Big B in legal trouble over 1984 anti-Sikh riots

In a fresh case, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has been summoned by a Los Angeles federal court in the United States for allegedly instigating violence against the Sikh community in 1984 riots. Bachchan is accused of raising 'blood for blood' slogan, after Indira Gandhi was assassinated.

In the wake of Indira Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, clashes erupted in Delhi against Sikhs in 1984. Recalling the sad memories of crime against Sikhs, the main witness in the case Jagdish Kaur said, "I watched live relay on Doordarshan and saw Amitabh Bachchan raising his arm and shouting the slogan, 'khun ka badla khun sae lenge' (Blood for blood) two times. "

In his letter, Bachchan wrote, "I wish to take this opportunity to vehemently and categorically deny these allegations against me which are completely baseless, false and untrue. The Nehru-Gandhi family and our family have old ties from our city of origin, Allahabad. We have been together in each other's hour of grief and joy, but to allege that I was a part of the crowd that incited them to raise anti-Sikh slogans is a preposterous and blatant lie.

Quite contrarily, I have always propagated the soothing of injured feelings and the maintenance of serenity. The unfortunate incidents of the riots of 1984 against the Sikhs shall always remain a blot and a dark phase in the history of our country, a country that prides itself in its secular credentials."