At Nand Nagri, near Shahdara, Daya Kaur witnessed the death of her husband, Balbir Singh as well as other Sikhs in her street, including Jaswant Singh, Ishwar Singh, Joginder Singh and his sons Kamaljit Singh and Onkar Singh. She identified the murderers as Congress party workers.1 On the 31st of October, Gurcharan Kaur’s husband, Rawel Singh, age 39 was pulled out of a bus, en-route from Moti Nagar to Nand Nagri by a mob of 30 people and beaten up but managed to survive. But three days later, he was sought out by locals and the police and burnt alive.2

Gurdayal Singh’s sons, 28 year old Kamaldip Singh and 26 year old Surinderpal Singh were killed after the family home had been burnt. He also testified in his affidavit to the Misra Commission about the killings that took place in a number of Blocks in Nand Nagri, Sunder Nagri and the Janta Flats.3

Amongst these killed in this holocaust were the children, girls, male members and young boys. The legs of two young sons of Mohinder Paul Singh were broken and the hair of both of them were tried together and they were forced to walk so that the families of Sikh witnessing them were terror-stricken and the killers could have fun in their killings. Many were put in the unheated Tandoors with their heads down and then – they were burnt after sprinkling kerosene on them. The dear one’s were cut into pieces in front of the womenfolk, they were raped so that they should realise the consequences of a Sikh.

Affidavit of Gurdayal Singh submitted to the Misra Commission.4

Gurjeet Kaur of Block C2, Nand Nagri witnessed her husband Harjit Singh and father-in-law, Giani Datar Singh being murdered. She was also attacked and blinded. No one in the area came to her aid. Forty-six locals were listed as members of the mob. In total, 119 Sikhs were killed in the area, mostly men, but also included women and children.

Sardara Singh was killed in his home on the morning of 3rd November along with a driver, Tejinder Singh.5 Inderjjit Kaur witnessed her husband, Onkar Singh and neighbour, Subedar Joginder Singh attacked by large stones and killed.6 Lajwant Kaur’s son, Jagjit Singh was strangled to death, with a total of seventeen family members being put to death. The person who pointed out their home to the mob lived 2-3 houses away.7

As the mob arrived at one home, they shouted ‘Kill the bastards, burn them alive’. In front of his wife and children, they dragged Amarjit Singh and his wife, Narinjan Kaur from their home to an open space. Narinjan was thrown to the ground, raped and left semi-conscious. Her husband was killed and she later found out her father-in-law was also dead.8

Raghubir Kaur narrates a harrowing scene in Nand Nagri:

They attacked my husband, Jaswant Singh with iron rods and lathis and killed him and dragged him away into the rear street where they had established a big oven in which bodies of the slain Sikhs were half roasted and then thrown out.

Affidavits of Raghubir Kaur submitted to the Misra Commission.9

Her son, Jaspal Singh, age 19 along with two Sikh friends were also burnt alive.

Surender Singh of Brahmpuri, near Shadara along with his brother, Kartar Singh, age 20 were stabbed repeatedly with swords and then burnt alive. His wife, Satnam Kaur and her four children were targeted next but luckily managed to survive by running to the home of a neighbour. The police refused to record the incident.10 They also refused to take the statement of Satwant Kaur of Nand Nagri who was gang-raped after her husband Pishora Singh was killed.11

Survivor Shanti Devi relates how on the 31 October the bus she was travelling home in was stopped by the police who ordered all Sikhs to get off while they took their details. The next day, her husband, Jaswant Singh, age 45 and her son, Kamaljit Singh, age 18 and studying in Class 12 at the government school in Gandhi Nagar where both hidding in the loft. The mobs returned twice, before finding them and burning them alive.12

Sukhwinder Kaur, age 21’s husband, Prem Singh, age 24 and father Mohinder Singh, age 45 were beaten with pipes, stabbed with knives then burnt to death.13 Darshan Singh, age 40 was also attacked and killed by burning.14

Kanwaljit Kaur’s family were also massacred in the violence, including her father, Than Singh, mother, Kaushlya Rai, brothers Balraj Singh and Baljit Singh and grandfather, Puran Singh.15

  1. Affidavit of Daya Kaur. ↩︎
  2. Affidavit of Gurcharan Kaur. ↩︎
  3. Affidavit of Gurdayal Singh ↩︎
  4. Affidavit of Gurdayal Singh submitted to the Misra Commission. ↩︎
  5. Affidavit of Harinder Singh. ↩︎
  6. Affidavit of Inderjit Kaur. ↩︎
  7. Affidavit of Lajwant Kaur. ↩︎
  8. Affidavit of Narinjan Kaur. ↩︎
  9. Affidavits of Raghubir Kaur submitted to the Misra Commission. ↩︎
  10. Affidavit of Satnam Kaur. ↩︎
  11. Affidavit of Satwant Kaur. ↩︎
  12. Affidavit of Shanti Devi. ↩︎
  13. Affidavit of Sukhwinder Kaur. ↩︎
  14. Affidavit of Surjit Kaur. ↩︎
  15. Affidavit of Kanwaljit Kaur. ↩︎