Had No Bad Intentions, Went to Red Fort as Everyone Was Going There: Deep Sidhu Tells Police

Actor-activist Deep Sidhu, who was arrested for the violence at the Red Fort on Republic Day, has told police that he had no "bad intentions" and went to the historic monument as everybody was going there, officials said. The Delhi Police's Crime Branch questioned Sidhu on Wednesday about his whereabouts and acts at the Red Fort on January 26.

PTI

Sidhu was sent to seven-day police custody on Tuesday by a court in Delhi following his arrest a day earlier from Karnal bypass in connection with the violence at the Red Fort. Sidhu, according to police, was "a prominent player" behind the January 26 incident.

Being probed in case of R-Day violence

Following his arrest by the Delhi Police, he was handed over to the Crime Branch, which is probing the case in connection with the violence and vandalism at the historic fort.

On first day of police remand, the focus of investigation remained on how Sidhu reached the Red Fort and his activities there on the day of incident, a senior police officer said.

AFP

Sidhu initially denied being present at Singhu border on January 25 but after the police presented evidence, he admitted that he was present at the farmers' protest site but slept at a spot a bit away from there.

The actor-activist claimed that when he woke up on January 26, there were two-three missed calls and messages on his mobile phone about people heading to the Red Fort, so he too reached there with his three friends using his mobile phone to navigate.

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Why did he go to Red Fort?

According to the officer, when asked why he went to the Red Fort when it did not figure in the route approved by authorities for the tractor parade, Sidhu claimed that since everybody was going, he too went there but had no "bad intentions". While on the run, Sidhu kept switching his locations between Haryana and Punjab, police said, adding that the hunt for his three friends is on.

Remember, Police had announced a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to Sidhu's arrest. After the January 26 violence, which had leftover 500 security personnel injured and one protester dead, the 36-year-old actor-activist was posting videos on social media.

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However, Sidhu's counsel had on Tuesday claimed that he had nothing to do with the violence and was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Earlier, sources had told Republic that Deep Sidhu was posting videos on Facebook via an actor friend in the US to whom he was sending the videos via Telegram. He had allegedly also sent his wife to Bihar in a bid to not be caught.