Deep Sidhu booked over Farmers’ Protest Clashes

Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu has been booked for his alleged role in the clashes with police on Republic Day.

Protesting farmers breached the Red Fort and clashed with police officers. The incident saw protestors climb onto the Red Fort and hoist the Nishan Sahib flag.

A police official had said: “He will be probed in two cases by two different units. The crime branch will probe him for the violence at Red Fort.

“The special cell will probe him for the alleged conspiracy and plans to embarrass the government and the country at an international platform for doing what he did on Tuesday.”

It is alleged that Sidhu led the protestors to the historic landmark. However, police are yet to arrest him as he is reportedly on the run.

Officers say that Sidhu may not be in Delhi and could have fled to Punjab or Haryana.

Officials at the state borders have said that Sidhu was at the Singhu border on the morning of January 26, 2021, but has not been seen since.

The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), who has been organising the Farmers’ Protest, has blamed Sidhu for the violence and for disrespecting the Indian flag.

The SKM has been holding meetings with the government over the controversial farm laws that they want scrapping.

They had agreed to follow specific routes laid out by the Delhi Police during the rally on Republic Day. Trouble began after some protestors deviated from the agreed routes.

Deep Sidhu has now denied the allegations and threatened to reveal the group’s secrets.

The actor and activist took to social media and said:

“You’ve shamelessly blamed me. People came (for the tractor parade in Delhi) with resolve based on your decision.

“People followed your words. How could lakhs of people be in my control? If I could provoke lakhs, then where do you stand?

“You had been saying Deep Sidhu has no following and no contribution; then how do you claim I took lakhs of people there.”

Sidhu went on to claim that he was still near the Singhu border.

“Had the farmer leaders taken a stand to celebrate the people who reached Red Fort, they would have been able to put more pressure on the government.

“We woke up the government on November 26 when we broke through the barricades, and we woke up the government again on January 26. But you don’t understand.”

Deep Sidhu also claimed the protests were peaceful:

“We all were peaceful and were exercising our democratic rights to protest peacefully, we were under the leadership of our farmer union leaders.

“We did not damage property… everything was peaceful nobody disrespected our national flag. Stop portraying this incident in any bad manner or bad light.

“The tricolour was not demeaned, and there was no violence while I was there.”

“Their support for what the public did at the Red Fort would have pressured the government to repeal the black (farm) laws.”

He added: “If you say by doing so I have turned traitor then those who were present there were traitors too.

“If you impose all these things on one person and give him a certificate of traitor then I think you should be ashamed of yourself.”