The federal court of Los Angeles summoned Amitabh Bachchan allegedly for inciting violence against the Sikh Community in 1984.
The petition was filed by the Sikhs against Big B for Justice legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. He is accused for raising slogans saying “Khoon ka Badla Khoon se lenge” (“Blood for Blood”) during the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. They also pointed out that he had then come out of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on 31 October, 1984 and was quite close to the Gandhi family thus spurring the mob against the Sikhs.
Bachchan is expected to respond to the charges made by the human rights body in 21 days.
When Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, riots broke out all over Delhi against the Sikhs in 1984.
Last year Jagdish Kaur, the main witness has already raised questions on why Amitabh Bachchan was not been charged for fuelling anti-Sikh sentiments during interviews and TV appearances. Recalling the tragedy happened he 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. ”
“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.” Bachchan wrote in his letter.
Amitabh Bachan is now working with Farhan Aktar for his new movie Wazir.