45
406 Heor Bhavsn Building, Bh olanath Naga
Wifo:
Daughter
SO"
Son

Trijit Kaur
Bolwindor
GurmQot Singh
Mohinde r Pal

Age
Ago
Age
Age

i, Shahdara. belhi - 37

32
14
20
19

None injur ed, None miSSing

Owns Shop:

Maharaja Eloctricals,
62/7 Shim Mati pass Road, Teliwara,
'"I ' . ,

Burnt and looted. House intact,

Wents to retur., home

Sha~dara

No looting

The families in th e fr ont block had suffered looting and intimi dati o" at hom o an d had lost their business e s through fire.
Many had simply fl e d a s s oo. as the trouble' startnd.
A c ommon pr ofile of this group is as follows:
Block 2, Room 3 Faresh Bazaar
Tarsen Singh, s/o La t e Karan Singh Age 45
Governmont Se rv a nt
Offic e : Dir oct orat e of Inspection(Printing and Publicatio~)
Inc omo Tax Do portment
'
lInd Flo or,
Ha n s Bh avan,
1. T.O.
Tarsons wifo i s in Punjab.

Res. address: 35/442 Trilokpuri

Delhi - 91
.5 .

-5Children:

Kalvinder Kaur
Poonam Kau r

Daughte r Age 15
Daughter Ago 12

Arriv ed at camp on 3/11/84

Everything at homo was ~right whon f amily flod.
Nona injur e d
Nono missing
None do ad
Harbhajan Sin~~ Ago 35
14/296 Trilokpuri
Regular Mazdoor DESui Pay ~. 900/- par month,
Bonk Account: State Bank, Trilokpuri
LIC Policy : ~. 10,000/-, 7500/-, 7500/Wifo: Gurmeot Kaur Ago 32
Childron : Sukhbir Kaur daught e r
Ranbir Singh Son
Amarbir Singh Son
Articlos lost:

ago 15
ago 9
ago 4

Jwa llory~. 10,000/-, TV, TranSistor, Sewing

machine, watch , cycl a , furniture, household

i t:Jms.
~~ Sin.9b. S/o Panjab Singh Ago 62

OC,; Cupation: Bank M3stor, Now Punjab "and, 44 Kolhipura,

Dosona Road, Ghaziabad

Family:

Widower.

Helpe rs: Nono.

Childron ma rried and living

Ho was

b ~ato n

s ~ parately

up on tho way to this house.

Assailants: Unknow n
Arrivod in C,:1mo on Ne:v J mbo r 2, 1984
Atloast ton ramili os f rom thi~ block h - d thair bodding and
a sot of cl~th3s 3nd vass a ls wi th th e m. Th ey took wh3t they
nODd e d, such Q S 3 xtra unrlerlucar for b 3bi8s, woollens and
blanko ts, and ~skQd us to giv e th o r e st of thoir share to tho
noodi e r victims o f Tril ok puri. SOMO h od hom os in the punjab
and wore c onsid8ring gDing th :3ro f or a fC!1lJ" months until tho
atmosphere in thoir areas in Del hi improved. They h ~d been
Issist ad by noighbours wh ilo local go e ndas had stalked their
daughtors 3nd could tho r ofo r e not return home immediately.
About 20 famil i os Fram this blaCk loft the camp by Novamber
15th.
Tho r Ga r block c omprisos t/:lo cora of tm F"arash Ba.aor situation. Th 8 r e we r o 725 Widows, o ldorly couples whoso earning
Mombots of their Family had boen killed, the badly injured
and tho burnt, whoso ages ranged from six months upwards.
There ,was pr eg n ancy in many stages, deliveries in the camp,
paniC, hopel es sn ~ ss and a fervent determination never to go
back to Tril o kpuri.

-6-

Tho following

c ~ se

studi es t a ll it

a~l:

~hi Bai Agu 35 wi d (lw 3 2 /4 2 Tril okpuri

Dead Husband's " c c u~ ~tion: Coo l io at Old De lhi Railway Stn.

Monthly incom n of husband: ~. 450/- pa r mo nth
Willing t o work. Do,'s not know what perhaps some stitching
Missing: Maya 8ai
Kartog- Singh
8abu ingh
L3dki Bai

Doughtelr
Son
Son
Daughter

Ago 15
Ago 10
Age 6
Age 4

Last s oo n a t home wh e n th o mo bs came . Have hoard they are

at 8010 Sahib GuruQwara .
Property: Hous e burnt, fans, maehin e , ut o nsils, daughter's
dowry all stol o n. No su r viving male members~
Ganga:

Ago 25 Widow 32/ 143 Tri lo kpuri

Husband: Krishnan Singh, Ag o 30 Killed on 31/10/84

Occupation: Charpai Woavor, Brother in law Gyani Singh age
21 killod. (Occup~tion . Rickshaw pullor).
Brother in law: Mahindor Age 16 Kill od Occupation Rickshaw
Puller.
Childr e n:

Hukmani Daughter ago 10

age 6
Mara
"
Ge n to
ago 2
age 2 months.
Sor> nu
"

"

Property loote d/br o ke n . Gold-2 tala, ~. 6,000/- cash,

silve r 250 gms, rickshow, cyclos
Sh c wonts t o work . Has no skill, wants to stay with t~
r e st of 32 bl ock but wi l l n ot gs bock t o Trilokpuri wh ere
she l os t h0 r men .

Occup ~ tion: Chorpoi Make r

Family : 33mmi Boi wif e ogo 50
Rosha n Singh . Snn. ag~ 20,kill ad . Wa teh mechaniC
Virr.ndar Singh,Son , Ago 18 , Killed ,Tel eviS ion' mechanic
Miskin Singh , scn,ag3 14. Wo rks in f~ctory
List of "rtici o s missing; 2 bic ycl os , J lwell'JrY , fan, Rs. 5150/cash

.... .7.

" Jasjit Ka~r: ,Age 25 Widow

, Block , 31, Trilokpuri

-7-

Childron: Attar Singh, Son age 10

Meonu daughter age6
father in ' luw: Gurdov singh ago 80
Hu~band: Gurnam Singh age 45 Driver.
Killers:

Kamruddin from Block 31. Gaffar Khan from Block 32

Murari from Block 31. Sita Rom and family from Block 31

Thoso who ' helped:

Remarks:

Killod

He uman, Madan, Gulab Dovi, Puren, Bahirav,

8hagwati, Nukkar, 8haiya, Tea shop owner

local polico told assailants to loot burn and kill

These coolios, rickshaw pullers and Charpai weavers are Lobhane

Sikhs who have boen uprooted now for the third ,time in their
lives. Originally f'rom Sind, they settlod in Alwar after
partitio~.gradually moving to Delhi to oarn a living wage,
They wore mov e d to Trilokpuri forcibly druring the Emergency
and given 25 sq. ya'rd plots at a rent 'of As, 8/- per month and
As. 2,000/- towards constructing a room. These plots grow into
sturdy little ' rooms with a courtyard, stairway to the roof'
and perhaps an oxtra room on top, Through hard work and
onterprise the rooms were equipped with the symbols of urban
life - a ' fan, a reFriger~tor. glass cupboards, a t e levision
a sewing machine, a f e w t olss of gold, a pair of silv e r anklets
atd a few thousand rupe e s in cash tucked away ' in a tin trunk full of 'razais'. The lanes were 'narrow, and as families
expanded and relativos mov e d in from Rajasthan, a p a r~ area
became the Jhuggi block 01' 32 Trilokpuri. Mud huts decorated
with hand painte d figures a nd motifs as don e in rural villages,
stoed be si'de tho 'plot' area and its r e sid e nts settlod down with
their ration cards obtained through th e help of their local
Congro ss (I) Pradhan Rampal Saroj. Thoy workod and 3 GrnO~
a~ongst Hindus who swept. sold milk, and sharod thoir lives.
Within tho spac e of 48 hours th o liv e s of hundreds, both in
the plots 6 nd Jhuggis , were wipe d but, ~ nd those va ry samo
'galis' wer e str own with burnt corpses. limbs, shorn hair
il nd blood. The following affi d'avits obtaine d ove r a period of
two wel eks, 'beginn i ng No vembor 5th,. t e ll the tale of what
happen od to th eso families. The names of tho inForm3nts have
naturally beon withhold:

11.

-BAFF~DAVIT

NAME: II'iITHHELD
ADDRESS: TRILOKPURI
On the 1st of Novombor, around 10,30 - 11;00 B.m. a thous~nd
plus crowd had surrounded our Block (i.o. 32 Trilokpuri) in
the crowd I could recogniso Ram_"p.~S_a..F.0.l tho Congress I leador
of our aroa who stays in 32/4BO Trilbkpuri. Saroj was leading
the mob and urging to loot ond kill.
The mob ontered my house. I could rocognise A~b_~ (32/495 TP)
his Father and his brothcH in l3w (Jani) alsoK'U.!.!:!. From tho
jhuggis opposite our house. Kishora V3 1miki the butcher, Pandit
known .as Father of dumb ono, 1}i"gg-(-!?i:"fvo.~r,:-a;;d his brother,
Dull \..h.,and (Congress r)and .8.!!.1!!..~ who liVDS in the Jhuggis.
I askod th8 crowd to havo morcy on us, but thoy draggod out my
.two cldor sons and First beat thom up and thon burnt them aliva .
Whon my youngor son and I askod for mercy they threatened to
burn US 'IS well.
Another porson who was involved in the killings was 9al.i Kha~,
who owns 3 milk dairy, Kcnak Singh a Congr~ss I man W3S .
.
also in the crowe. Niynmat Ali(Paholwan) of 33 Block' (Pradha' of
32 jhuggis) was also prosont. Ho was also a Congress I loador.
I am sorry but I cannot romember any of the other faces. I
do rbmombor that Abbas was the one that pourod tholoil on my
sons and alongwith Kabu wore among tho people who set my sons
alight. Howevor the trauma of sGeing tho . terrible deaths of
my sons has boon that whilo some fa cos are brandDd on my memory
many I cannot place.
.
With such memoriGs prosont for us all, I fool I can nQvor
-again to Trilokpuri.

retur~

NAME ItJITHHELD
This statemont was r o cord~d by me ~nd is tho truo English
translation of tha statom8nt by withhold. It was rC3d out to
him and explainod in Hindi and ho has undorstood the contents
or tho alono statomont.
1,

SIGNATURE OF RECORDING PERSON

(SANJAY JOSHI)

2.

OF RECORDED AND EXPLAINED IN MY PRESENCE (ASSEM SHRIVASTAVA)

9.

-9-

ArrID AVIT
-_._--NAME:

WITHHELD

HUSBAND:

WITHHELD

ADDRESS:

Trilokpuri, Dolhi 91

On the night of Novembor 1, 10-12 pe rsons cam e to . my house

aFter my husband, who was bel a ten unconscious by th.e mob. They
wore armed with sWDrds and lath is and threatened to kill me
iF I didn't comply with their wishos. Thon all of them
proc eeded to gang rape mo. It was dark so I could~'t recogn{se
them~
But I can identify ane person. Ra j V~hl.. Raju
Valmiki is a sweo per in Alankar Theatre.ajpat Nagar. New
Delhi who also played tho role of Ram in the Remlila in .
Trilokpuri this ye ar.

WITHHELD
This statoment was recorded by me and i s the true English
translati on of the stat e ment of withhel d. It was read out to
her and e xplain ed in Hindi. She h~s understood th e contents or
the above stat oment,
. Signature of Recording:

(ASHEEM SHRIVASTAVA)

Recnrded and explained in the

pr~s cnce of: (ARPAN P. KAUR)
ArtIDAVIT
NAME:

WITHHE LD

HUSBAND NAME: WITHHELD

Address:

Trilokpuri, Delhi 91 .

Trouble start ~ d in our Block ,3 r ound 10 3.m. in th o morning on

Novemb e r 1, 1984 . Thr tl ugh th -:: ,'ay mobs Ivere on the rampago
burn.ing and l oo t ing the hous e s IDf Sil1<hs ,md system 8tically
pulling out the male mombe rs and burning th e m on the stroet .
I ide ntified s e ve ral people in t he mob. There was the locel
Congr e ss I lead e r (who is also th ~ Prad han of Block 32) Rampel
Sar o j ~ho was loading tho mob 1nd instructing it to kill all
tho ma l o Sikhs of tho locality.

1.o.

-10-

Thero was Murari who stays in Block 32 and has ,0 grocery

sh op in Block 31. Th'Jr e was Nathu who :J 1so rosides in Bock
32 and wari< s ~ s n mDtor mC I;h:Jnic in New Dolhi. , Two of
Nat hu's brothe r 's lU'1re also r'ocogn.is3blo. Thero was Chand
( a woman who has a cam~nt shoP in Block 31 and stays in
Block 32) with hor two brothers. Thoro was R~mu the Bhangi
dholakwall q. , Th o butcher, Kishan was also pi o sent in the
mob and his Four brothors Shrawan, Shriya, Chotte, Kamel.
I also i d ohtifi 3 d Kharak Singh Pradhan of Block 33, Pahelwan
and tho lott ~ r' s brother Rashid. I could also idontify the
Dhobi who us e d to wash our clothes. He stays in Block 32
and I kn ow his house.
In the evening Rnmpal Saroj CJm o with his hoodlums (Kishori,
his four brothors, Murari and his brothers Chand and har
brothers and Anmu Dho lakwalla among others~ and pulled out
our n e ighbours 9adshah S~ngh and Nanak Sihgh from their houeee.
They goug rJ d out Nan:!< Singh's ayos. They assaulted both of
them with bricks and stones. Then they put burning cycle
tyr os around th e i~ hecks, laUghed and shouted Jubilantly as
9adshah and Nanak di e d a slo~, agonising doath. I watchod all
this 'with my own eyos.
At night, Rampal Saroj and his gang lit , borlfiies out of the
loot in Front of our houso and stayo d ther~ through the Might,
shouting thr o ats to Sikhs.
Th o y wor e als o shouting abuses and obsc e nities. They asked
us to giu o all thokerosone we ,had. They wore also filling
karos c no c ' ns Fr o m th e depot in Block 26 which was open all
day ~ nd night to assi st t he miscroants. '
Tho police was conspicuous by its b3s ~ nce. In f~ct, tho
mor ning nF Ncvomb ~ r 1, Po lic o Con s tab le s Rajuir ~ingh among
th ~ m, gavo tho s ignal For t ho mobs to loot. kill ~nd rape and
wo nt away no t to r o turn till tho noxt 35-40 hours. '
On ~he ~ or nin g of Novom bnr 2, a mob of _?tl oast n Few hundrod
poo pl e cemo t o my hous D. Our Dhobi whom I hav o mo nt i on od
oarlior t old th o mob that J ur's was 0 Sikh ho us e . AFter this
my husband (n ~ m e withh o ld) was pull od out e nd attaCked
with 'L e this' an d spoars. Burnin g articl e s were then thrown
on my dying hUS band . He diod in no timo . Th e p-eopla
responsible for th o killing wo ro th o poople I've alr e ady
na mad - Murori, Ki shen ( and his br ot he rs), N~thu, Chand, the
Dhobi, Ramu, Rempel Soro j and many othors who I can't name
but can id~ntiFy ~ f r oqu i rod. Th e sarno s o t of poople thon
pro c oa Qod to kiill 9001:1 Singh, Ch a ran Singh, Raj Singh,
Gulab Singh, Jagdish Singh and the lnttor's brothor
. " 11.

-11Hoops a f do od peo pl a wor o then burnt in front of my house

by Ramp~l 5aroj and his gang of hoodlums . Even peoplo who
wor e kill ed. in adjoining str~ots worD draggod in Front of
my hous u e nd burnt with torchos mado of blankets and other
inFlammabl o mate rials.
Afte r ~ ndulqir9 in all this lo ot , arsoning, killing and
rapo th o mob finally loft our str~ot and gavD us a chanco
to oscopa. wo took r of uge on tho banks of the Yamuna beyond
Chilla Villagc. We wora r as cu e d from thero by army jawans
on Nov e mb ~ r 3 and brought to Farash Bazaar relief camp.
Undor no circumst 3ncos, am I willing to go to Trilokpuri with
my littl e daught o r.
WITHHELD
This statemont was recordod by ma a nd is the true English
translation of tho stat omont of wilhhald. It was read out
to hor a nd o xplainod in Hindi and she ha~ understood the
contonts of tho above stat oment.
Signature of recording parson:

(ASSEM SHRIVASTHAVA)

Rocordod a nd oxplainod in the

prese nco of:

(Malika virdi)

. NAME

WITHHELD

-AFFIDAVIT
- --'-

ADDRE 55 :
ON Nov cm b3r 1st, at ar ound 1 p.m. whon ~o hoard that housos
we rn ba i ng burn~ and the local Gurudwaras had boo n burnt
t oo, I, my husband, my brother and my throe childro~
wont ~ n d touk r ~ fu~o in l's hous o . By tho time wo had hid
oursolvos, chil~r 8 n from th3 'gall' C8mG ond told mo that
tho mob of poo pl a hod burn t down our hous ~ compl e tely.
Wo had l r' ft bohin d Rs. 15,000 which wo tl"ld taken as loa.
for my husband to go abr oad , 'as looted alongwith all tho
othor housohold go od s.
WDspdnt th~ night hiding, k30 ping wa tch while tho mob
ran around outsido killing pooplo. At 4 a.m. on November
2. I sent my husband to 30/A so th'1 t ho could stay with
C's sons and nophews wh o had all had their hair out. I
had hopod that th e y would not recognise him as a Sikh. At
8 a.m. ho had toa with thoir family.
At about 9 4.m~
ho again came up into tho terraco. I could soo him from
our hom o just than a group of mobstross s a w him. Salim, .
who livos at 30/499. then called my husband to come up to
them. My husband h.Cld no el'limi ty with anyone. Ho wont
up to thom and said that ho had throo childr e n and that
they should sparo him.
. ~~,~2.

-12-

Salim then d ~agg od my hus band to our house took him up to the
torr , c o an~ thon push ~d him off tho 2nd floor of ~ur house.
Thoy thon came down ~ n d alongwith th e mob, boat him with sticks.
While he wa s still olivG,. the y poured kerson e over him and
s' t
him on f :' ::: :1 ,
Twico my husband tried to s tand up, aflame, and entreat ed them .
to sava him. Wo me n w~o triad to give him mater, wero beston.
He di od sucf o ri ng .
Late r, mo n c om3 to kill my yoa r old son, and I did everything
I could to save him.
The polico thoms e lv es we r e amongst tho mob, identifying Sikh
famili ns and inciting them to kill all of us. Urchins from
Block 27 also came, looting 9nd killing people.
I nev e r want to go back to Trilokpuri.
THUMB IMPRESSION OF
WITNESS WITHHELD

NAME:

WITHHELD .

ADDRESS:

TRI LO KPU RI

On th e Dvo ning of th o 1st, at about 6 p.m. when there was

looting and kil ling allover, my s on (withheld) aged 18 ye ars
was tr yi ng to make his way homa an ~ saving himsalf fr a m the
ki l lers. But who n ho tri e d to ont e r my hom o Ramc sh. who lives
in Bloc k 30 ~nd works in th e Railway. e nd Kishan who works
in tho s 'lme gali 3S aurs 3m! runs 3 Kir '1na s hop, pulled him
out. Tho first beat him with sticks , brokq his arms, lega a nd
skull. All through my so n kapt askin g th om to spare him
bocaus 3 his mother is a wido w. But th e y dii no t stop.
Thoy thon powrod pe trol ~nd kor os e ne ov e r him and set him '
a blaz o whil e olivo. When (wiitlheld) tri ad to pull his burning
tloth os ~ thoy bDot him a ll th 3 mor e 3nd finally ho died.
When
he h3 d 3s ked f or water ova n thon, t hoy h3d hot allowe d a nyone to
go noa r him. When I be gge d tho police to inte rv e ne and S3ve
~y son, th oy laughed a nd told th e mob to kill ~im and not to
~p3re hi m.

.... .
,.:~

-1 ~-.

That d a y w ~ wa ra br ought to Fara sh Ba zaar polico stati o n. Five

days ag o wh o n W ~ w ~ r c ta ~ o n to Kalysnpuri polico station and
From i ther ~ t o Tril o kpuri.
I hoard poople in Trilokpuri saying
that 'l ook at th e m - we kill od th o ir monFolk and now they are
comin g bac k to get killod the mselve s'. I navar want to gp to
Trilokpuri a n ~ r isk my lif o .

THUMB IMPRESSION
(WITHHELD)

AFFIDAVIT
.-...
~ -- . -

NAME:

WITHHELD

ADDRESS :

TRILO PURl

On the 2nd of November at 4 p.m. or so, my husba"d had just

cut his h air and told me that we must escape. I told him
that we should wait ti l l it was dard. Just as I said that
about 100 or 150 people arrived in front of my house. Someone
From the crowd identified our house and said saidars were living
insid e . The people then started shouting and asking us to open
the door. My husband went out and said he wasn't a S.i kh. But
they pull nd out my brother in law (withheld) and wi t hheld
and be at t he m up, put them at charpais and set them aflame.
In t he meanwhile my husband ran to my mother in law's house.
My mot he r in law app e aled to one of our neighbours, RaShid who
is a tai l or to s a ve her son. But Rashid ignored her appeal
and c on t i nu ed to i ncite the crowd. My husband ra~ to t he next
gal i wh ere my ne i g hbours tell me, they s eal e d him oFf in one
roo m and se t th e whole place ablaze and killed him.
I, in t he m2a nwhil e , made my escape with my thr ee year o l d
daught e r. Ea rli o r, 3 6 I had tried to save my brother in law
on e o f my ne i g hbours, Ulhom I ca" recognise hit me with en iron
rod on my hip. I s pe nt thG ni g ht at a frIe nd 's place and
was eva c ua ted t he nex t morning by th e milit a ry. Even while
we we re bei ng t a ke n way by the mi li ta r y , t he man who had hit
me wi t h thg i ron r od , t hr e atened me to ke ep quiet, or he
woul d kill me .
Today when I Ulent home to collect some rations and clothes,
the pe op le o f th e ne xt gali thr e at e ned to hav e me killed for
ha vi ng ma de a state ment agai nst th e m. I now live in fear of
my li fe an d do not want to r Gturn to Trilo kpuri.
THUMB IMPRESSION
WI THHE LD
14 .,

-14- -

NAME:

WITHHELD

ADDRESS:

TRILOKPURI

Being a 'Mona' Sardar, I was able to be part of the mob and

crowd and remain undiscovereq. On the 1st oP November, the
Bhangi's From Kalyanpuri were doing the looting and killing,
They usod lathis to First hit the m~n on their two knees
so that they c~uldn't run~ and then on the shoulders, and, on
the head. They would then pour keresene on the hurt person and
burn him alive. On the 2nd of November, the mohalla people
were primarily involved in the lootin'g, arson and murder. A,mong
them were Karamat, a cement worker of 30 Block; Noorj~han
made alist of all the Sardars in -the Block, She called J8gg1
of Block 31 a Muslim gbonda and told him to prepare the list or
the Sardar hous Ds. He then brought all his goondas. Zulekhon,
a friend of Nagrishan's ilias also involved.-' They would first go
to the house of the S'a rdar, to make sure they were thera, and
protend to save them, but when the Family opened tho door, shewould call all the other goondas and they would loot the house,
burn it and kill the men. Noorjehan is known all around the
.
block. Other people I could see doing the killing wers Jsseem,
a plumber in block 30. Thon the people From Chilla village
came. They would First loot the houses and burn them aFterwards.
Prem, Rohtas a-nd Biram ell three of village Chilla, and who are
milk sellers, wors also participating. They alongwith several
others would dreg all th e young woman to the park and make them
sit in olive. All th e unmarri e d women of 31 block were taken
thore.
They woul d then ddcide who was pre tty and wh~ not, and those
girls they wa nte d, wo~ld be t~ken to village Chilla. I saw one
of th o men From Chilla villag e dr ~ g a girl From my block -no.3D
by ha r han d when aha tried to fr no herselF Prom his grip, he
pickar: up 0 ston o ,and hi t har . on th o he:'ld. I saw Mukesh, Rohtas,
Prem and Birom of ,Chillo Village drag the girls to the nearby
nallah ond they rop ed t hem ther o , I didn't go na3r the n31lah
but romained on the stros t. I could hear the girls screaming .
in pain and Fear. The men would shout at them and hit them.
Some girls were taken to Chill~ villa~e and raped. But it
was becoming dangerous for me, so I ran away 'aFter Jl!Iekha's
brother Nlyom3t Ali, pointed to a hOU9~ and said 'let uS go
and kill the Sordars inside' - but these were friends of mine
so I somehow ran away snd went to Block n,o . 21, to hide at my
friends house. They protected us For three days and I coma
to thi s camp on ' the 4th. The police di d nothing and sent the peopl e to kill the sardars.
THUMEj IMPRESSION WITHHELD
\I

5.

-15-

PATTERN OF KILLINGS IN BLOCK 32 TRILOKPURI

S. MA ~E OF PERSON
NO. KILLED(Q.ATEL_
1. Nanak

Sin~h

(eve of 1/11)

NAME OF ALLEGED
KILLER(S)
Rampal Sarpj, Kishori
+hLS brothers1Nathu
+his brothers ,Chand
{ +his bro t hers ,
Murari Ramu Dholakwalla, Kharak singh
Pradhan Pahalwan,
Rashid etc.

MANNER OF'
KI LI. I N..q_

Eyes gouged
out, assaulted with
bricks/stones
tyre burning .
put around the
neck

NAME
A~D

ADDRRS SES
OF'
vIITNESSES
I,JIT H

HELD
-do-

2.

8adshah Si ngh
(e ve 1/11)

3.

8hagat Singh

Rampal Saroj, Gyan

(+his Father Mistri)
Pundit, Ajit

beaten unconscious
with lathis
+ scythes.
8urning
tyre . put
around neck

-do-

4.

Atta r Sin.;Jh
(3/11)

Rampal Saroj, Kaunak

Singh, Kishori
Valmiki

Eyes gouged
out, bea t en
unconscious
and set fire
to

wdo-

5.

Lal Sin gh
(1;-: ':)

Rampal Saro j , Abbas, beaten up,

Kis hori Valmik i ,
doused in
Pundit, Jaggi Dhinvar,kerosene and
Duli Chand, Anwar, Ka- set fire to '
llu, Karak Singh,
Niyamat Ali(Pahelwan),
8abu Khan

6.

Tara Singh
( 1/11)

-do-

7.

Bula Singh
(Morning a F

Kisheri and ethers

-do-

2/11 )

8.

Jeat Singh
(eve 1/11)

-do-

-do-

-do-

-de-

-do-

8eaten up
wi th sticks,
bricks and
iron rods and
then set fi~9
to

-do-

.-do..

- (1 0

3.
NO.

9.

or

NAME
PERSON
KILLED(QAT_EJ_

Bhora Singh
(Morning of
2/11 )

10.

-THE

Samudra Singh
(eve 1/11/B4)

MANNER
KILLING

or

Rampal Saroj,
Kishori and
Others

Pushed from the

roof, eyes gouged
out by Kishori and butcher,
beaten up and set
fire to

Kishori and
Others

Kisheri hacked
him with his
Kha njar and set
fire to him

A SSA I LAN TS

Wh at merges Clearl y from the affidavits is that in Bleck

32 Trilokpuri, the main assailants and leaders of the m8b9
were the local Congreas(I) 'netas' and petty hoodlums of' the.
neighbourhood such as the local butcher, sweepers "I nd aut . .. .
rickshawpullers who identified houses to be burnt and male
members to be killed. They actively joined ~ 500 strong
mob in doing so.
The re a sons for assault by their own neighbours, 'netas' snd
loc al police are explained by many victims in the camp.
The police, they claim, actu~lly shared the loot and prof'its
from -(tiS-operations 01' the local hoodlums. They had oFten
asked the Sikhs why they had not taken to earning their
living through criminal ~ctivities when they were there to
share the bounty and give their protection. The 'netas'
spoke of helplessness, the 'toof'!n' (storm) c;)used by the sorrow
at their beloved leader's de~th, and some spoke boldly of
a 'huknm '(Ord e r). The ~D~Q~~_ -are all from the scheduled
castes, economica lly do press 8d and har boured f ee lings of en'y
and jealously at thG 3nterprise o ~ their Sikh neighbours.
Stirred into belie ving th3t t he ir saviour had been '!ssasinated
by th e Gntire Sikh community, they rS 3dil y acc e pted th e
slogan 'khoon kD badla khoon' (blood for blood) -in order to
loot t e l evi sion sets, gold , c 3sh 3nd oth Rr pi e c Rs of material
well be in g . Brutaiis8d by their own living conditions, the
viol e nc G Dnd opul e nce of our film culture and the criminalisat i on of the police a nd politicians around them, bestiali ty came e8s i ly enough. The full .list of repo'rted
as so il :lnts ro " ds like , tho mugs gallery of 1) B-gr::lde Bombay
film.
1.

Kishori Valmiki

Butcher from Block 31 who us e d his

c::lrving k n iva ~ to goug e ~ut the yes
of Sikhs before they were killed
and burnt - was protecte d by Rampel
Soroj rtght through
. 17.

-17-

2.

Dr.

3.

Sn1im

go and a Prom Block 27 who was

directly involv 3d in murd Ars

4.

Mu khri

tailor from Block 29 involved in

murd e r

Y~hy3

Siddiqi

h:JS 3 c l in i c in Block 27,lod the

mob

of Blook ~O re~ort 8 d to have

incitGd Muslims by spr o :Jding the
rumours th:Jt mosques have been
burht by Sikhs
6.

Om Pr n kOlsh

7.

Vod Pr:J k:J sh

Om Pr~k3sh's brother, involved in

murdor '1 nd r'3pe

8,

Salim

of 810ck 30 - involved i" murder

9.

Abb a s

of Block 30 involved in murder

Niyam3t Ali

of Block 31 - . 1nvolve d in . murder

10.

, 1 . Duli

~h:lnd

12. . Abdull"lh

mqson of Block 30, involved 1n

.

m~rd o rs

of Block 31 - loc a l Congress(I)

worker
of 8lock 31 - Tri e d to :Jbduct
.sQma on o 's daughter, involved in
r .3 pe

13.

Kamruddin

involved in rape

14.

Rn ju Vnlmiki

swee per nt Alank~r th e Oltr e , olleg8d ly i nvolved in r a pe, ~ lso

invo lv e d in murder

15.

3ain

bu si n3 ssm3n who h"ls his d e ~ot in

Block 27 su ppli e d ke ros e ne Free

16.

Sh e r Si ngh

In vo l ved in murder

17.

Ra mosh

of Bloc k 30

18.

Komruddin

Chck ki - shop own e r of Block 31

i nvolvod in killings

1 9.

Dr. V.P.SINGH

of Block 31 - 311ag ddly instigated

mobs

involved in murder

to

1 e.

-18-

20.

Sharav:3n

brother of Kishori - involved in

:lrson, loot and murder

2 1. " Shriya

-do-

22.

Chhot o

-do-

23.

K3m'11

-do-

24.

Jagg:l Sonsi

of Bloc k 32 involv e d i n burning,

murd e r ., nd r " pe

25.

Dr :lU p:ldi

Wif e of J 3gg:l S3nsi,

mur de r . , nd r3pe

26.

Kh :lrok Singh
Pr od han

inv o l vod in murd e r

27.

Ga ff 'l l' Khan

c ome nt d J 3 l o r from Block 32,

in vol ve d in murder

2B.

Babu Khan

Own e r of a doiry, "took part in

ki 11in9s

29.

M'3nu S3nsi

involvad in burning and plunder

30.

Somn o th

dir e ctl y resoonsible for killing

saver :l l people

31

AJit

involv~d

32.

K:> dir

involve d in muder 3nd burning

33.

Te llo S " nsi

Dr 3upodi's sisto I' - i ns t ig3te d

mobs to loo t , burn, r,p o 3nd kill

34.

Rupl "1 1

dir ~ ctly

35.

Omi

sho a m3 kor f rom Bl ock 32 - took

:lct iVD pa rt in incit i ng J nd killing

36.

Mur o ri

groc o ry shop own 3r from Block 31

dir e ctl y r .1 sponsibl a fl:r killing
sever"J I pa opl "a

in~tig3ted

murder ., nd burning

involve d in murder

of Block 3? dir e ct l y involved in

kil l ings
31:1.

P3ho l wan

broth e r at R3shid,took part in

killings

39.

K3 1lo Kh an

dh~bo owner of Block 32 - went 3rou.d "

arson 3nd looting

-19-

40.

Aziz

took part in Gison a nd looting

41. Allls:lr

took

42.

' Abb as

cloth a nd Ch3PP31 shop owner of

Block 27 - took leading port in
loot i ng ~ nd killings

43.

Or. LQmbo

of Block 32 - instfgated mobs

44.

K3yamot Ali

involved in looting and 3rson

45.

Sha llll

liquor sell a r of Block 32 - took

~ ctiv 8 part in 10llting and arson

46.

.J3ggi

responsible for s e veral murders

47.

Sher Kh3"

r o sponsible for several murders

4B.

Murli Khan

involved in looting :l nd burning

49.

Raja R.'Jm

RickshQW puller of Block 32 - tllek

part in arson Qnd looting

50.

Se dhu Ram

dir ectly responsible for . killings

51-

Si to R:lm

milkman of Block 32 - led mobs

which we re burning and killing

Ai YY:l

Son of Sita Ram - goond:l wha was

dir ectly r e sponsible for killi~g
severa l pe ople

53.

Toos

brothe r of Aiyya - goonda who took

active pa rt in looting, burning a.d."
killing

54.

Kalnv o ti

wif e of Si ta Ram - pointed out

hous e s of S ikhs to mobs - carr'.a
ke ros e ne c ns wi t h he r which she
di strj but e d to miscreants

55.

Be du

involv e d directly in several killings

56.

Lokha

involved directly in several killings '

57.

Bach3n

5B.

Roapa

invol vad dir a ctly in. several killings

,
involv e d directly in several killings

59.

Zule Kh:1r)

.. 52.

p~rt

in

~rson

:lnd looting

friand of Nurjehan of Block 30 - instigated mobs by spreading rumours

-that Sikhs had burnt down mosques
in Trilokpuri
20 ..

. -2060.

'Nathu(+his brothers) responsible for several killings

61.

Chand( ~ his b ~ otheis)

62.

Ram~ , Dh o t~kw alla

63.

Gyan(+hi e fa the r

-d o-

part ook in loot, plunder and muder

mistr '/ )

64.,

Pundit

dire~tly

responsible for arson and

_killing
65.

Kannak Sins;h

helped Kishori in gouging

eyes - killed many

66.

Anwar

directly responsible for several

murders

67.

Kallu

-do-

68.

Bhoom

... do-

69.

Pappu

-do-

d~t

~eople's

The only difference is that the prominent personalities can be

seen in flesh and blood even today in Trilokpuri.
Here is a true life pOltrait of a politician turned murderer,
turned 'saviour' who , is still allowed to ro~m free by his
mentors who appear to be no di'fferent. _
,

Rampal Sa~oj is 45 years ' old, Pradhan of Block 32, Local

Congress (I) leader. and was the ring leader of the mobs
which went aroun.d killing people, raping women. looting and
burning houses and orope1'ty on 1st, 2nd, 31'd November 1984.
All the reFugees from Trilokpuri stayi n g at Farash Bazaar
testify to ths f a..: t t' ,:.t Rampal Sa roj masterminded the riots
there (especially in BlOCks 30, 31, 32). He was seen personally
stabbing people wi th a kniPa JJhic: , he uns carryi ng wi th him
and stringing burning cycle t vre s around the necks of peoole
who were Singled out for st tac k . He is also believed to
have publicly instructed ~he mobs to burn all the corpse~ so as
to destroy a ny evidence of th e murd~r 8 . 53 roj ~as arrested ' o~
9th November but wqs rel ease d on bail on 14th November. This
would raise questions about tha political r R8 ch of this
-seeminglysm1Jll. time goonda. It is also interesting to note
the t1ctics that people like S3roj emDloy. A~ew wee~s after
the ~iots, a Sikh from Block 32, Trilokpuri accompanied one of ,
us to his house to hear ~is version of the incidents of 1st/2~d
)rd November'. Saroj sta~ted shedding crocodile t 8ars a nd made
as if to regret the fact "that he couldn't , be of any help
to the -Sikhs at the tim.e the mobs came to kill, 'rape. loot
and b\.lrn". "Come b"rck here", he . ple'lded, "you .are --' not going
to get place anYlUhere else" .
-

-21-

Such is the hypocrisy of this dehumanised creature who is

also an active worker of the ruling party. Recently he '
bTo'ught out a poster which throws further light ori his
charact8~~
We reprint the poster translated from Hindi
be low:
rHE POOR peOPLE OF TRILOKPURI DEMAND AN
___ .E .X.p L A..N..A!~0l!.. .9.F_.i~_I1..QJLR.S...

.. ...., ..'... _

"bel hi Punarv3s Sangharsh Samiti" on behalF of the rehabiii-

teted colonies Himmst~uri, Trilokpuri, Shiripur, Kaly~npuri
and nearby villagsrspsy tributes to the gte~t leader ahd
the mother of the entire country late Mrs. Indira Gandhi
and supports the ~ew Prime Min i ster Mr. RaJi~ Gandhi and .
Minister for Information and Broadc3sting . Mr. H. K.L. , ahagst.
We want to know where were the high officials of Delhi Police
during those 48 houtl. Today mlmost the entire poor people
are being blackmalle~. Th e constables of Kalyan~uri police
station ate pbuncing on all of us in the de3d of the night.
Th~ innocent people want to know who had killed and looted
the Sardars of 32 Block? The reality is that the dwellers of
Block 32, 31, 30 ,nd 33 whether they were Hindus, Muslims or
Christians were lamenting on their misfortune in their houses
for 48 hours i:lIring 1-11-84 to 3-11-84. TodCly the b13ck
shadow of the police is hovering over their heads. ' IF ~~~
survey is done, it will Show th , t many people of Block 32
have left their houses Jnd oone off or they are thinking of
leaving. We the poor people appeal to Prime Mintster Rgjiv
Gandhi :lnd InfarmCltionond Bro"ldc:lsting Mi'nister MR.H.K.L.
Bh .~gat to h.e-'Jr the cry of us poor peoplo.
\~e request them
to stop the blnckmail by the Delhi police.
Working Committc.l s:

S:u.v"lshri Rooplal, Ramsingh, Dulic.h~nd,

flresident), Is1.'1m Ahmed, K(lnnak Singh,
Ved Pr"lk"lsh, Ayub. Khan, G~zi Mohannad, Raghuvir , Ch3ndra Devi,
U.mon, Summ s muddin, Sohan131 Mistry, Nazeer Mistry,Moh3~~ad
N3~ir.
Anup Singh Cricket Captain, Rotanlol and Udoy Ramzain.
Mu!jh3r-n'6'g'"'1;'B'Ii~-1i-'(ViCo

PRESIDENT
RAM PAL SARO]
DELHI PUNARVAS SANGHARSH SAMITI
Many of thesennamss are olrandy familiar from the proceeding
affidavits.
RELIEF ASSISTANCE:
For each thot killed, there was one who helped. Individuals
in Trilokpuri such as some mentioned e.,rlier, .S.H_O:=D\~ia~:- - ..
Singh and his men are 3mong those grateFully thanked by all
the refugees at the camp.
22.

-22-

Many peopl e came to th n camp to don a te 610 t he si r a tions,

blankets, shoe s and money. Some we nt away wondering whether
it had been a good id a a trying to distribute these with
"their own h n ndsn as t here was never e nough to go around and
the act of charit y in 3 vitably ended in a fr e e for a ll, with
the mobbed donors beating a h~ ~ 8ty retreat. Famili e s from the
neighbouring colony help e d with th e 'langar'(oommunity kitchen)
for a week.
Agenci e s suoh 3S t he Re d Cross offer e d to distribute milk but
did not return. The Shahdu ~ a Rotari a ns passed around milk
bottles ~ nd baby mi l k for thr oe d a ys. Springdales School
volunt e ers distributed hair oil , tooth powder and combs and
then mov e d to a 'gali' in Kalyanpu r i t o rehabilitate those
who had stayed amongst the rubble of their homes~ The Times
of India Ro lief Commi ttee and r. he Pe ople's Relier Committee,
Youth ASSOCiation, 11 ; OUS cri3li s ts a nd garment axp6rters whose
own f actories had be en burnt, came forward with l~rge donations
in kind. Unless they were handed over to our group .for equal
distribution i n wh3t Co\lO to be known B S "Chaubees Number"(Our
offic e and s tor e room in the Thana Block) it was always a
quci stion of the surviv a l of the fittest where the strong and
aggressiv e would grab th o most.
Gurudwara Groups 'uc re nev e r in prominence :I t F:lr:lsh Ba zaar.
ffi--D-C"r:l c"C5iil,j-- thre e we eks l"t e r to consult our widows list in
order to arrange ponsions for th e m.
Politic_~.!_P_~..r.sED-=- of the ruling part y l argely kept away.
The
InformDti o n ~ nd Boradcastins Mi nist e r Mr. H. K. L. Bhagat
visited th e co mp ~ n the si xth da y. The refugees became angry
3nd :lgito t e d, sh out e d cr it ical sl ogans and the widows cried
hysterically with th e r E,s ult t ha t h ~ had t o leape without
distributing th a blonke t s or be ing ~ ble to speak to the large
"lroup of i"dign cn t victi ::cs . Most o tho!' political figures
(mostly worn,)n a n ~ wi ves of politi c ~ : f igur e s) came to make
low ke '; ' :o :' s o s c.nn,''' s ' :1rd u.:: nt t : , ~ :i. r way with no visible
follow lJ~, .

It is r o m3 r k2 bl c h o ~ no Congr8 s s(I) pe rs on:lge c ~ me to show

public conc e rn, c onsn le the tragic victims, promise them
3nything or even wip e th eir t e ~rs for the ben e fit of
DoorAaunan 2E usuall y hap pens whe n th e r o is a flood or drought.
There wer e no he ~ dlines 3 ssuring hel p to th e victims or
condemning th a carn a ge. Instea d there WDS only an explanatio~
that the s artn i s bound to shake wh e n a big tree f311-s and
with that t he victims were swe pt undor th e admi nistrative
ca rpe t.
The story of ths administration is a long 3nd frustrating one,
with only some respoii'ses;mostly at an indiv i dual level,
providin g the proverbial silver lining. To begin with, a short
but true story:
. - 23

e-

-23~lmost

tho first thing to follow sfter DESU h3d fitted the

blocks with lights; and the Municipsl Corpor3tion had .brought
in drinking water, was a colour television brought by the
Delhi Development Authority under the Lt. Governor's
instructions "to listen to the Prime Minister" as thoy sa{d.
The late 'P::ime Minister's a shes snd urns wer e still the main
focus on tol Rvision and would hav e ha d a detrimental effect
on the alru ~oy . s h a t t8~ed psyches of thj u/idows and others
in the camp. Arrsngement s For smbulances, orderly distribution of' Food, infoIm:Jtior> or> m::'ssin;J ~' o 13tives detailed announcements of compens a ti on f o rm prcc ' dures and many other
such vital matt e rs wo re (3).. the r non existel'lt or tor From
sntisFoctory 'lnd e ve - ~ually. h:J lldled by us. The senior
governmont ofFic .l rs i~ chorg C3 of th e camp politely rjfused
to accept the t~ l evis 1o ri ss a s~bstit~t~. As . one remarked,
'either we do nothin g ur Wcl ~ l e m t ~ d G t he wrong thing' . A
nC3W.S item From th e Statesm:ln of Nov o mber 10th, 1984 is
reproduce d hor a~it h:

"Under instructions from the Lieutenant~Governor,

Mr. M. M. K. Wali, off1ci31s of the Delhi D ~ ve
lopment Authority tried to distribute colour "
talevision sets in 83ch of the ton relief c~mps
in Dolhi.
Thos e 1n ch~rge of these camps, however, immadist e ly dissuade d the oFfici~i9 from setting up
these sets. According to reports tha purpose of
pr6viding th e s e sets was to c o nvince the viewers
that c a lm h3d r o turned t o the City 3nd to give
. them the opportunity of listening ' to . the
diff e rent pe ople being intervi ewed e ~ ch night
on th~ loto Mrs. Gandhi. Ca mp authorities w~rned
the of:'iciois that they could taka no rasponsibilit~ for th u ru ~ c~io ~ c ~ch a move mig~t provoke.
Meanwhile, it is I 0 3rnt th3t the Delhi Admi.nistrotion :md th t; Uni o n Gov8 rnmen t are r'a considering
its earlier d ices i on of h~ving ClS~ compens ~ ti n n
applicati on forms dis t ributed From three c en tres
in Delhi.
According to somB relieF ~ genci o s, Mr. AShok Pradhon,
Relief Commissi oner, h3s uriderstood th e difficulties th i. s would Cluse t o many of , the aff e cted.
Thes e forms will now be sent to each of the relief
camps and government and voluntary agancies will
assis t in th e gathsring of information. Security
fears ara still strong enough For most poopla
to r e si~t any efforts to persuade tham to l eh ve
th eso ca mas"
24.

-2~
Compens~tion was announced Por deaths,
ho~ses.
This was certainl~ imperative

injuries ~nd damaged

and timely although
inadequate. Keever, filling and submitting the compensation
claim Porms (Annexur ~ 3 and 4) was asupethuman and highly
complicated task which left aven hardy v6luntaers confused
and exhausted, not to speak of th e' ne a r panic it continuousiy
aroused in th ~ victims
. Far~sh B~Z06r Camp reFug ees were provided with only 600 forms
on November 10. They queU ~ j Par almost t~o days to get these.
The final dote for subm~s sfc n w a ~ Novembar ' 15 and could not
have bee n odher ud to. Th e :~ rms were in Engli~h, the clai~ants
were not expocted to kDep d'1 ;Jlic :tes, no pen 's or stamp pads
were providCld, .:md each claim il::td to bo Filed . on a separ:lte
form. On spot v 8 riFi c3 ti ~ n in the abs en ce of the claimant .
lead to odhoc critcri~ ba i ng uppli a d by di fer~nt vS~ific3tio~
officers. Th~ word cf loc~l witnessus , particularly ' ~he~ some
of . them wor8 th8 3ss<lilsnts, coul o ' hardly be relied upon.
Medical certificates could na t h,ve be e n obtainod in the
emergency conditions und Gr which pGopl o were treated. The
Sofd<lrjung Hospital team of doctors were told that they were
not authorised to issue certificates. Self a~pointsd lawyers
and other touts outSide thG centres where forms were to be
submitt Cl d advised' that FIRs and d3ath cortific~tes had to
accompany tho forms. Many did not know if thar relatives
were dead or ~issing. Many did not know if their houses
were still standing as they bad fled durin~ the burning.
What could illiterate widows do if the business establishments
of their husbands had been destroyed? They could not ask
for compensation alone ' for the destroyed shop or vehicle and
most could not be expected to take a loan under the R-2 form
restart the business and pay intp.rest of 12!% per annum. There
was no relief offered for all the - property destroyed inside
\
their homes, We were bes~iged all day wit~ anxious questions.
The following tabulation shews the claim form picture at
Farash Bazaa): '
FARASH BA Z,qAR

: COMPE tJ SATION CLAIMS(~

BLOCKS CLAIMANTS DEATHS INJURIES DESTOYED

HOUSE/
PROPERTY.
THANA
1
2
3

4
5
6
7

8
9

TrlTI\[

7
30
42
42
36
79
69
64
. 78
93
53~

2
1
3
6
16
56
39
33
44
45

---243

6
15
11
22
15
11
8

22
11 ~

5
30
52
37
32
77

60
61
. 75
B6
515

WI DOl.JS

UNWI LLI NGNESS

TO
RETURN
. .-

---_
2
9
11
8

43
38
30
37
46
224

4
28
42
21
29
77
52
64
72

76
465
26.

TOTAL CLAIMS:

871

Submitting these claims ~t the office of th~ SDM Shahdara

involved our volunteers sitting thete for thr~e dai~ at ' ~h~
SDM Sh~hdor~'s request, entering these forms in his regist~r
and writing out the receipts themselves. There wi~ always
such a huge crowd et the office that any help from the
admnistration in filli~g forms was impossible. The paMic
and rush was at its peek on November 15 until the extendeti
date' was anno ' Jnced at the 13st moment. Despite our repeated
requests to the odministra~ion this announcement , was not made
earlier. The illiterate widows were 3gain in a near hysterical stllte.
While the last of the forms werD still being submitted the
verification officers had got to work. Thirty one cheques
arrived - one day for house damage. They were all for ~. 1.000/The claim3nts indignantly returned the cheques stating that
it wasnnot enough to replace a door and window let alone
provide for the burnt, inside portions. The next day injury
cheques for ~. 1,000/- arrived although there was no such
category in the official guidelines. Again, these were
returned in anger and the clerks went away advising us to
talk to the authorities.
As of December 4; some death, injury and house damage claims
have been paid at the camp, but olongwith - these a new problem
emerged - that of the jhuggi dwellers. The statement below
explains part of the problem.

NAME
ADDRESS

WITHHELD
BLUCK 32 Trilokpuri

Father's name: Withheld

On the 1st of November when I wa s returning From work,

peo ple in Block 34 told me not to go home as all Serders in
Block 32 we re being murde red. I h:J d been ' in their house till
the 3rd morning and went to my jhuggi in Block 32. There I
found eve rything dostroyed and all my family missing. I was
told th3t my father,(withheld), my brothers(withheld) and
withheld h3d been killed on the 1st of November. I then came
to Farash Bazaar Camp and found my wife and children; My
two sisters in town and their children 3 nd my mother , were also
there. All four women were witness to the killing of my
f3ther and two brothers and had seen their dead bodies.
My father and the brother lived in one Jh~ggi and my elder
brother and I had a jhuggi each right next to e3ch other in
Block 32.
26.

-26 -

At the Farash Baznar relief we filled in the R-1 impensatibn

forms. I fill e d a claim for dnmage to dwellin9; My mother
.
(withheld) filled a death cl a im for my father lwithheld). My
sister in law (withheld) filed a dea t h claim for her husband
(withheld) . :1Md my other sist e r in law (withheld) filed a death
for her husb ,~ nd(wit.hheld).
Four days back I h ~d gone t o Block 32 Jhuggis to see if I could
retrieve property from my da~~ged jhuggi . Over there I met
.
Rampel Saroj who was th e re with the official~ who had come from
the Magistra te s o?fice for verif' ic,ntions. Rampal SoroJ told
the officials that nobody had been killed in Block 32 Jhuggi~~ '
He also told them that everybody from tho jhuggis had ru~ a~ay '
from their jhuggi s . He accused us of only~laying card~.
..
gambling bnd drinking. which is an outright lie. He ~l~o s~i~
thot all t he jhuggis bo long to oaoole who :liso have regular
'
plots. this is a lie because we have our independent ' r~tlori
cards for each of our jhuggis. Rampol Saroj signed 3S a ~itnesi,
claiming that the death cl~imS were fraud. Ho~ever when the
officers :lskJd a 'chakkiwala' of Block 32 to stand witness to
th e de3ths, thC3 chakkiwal3 wilose name i.s Jaspal Singh, 5/0 Arjl.l,
Singh said that he had seen ail those people killed. But Rampal
Saroj started calling him a liar and threatened him. So he did
not sign as witness.
Re fear thot bocause of interference from Rampel Saroj, we will
not get our du e compensation.
THUMB IMPRESSION
(N ;~ ME WITHHELD)
This statement was recorded by me and in th~ true English
tr a nslation of th n ~ta t ement of (withheld). It was read to
him a nd Bxplein a d in Hi ndi and he has und e rstood the contents
of the ab ov ~ st J t 8 ~ ~ ,t.
Signatur e of r .. .. . ..: .. ;: g oorsC''l :
Recorded a nd
presence of:

ex~lain e d

in . t ho

The Jhuggi dwellers ar e considered unauthorised extensions of the

plots. Rampal Saroj, ha~ing obtained th e ir ration. cards for them.
now wishes them away. It required a visit by us to the Relief
Commissioner for the administration to agree to reopen these cases
for reconsideration. There ar3 presently over 300 Claimants
who Gre still in dee p distress, unsure of ' whether their claims
are yet to be processed. or have been rejected and if so the
reasons th.refor. To whom do they go for an answer~? When will
they ever be at peace? When will be state think first of the
human being b3fore they formulate procedures, systems and policies,
27.

REHABILITATION AND RE SE TTLEMEN T

~---- , --

For the victims of Trilokpuri who cannot conceive of

returnin~ t o the giaveyard where their assailants will con~
.tinue to be their neighbours, a . policy of ' rBbcation is
imperative,' In a meeting of r8presentatives,-bo~th!T)Sn and
women, fro m all blo ~ks in t ~ e ca mp, we Formulated a proposal.
based on t ha moo t important 'Features that emerged, namely
a) that they did not wish to leave Delhi
b) that they
were willing to live in 8 Fully intlgrated manner with Hindus
a's long as they were not of an economically lower status .
c) that they ware willing t6 give up their Trilokpuri plot~
in exchanga For a flat or plot of land 'of equal value
d) that they did not want a separation of the widows from the
rest of the community,
, .
In respon s e, the poliCy. ma\<ers speak only ,6f widow rehabilitation of their future noIU than when they raached tha camp. . Thay
need a home to call. their own, and a pension to supplement
the income thay may re~eive From assorted job offers. They will
have to ' olTercome ill teracy, learn some skills, find empleyment
in factories, offices, balvadis, hospitals or learn to ru~ a
small shop or own an au~o rickshaw whic~ the i r young sons ca"
learn to dri~e. They need comfort and hope, and the prese~ce
of the remaining men in their community to help them ' care fo~
t 'heir innumerable Childr~n,. aged in laws and ' perhaps eve"
remarry_ This cannot be done ' in WIdow's homes. The administration rears the mergences of Sikh ghettos if they offer
alternate plots of land yet Pamposh Enclav~ in South Delhi is
a Kashmiri G.hetto, Chittaranjan Park .a Bengali 'ghetto' and
block 32 Trilokpuri was already a Sikh 'ghetto'. Do we wa'nt
widow ghettos too?
The disbanding of other camps and the consequent distress of
those who were forced to live by the roadsida near their dallll!lgetl ,
houses 'impelled us to petition the Delhi High Court not t.
disband camps if the people did no t wish to leave and the " state
could not guarantee their security. (Civil Writ Petition
No. 2595). The Court directe d that the inmates should not
be 'forced or ~ompell e d to le~ve (CM No. 3769/B4 dated November
16, ' 9B4). The refugees w'e re able to rest without Fear of '
eviction and muster a seNse of psychological stability. They
now , await a dec i sion on their proposel for resettlement while
classes for the youn ger children and sChemes for the psycho, logical and 'o ccupational reha bilitetion for women and s,elf' '
employed men are under way.

28.

-28A TELLING LE SSON

The first and most significant indication, of the need ' for
psychologic a l rehabilita tion C"ll1le f'ro'm' th8 men ir.1 the camp
on November 4th in 'the f or'm of a dem'l nd for ' turbans, Af t er
losing ev e r ything , 3nd undergoing th e most gru e some experiences,
it was this s ymbol of their identity that they S ! W as their
'
foremost requiremeht. The shorn and beerdlessmen appeared
na ked and embarra$s 3d and needed this piece of headgear to cover
their humiliation.
'
Late one ev e ning a tall, handsome autotickshaw driver showed
us his photograph taken prior to the riots and recounted his
story. "I hid in a tin trun k in my neighbour's , ~ouse fot two
days. They begged me to saV El their liv es and mine by ' cu,t Ung
off l1Iy hair and beard. ' rinally~ with tears flowing down my
cheeks, I dkL Today is the sixth day that I have not been able
to look at myself in th e Mirro~"; We dist~ibuted ov~~ ' 500
turbMs lui th special clUe and respect, knoiilir1g the inadequacy
of this gE!sbre in terms tlf lorig term actiClris re!!!uired to do allt6y
with the de e p injury inflicted cn their psyches. An ~ldetly
Sikh ge ntlemen whc came to distribute a mere 40 ~urba~s ' at ,
the camp a month later made a strange remark. He saitl he did
not wish to distribute them to those who did not intend to grow
th e ir ha ir again as these turbans would go waste. We persuaded
him not to take such matters into account for our hope was that
everyone would have the courage and pride to be a Sikh both
outwardly and inwardly.
The administration and th a State must understand their reponsibility in removing the deep hurt. No amount of VOluntary
agencies or s e ctarian groups c a n or should attempt to fill , the
gap exclusively. The ruling party and the , bureoucracy t hat - .
serves it should symbolise the attitudes of justice, secu13rism
unity and huma nitarianism and not th e short term gains of
electoral politics. As of now, they have be en found wanting.

SAGARIK EKTA MANCH

DECEMBER 5,

19B4

ANNEXURE -

LI STS "ADE BY ' VOL UNTEERS AT FARASH BAZAAI;l BETWEEN 4.11. B4

AND 6,12.84,

1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.
7.

8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Master list of Heads of households giving local address.

camp location
List of widows
Detailed profile,s of , widows incll.Jding ' skiLls, .help ,
needed; dependants etc. '
,
Details Frdm widow prof! les tabulated in chart fO .rm
Profiles of esch household including occupations, members
killed of miSSing, proerty lost, assailants, helpers,
willingness to return to their homes.
Assailants list of Trilokpuri
List 0 ;" claimants. of compensation, local address, nat"ure
of claim's Filled, re .ceip~ numberS '!
Li s t of ration cards, licences, c.rtificates ~or guns.
schools, passports, in~urance certificates st.~ilizati8"
certif'icetlls .
List of' .. infor-maUon on basiC needs for self employment
(carpenters, charpai weavers, sewing etc.)
Compensation ' claim complaints
Aff'icavits/Statements by victims
List 01' missing .Persons

These lists are not totally' aCl,lrate, nor exhaustive as there is

constant movement in and oLTt of the camp. InFormation g'ivl;ll'l
by the people also vary according to their unaerstanding

. **4 .:t *,~ **