Vasant Sathe

Vasant Sathe (1925 to 2011, according to Wikipedia) was a Congress politician from Maharashtra, a Member of Parliament for Akola and then Wardha, and a Union minister in the 1980s. A tribute in The Hitavada lists his portfolios as Information and Broadcasting in 1980, Chemicals and Fertilisers in 1982, Steel, Mines and Coal in 1985, Energy in 1986 and Communications from 1988 to 1989.

In this history he appears in the Nanavati Commission's report on Gurdwara Rakab Ganj in New Delhi, which was attacked by a mob on 1 November 1984.

The allegation: Mukhtiar Singh, who lived in a staff quarter of the gurdwara, told the commission that a big mob attacked the gurdwara that day and that Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Vasant Sathe were seen in the mob. His version was that the two were together when Kamal Nath was instigating the mob. The commission issued notices to both men. Ajit Singh, who also lived at the gurdwara, supported Mukhtiar Singh's account except that he did not mention either man, and the journalist Monish Sanjay Suri did not place Sathe in the mob either.

His reply: Sathe denied being at the place. He said that at around 11 a.m. on 1 November he was at Teen Murti Bhawan, where Indira Gandhi's body lay, and was interviewed there by a Doordarshan crew, in which he appealed to people to remain calm, said the Sikh community was very patriotic and said the whole community should not be blamed for the mistake of two of its members. He denied going near Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at any time that day.

The finding: The commission noted that Mukhtiar Singh named Sathe for the first time after about 16 years. Because the other material did not support his version or Sathe's reply, it concluded that Mukhtiar Singh "had a wrong impression" about Sathe's presence, and made no adverse finding against him.