Convicted Congress MP Sajjan Kumar dies at 80 in Delhi

Sajjan Kumar, a one-time Congress MP convicted in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, passed away at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi on Thursday. He was 80 years old.

Kumar had been serving life sentences in two separate cases related to his alleged involvement in the communal violence that erupted following Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination in October 1984. The riots claimed thousands of lives, predominantly in the capital, and left deep scars on India's communal fabric.

Once a prominent Congress party figure and Member of Parliament, Kumar's political fortunes reversed following investigations into his conduct during the riots. His convictions represented one of the delayed but significant accountability measures for the violence that had long remained largely unaddressed by the criminal justice system.

The death of Kumar closes a chapter in one of independent India's most traumatic episodes, marking the end of a legal battle that spanned decades.