Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, who was serving a life sentence for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, died at a Delhi hospital on Thursday. He was 80.
Kumar, who was lodged in Tihar jail, was taken to Safdarjung Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.
Convicted over Palam Colony killings
The case against Kumar relates to the violence that erupted after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, on October 31, 1984.
Following the assassination, armed groups attacked Sikh families, homes and businesses in several parts of Delhi and elsewhere in the country. More than 3,000 Sikhs were killed, with most of the deaths reported in the national capital.
The Delhi High Court found Kumar guilty of causing the deaths of five people during violence in the Palam Colony area on November 1 and 2, 1984.
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The court sentenced him to life imprisonment on December 17, 2018.
Appeal was pending in Supreme Court
Kumar had challenged the High Court verdict and sentence before the Supreme Court. His appeal was pending when he died.
The 1984 riots have remained the subject of prolonged legal proceedings, with cases involving the killings and alleged roles of several individuals continuing for decades after the violence.
Kumar, who had served as a Congress MP, remained in prison under the life sentence handed down by the Delhi High Court in the Palam Colony case.