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| December 02, 2006 | Saturday | Ziqa'ad 10, 1427 |
Ex-Indian cricketer Sidhu convicted of homicide
CHANDIGARH, Dec 1: Former Indian cricketer and current member of parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu was on Friday convicted of homicide 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 opposition Hindu nationalist 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 the northern state of 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.—Reuters
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