NEW YORK, Oct 30: The Congress-led Indian government should launch fresh investigations into the mass killings of Sikhs some 20 years ago, and make a public commitment to prosecute those involved, the Human Rights Watch said on Saturday.

In 1984, angry mobs, some allegedly organized by members of the Congress party, attacked and killed thousands of Sikhs. From November 1 to November 4, gangs attacked the symbols and structures of the Sikh faith, the properties of Sikhs, and killed whole families by burning them alive

"Seven government-appointed commissions have investigated these attacks," said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch. But the commissions were all either whitewashes or they were met with official stonewalling and obstruction."

The report of the latest commission, the Nanavati Commission, was due November 1, but has been delayed for another two months.

"The time for commissions that do not lead to prosecutions is over," said Adams. "After two decades, the prosecutors and police should act. There is more than enough evidence to do so now."

Human Rights Watch called for an end to political protection for organizers of the violence. Some of those allegedly involved in the pogrom currently occupy posts in the government or are members of parliament. Both the judiciary and administrative inquiry commissions have failed to hold these perpetrators accountable.

"For two decades high-ranking members of the Congress party have enjoyed political impunity for this violence," said Adams. "The fact that many of the alleged planners of the violence were and are members of the Congress party should not be a barrier to justice for the victims."

Human Rights Watch commended ENSAAF (www.ensaaf.org), an organization dedicated to fighting impunity in India, for its 150-page report.