NEW DELHI: One after the other newspaper reporters have been able to easily contact a key witness living in the United States  regarding the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom, but India's top federal sleuthing agency the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) shamelessly continues to maintain that since Jasbir Singh is untraceable, pogrom accused former Union Minister Jagdish Tytler should be let off the hook and teh case should be closed. Last Thursday, a Delhi city court sought the address of Jasbir Singh  for possible deposition while hearing an application moved by two Sikh organisations -- the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee and the November '84  Carnage Justice Committee. Bothhad moved the application on October 4 seeking a copy of  the September 29 chargesheet in which the agency had claimed that Jasbir Singh could not be examined.

The CBI had said that Jasbir Singh was currently settled in the USA and his whereabouts were not known. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Sanjeev Jain directed senior counsel H S Phoolka, representing the Sikh bodies to furnish address of Jasbir Singh as he claimed that the witness had expressed a desire to come forward and record his testimony in the case. "As I understand, you rely upon the testimony of Jasbir Singh. Give me his address and I would direct the CBI to trace him," the ACMM said, while directing the counsel to furnish the address of Singh on December 6. The court, however, expressed doubt as to whether the attendance of the witness (Singh) could be ensured in the case. It is not clear, and neither did the Indian court make it clear, why the country's top  detectives failed and are adamant on not succeeding in contactingJasbir Singh when every second reporter was speaking to him.

Phoolka told the court that the witness had expressed his desire to present himself before the court, and hence there was no ground for any apprehensions. According to the chargesheet filed by CBI in the case, Jasbir Singh in his affidavit before the Nanavati Commission on August 31, 2000 had averred that "he had overheard Tytler rebuking his men on the night of November 3, 1984 ... for nominal killing of Sikhs in his constituency." The court, however, did not accede to the request of the counsel for copy of the chargesheet.

It had issued a notice to the agency on application of counsel. The CBI raised its objections submitting there was no provision of law which entitled a "third party" such copies. How the justice will be served by denying a copy of the chargesheet to Phoolka was an aspect that no section of the Indian media questioned. "I am not inclined to accede to the counsel's plea (seeking a copy of the chargesheet). The counsel had sufficient time to inspect the file between October 4 and today...," the judge said. The CBI, in its reply filed also said that the investigation in the case was conducted after taking account of "all aspects including the conspiracy angle." The case relates to an incident on November 1, 1984 when a blood thirsty mob had set fire to Gurdwara Pulbangash, killing three persons. As per the agency's chargesheet in the case, while the incident left dead three persons - Sardar Thakur Singh, Badal Singh and Gurcharan Singh - bodies of two of them were found in burnt conditions and were subjected to a post-mortem.

The case, which was registered on the basis of affidavits filed before the Nanavati Commission of Inquiry, involved Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, who was later made a Union Minister despite strong opposition and served in the Manmohan Singh cabinet. Tytler had to later resign after a crescendo against him following virtual indictment by the Nanawati Commission.