Sikh protesters burn Rahul Gandhi effigy over Sajjan Kumar ‘role model’ remark

Two days after former Congress MP and 1984 anti-Sikh riot convict Sajjan Kumar died, over 200 Sikh neighborhood representatives, together with households of riot victims, gathered close to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s residence on Saturday afternoon (August 22, 2026), burning his effigy and beating it with slippers in an expression of anger over remarks allegedly describing Kumar as a “social gathering function mannequin”.

The protesters demanded a proper apology from Mr. Gandhi and the resignation of Deepender Singh Hooda, Member of the Lok Sabha, who made the comment, saying the Congress management had insulted the households who had spent many years searching for justice for the victims of the 1984 violence.

As slogans had been raised in opposition to the Congress and Mr. Gandhi, protesters set an effigy of him on hearth and struck it repeatedly with slippers earlier than the police moved in to disperse the gathering. The protest was held amid a heavy police deployment, with barricades positioned across the space.

The police first warned the protesters that the demonstration was unauthorised and requested them to depart. When a few of the protesters continued to cross the barricades, 5 to 6 individuals main the demonstration had been detained and brought to Mandi Marg police station, police stated. These detained, together with Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Administration Committee President Harmeet Singh Kalka, had been later launched.

“The Congress social gathering’s actual face has come out now. A person who was behind bars for eight years and was given a life sentence, for whose demise sentence there had been calls for, is now being referred to as a job mannequin by the social gathering’s management. That is deeply hurtful to the victims’ households. We determined to protest and demand an apology from Rahul Gandhi and his resignation over these remarks,” Mr. Kalka stated.

Talking to The Hindu, New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma stated the protest had been organised illegally close to Mr Gandhi’s residence. “The protesters had been warned, however they continued to cross the barricades. 5 to 6 individuals main the protest had been detained and brought to Mandi Marg police station. A case is being registered in opposition to them,” he stated.

Mr. Kumar, one of the crucial outstanding political figures accused in reference to the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, had spent almost eight years in Tihar jail after being convicted in a riot case. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2018 after the Delhi Excessive Court docket overturned his acquittal by a trial court docket. He died on Wednesday following health-related problems.

His demise has revived tensions surrounding the 1984 violence, during which 1000’s of Sikhs had been killed throughout in Delhi. The difficulty has remained a longstanding supply of anger amongst victims’ households, lots of whom have continued to demand accountability for these accused of orchestrating or taking part within the violence.