Evidence from survivors show that in many areas, India’s vast train and bus network was used to ship mobs into Sikh neighbourhoods during the 1984 Sikh Genocide.
In Nangloi, Manna Singh witnessed a train arriving from Bahadur Garh at approximately 11am on 1 November and stopping near the lavatories in Y-block, Nangloi. Thousands of people got out, surrounded Sikh houses, and began the burnings and killings.1 Another witness, Ishar Singh said he saw another train from Rohtak arrive at Nangloi and about 2000-3000 people came out and encircled the houses. The majority had come from Haryana, but many local people had also joined them in the killings.2
Testimonies submitted to the Nanavati Commission from Mohinder Singh3, Pritam Singh4 and Santokh Singh5 all testified to the train from Rohtak arriving in J.J. Colony, Nangloi with mobs alighting.
DTC [Delhi Transport Company) buses and buses of Haryana Roadways, were bringing and boarding down non-Sikhs in hundreds who were armed with lathies.
Affidavit of Gurbachan Singh submitted to Misra Commission.1
At the Nawada Najafgarh Road bus stop near Kiran Gardens, witness Didar Singh7 saw mobs in buses travelling towards Najafgarh. In Janakpuri, according to Amrit Kaur8, a crowd had alighted from a bus and on instructions from person in an ambassador car, began attacking Sikh homes, in the presence of the local police.
According to Madan Singh Chawla of Lajpat Nagar, Delhi Transportation Corporation (DTC) buses dropped people off at the Central Market where they targeted Sikh businesses.9 Tajinder Singh of Safdarjung Enclave saw two buses bring the ‘goodnas (criminals)’ to the locality where they attacked homes in the Chandni Chowk area.10
Pratap Singh Granthi of Gurdwara Shri Guru Granth Sabha, Basti Sarai Rohilla witnessed members of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) fire unprovoked rifles shots at the Gurdwara. In all, 100 rounds were fired, killing several Sikhs and injuring many others who had collected at the Gurdwara.11 Another witness, Balbir Singh of the Subhadra Colony also testified to this attack by the RPF.12
According to Ram Parkash of Ashok Vihar, a large number of people with iron rods, diesal oil and match boxes got down from a DTC bus near Deep Cinema near the State Bank Colony and proceeded to burn the Gurdwara, Deep Cinema and the local Mata Jai Kaur School.13
Dildar Singh of Sanjay Nagar testified to the Misra Commission that he saw the Jehlum Express stop and between four and five thousand young men alighting from the train.14
Vasant Sabharwal who was a student at Hans Raj College, Delhi University witnessed on 1 November at 9.30am a large number of people in DTC uniform active in arson on Palam Marg road near the Munirka Market. The DTC depot was nearby and the local police stood by while these attacks were taking place.15
Partap Kaur of Nangloi said that at 1.30 or 1.45 pm on 1 November a train came from Rohtak and stopped opposite the colony and thousands of people armed people were dropped off.16
Mehtab Singh of Jangpuru B, near the Rajdoot Hotel witnessed a train from Nizamuddin Railway Station halt near his house, which was adjacent to the railway tracks, at 2pm on 1 November. A large crowd of 2000 alighted and began to attack Sikh homes in the area.17
Gurbachan Singh Rathod, an employee of the Guru Harkrishan Public School in Purvi Marg, Vasant Vihar witnessed 6 to 8 DTC busses enter the school at 9.30am on 1 November. Mobs alighted and attacked the school and the staff quarters.18
Many other modes of transport were used to ferry mobs around cities. These included cars, jeeps, tempoes and trucks. The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee list twenty-six further witnesses to these transport modes.10
Kuldip Singh Bhogal witnessed another train arriving in his colony:
On 2-11-84, again at about 11 AM, one train came and halted on the railway line adjoining our colony and Gujjars in large groups alighted from the train. They were thousands in number and were all armed with identical lathis and iron rods. They immediately formed groups and started indulging in arson, looting, killing, and burning of Sikhs including their properties.
One of the Gujjars who the member of this mob was caught by me and some other Sikhs who were trying to protect themselves from them. On being caught one identity card of Haryana Police was recovered from him, which was a clear indication and evidence that the mob to which he belonged were members of Madhuban police training centre near Karnal in Haryana and they were sent to Delhi to create chaos, lawlessness, and destruction.
Affidavit of Kuldip Singh Bhogal submitted to Nanavati Commission.2
