Weeks after he was accused in cases related to the January 26 violence at Red Fort, actor Deep Sidhu has been arrested by SWR Range of the Special Cell from Punjab, stated multiple news reports. Deep Sidhu has been named in an FIR by Delhi Police, and a cash reward was also announced for information on him when he was not to be found in Delhi. 

Sidhu, an actor, who in the past has flaunted his association and photographs with actors-turned Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politicians Sunny Deol, Hema Mallini and Dharmendra, is accused of instigating a group of farmers to storm the Red Fort on Republic Day. He was ‘disowned’ by Sunny Deol in a public statement on behalf of his family.

However, Deep Sidhu continued to defend himself in multiple social media posts, ranting against the Punjabi community who he claimed had disowned him for his actions. Most farmers who took part in the peaceful Kisan Ganatantra Parade, or farmers republic parade, had also condemned the events that unfolded at Red Fort and ITO. Sidhu is accused of fueling chaos and clashes at Red Fort, where a group of people forced their way in, climbed the ramparts and placed a Sikh religious flag on an empty flagpole. According to a report in India Today, Deep Sidhu was arrested on Tuesday, February 9 by the Delhi Police Special Cell, from Punjab’s Zirakpur area. 

Deep Sidhu’s arrest was made by a team of Delhi Police’s Special Cell, said Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), reported India Today. According to the police the last few videos made by Deep Sidhu were uploaded by “his friend from California so that the authorities couldn’t track his location.” According to the news report quoting Delhi Police sources, Deep Sidhu was in contact with this friend, would record his video statement, and send it to her to upload on his Facebook account.

A reward of Rs 1 lakh was announced on the accused Sidhu, Jugraj Singh, Gurjot Singh and Gurjant Singh who hoisted flags at the Red Fort or were accused of otherwise being involved in the act, stated news reports. The police had also announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000 each for Buta Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Jajbir Singh and Iqbal Singh who have been named and accused of allegedly instigating protesters. 

On January 26, 2021, as a group of farmers breached police barriers, police used tear gas and lathi-charge to disburse the surging crowds. Another group of protesters also reached the ramparts of the Red Fort, and others entered the city from various points. Lakhs of farmers have been protesting peacefully on the borders of Delhi, and not one single incidence of violence or chaos was reported from there for over two months till that day. 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had held a high-level emergency meeting to discuss the law and order situation in the national capital region and  directed additional security forces to remain on alert in Delhi.

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Following the Red Fort incident on January 26, 2021, Punjab actor Deep Sidhu took to social media to deny allegations of instigating people levied against him.

On Tuesday night, Sidhu started a Facebook Live wherein he blamed the farmer leadership for failing to listen to the wishes of the youth supporting the farmers’ struggle. The actor-turned-activist claimed that he was merely one among the many people heading towards the historical fort after people broke police barricades.

Referring to the sequence of events leading up to the Kisan Ganatantra Parade, Sidhu said that Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) leaders Swaran Singh Pandher and Satnam Singh Pannu had already stated that supporters will not march along the police-designated route but enter Delhi.

“On January 25, youths present during speeches of Sanyukta Kisan Morcha [SKM] said that they wanted to march inside Delhi. Their demand was ignored. People’s genuine sentiment was ignored and the SKM said people have to stick to the agreed upon route,” said Sidhu.

Accordingly, Sidhu argued that the incident at Red Fort was a result of people’s feeling of frustration.

It may be mentioned that as soon as reports regarding Red Fort began circulating, Pandher appealed to all people to return to the Kundli border because “there was no programme planned for Red Fort.”

However, people continued to enter Red Fort where Sidhu allegedly climbed the flag pole to hoist the Nishan sahib flag, a religious flag of Sikhs. He defended the action in another Facebook Live, saying, “We waved Nishan sahib to decry the three farm laws and to acknowledge farmer-worker unity. The flag identifies the diversity of India’s unity. This incident was not planned but occurred in the flow of events. It was a symbolic protest. What happened today [January 26] was not an isolated event but a result of a continuation of protests,” he said.

Sidhu allegedly gave provocative speeches promoting separatism and potentially sabotaging the farmers protest on Monday night. The actor is known for being the “right-hand man” of BJP MP Sunny Deol. Following the Tuesday incident, Sidhu’s pictures with Prime minister Narendra Modi and Deol were circulated on social media to show his links to BJP and RSS.

On January 17, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) asked him to appear before the organisation for a case related to Sikhs for Justice – an extremist right-wing group from which farmer leaders had distanced themselves.

However, Sidhu denied all claims of being a “BJP-RSS person” stating that those calling him a traitor were using the same narrative as the central government. Similarly, on Tuesday night Deol distanced himself and his family from Sidhu.

आज लाल क़िले पर जो हुआ उसे देख कर मन बहुत दुखी हुआ है, मैं पहले भी, 6 December को ,Twitter के माध्यम से यह साफ कर चुका हूँ कि मेरा या मेरे परिवार का दीप सिद्धू के साथ कोई संबंध नही है।
जय हिन्द

— Sunny Deol (@iamsunnydeol) January 26, 2021

“Every time such a huge struggle moves, people associate this with one person. All these 5-10 lakh people or more should be considered villains. Yet you claim that only Deep Sidhu is responsible. This is a scheme to make only one person the villain. People were already there when I reached Red Fort,” said Sidhu during the Facebook Live in Punjabi.

Regarding possible violence, he said that people were not armed, and what happened was a result of flared up anger of the people who allegedly broke all four routes from different border points to march towards Red Fort.

Meanwhile, the Sanuykta Kisan Morcha condemned the events that unfolded at Red Fort and called all parade groups to return to their respective protest sites. Farmer leaders warned people against Sidhu on social media, as he is allegedly known to speak against farmer leaders opposing the three farm laws.

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The post Deep Sidhu defends himself! Claims Red Fort was a result of public anguish appeared first on SabrangIndia.