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Sidhu convicted of homicide
CHANDIGARH—Former national cricketer and current member of parliament
Navjot Singh Sidhu was convicted of homicide on Friday by a court that
overturned an earlier acquittal related to a road-rage incident 17 years
ago.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court said 43-year-old Sidhu, now also a
popular TV commentator, was guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to
murder and added that he would be sentenced on Dec. 6. The offence
carries a maximum sentence of a life term. Sidhu, a member of the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), resigned from the lower house of
parliament within hours of the conviction. Sidhu was involved in a car
accident in his hometown of Patiala in Punjab in 1989. The batsman was
accused of getting into a fight with the occupant of the other car and
beating him up, leading to his death.
A lower court acquitted the cricketer in 1999.
Sidhu said his lawyers would argue over any sentence and added that he
also had the right to challenge the verdict in a higher court. “I will
continue to pursue my political ideals, my public activities and
continue to serve the people of Sri Amritsar Sahib and Punjab,” he said
in a letter to BJP chief Rajnath Singh, referring to his constituency.
“I have always stood for truth and moral grounds and these principles
are above any office or power that I hold. Sidhu played in 51 tests and
136 one-day internationals for India between 1983 and 1999. Initially
dubbed “a strokeless wonder” for his defensive approach and lack of
strokeplay, the turbaned Sikh reinvented himself as an aggressive
batsman with a wide array of shots. Sidhu scored 3,202 runs with nine
centuries and 15 fifties in tests at an average of 42.13 and 4,413 runs
with six hundreds and 33 fifties at an average of 37.08 in one-dayers.
Popularly known as “Sixer” for the huge sixes he hit, Sidhu is famous
for his merciless assault on the game’s two greatest spin bowlers — Sri
Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan in 1993-94 and Australia’s Shane Warne in
1997-98. Later, as a TV commentator and expert analyst, Sidhu amused
with his witticisms and controversial statements.—Agencies |
