The Supreme Court has ordered re-investigation of cases related to 1984 anti-Sikh riots triggered by the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two bodyguards.

An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Mishra said on Wednesday it would constitute a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe 186 cases that had been closed without investigation.
Last year, the Supreme Court had appointed a committee to look into closure of 186 anti-Sikh riots cases by a SIT out of 241. The court’s order followed the panel’s findings.

In one of the worst massacres in post-Independent India, 2733 people were killed in the Indian capital alone by rampaging mobs, joined in by anti-social elements.

Allegations were galore that some Congress leaders of that time were involved in perpetrating violence against Sikhs and their complicity had fuelled the riots in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana. Though Congress has been consistently denying and rejecting all these charges, 1984 has remained the party’s Achilles heel.

The apex court asked the Central government to name three people – a former high court judge, a retired and a serving police officer – for the SIT by Thursday.

The SC order could cast a shadow on Congress 2019 poll campaign.