After a last-ditch attempt to buy more time to surrender failed, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu surrendered to Patiala’s chief judicial magistrate on Friday, initiating the process of sending him to prison. The former Punjab Congress chief was sentenced to one year in prison by the Supreme Court on Thursday in a 1988 road rage case in which he was let off with a meagre ₹1,000 fine three years ago.
Sidhu is expected to be detained at Patiala Central Jail, which has been preparing for the arrival of the new inmate. Verinder Kumar, Punjab’s additional director general of police, paid a quick visit to the prison on Friday morning to assess the security arrangements near the barrack where Sidhu is expected to be held.
The top police officer was briefed on the security arrangements and cited prison rules to emphasise that no special treatment for any inmate was provided. Officials later claimed that Kumar’s visit was routine and that Sidhu would be just one of the jail’s many high-profile inmates. Bikram Singh Majithia, Sidhu’s archrival, is also imprisoned in Patiala.
Sidhu attempted to postpone his surrender earlier in the day when senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi approached the Supreme Court, requesting that the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana grant him some time to surrender on medical grounds.
On Thursday, a three-judge bench led by CJI Ramana sentenced the Congress leader to one year in prison for a 1988 road rage case in which he was let off with a meagre ₹1,000 fine three years ago.
Sidhu received political leaders who came over to express support before leaving home at 3.50 p.m. to reach the court complex with a group of supporters. A close aide to Sidhu said that many others, including Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, expressed their support over the phone.
Former MLAs Ashwani Sekhri, Hardial Singh Kamboj, Pirmal Singh Khalsa, and Navtej Cheema, as well as former MP Dharamvir Gandhi, paid Sidhu a visit during the day.
“Sidhu was given a one-year sentence. It’s not over yet. Navtej Singh Cheema, in a message to Sidhu’s many critics within and outside the Congress, said, “He will come back and shine in politics.” Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, a Congress leader and former deputy chief minister, has been praising the Supreme Court ruling, claiming that the court had done what the party could not.
Cheema stated that it was up to the party to take action against individuals like Randhawa.
Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, the president of the Punjab Congress, and Partap Singh Bajwa, the leader of the Congress Legislature Party, both tweeted in support of Sidhu.
“I stand by my senior colleague @sherryontopp ji and his family at this difficult hour, with due respect for the Hon Supreme Court’s verdict,” Warring tweeted.
Partap Bajwa, the opposition leader, has also expressed support for Sidhu. “The INC submits to the Hon. Supreme Court’s decision. Furthermore, in this difficult time, the Punjab Congress and I will stand firmly behind @sherryontopp and his family,” he tweeted.
