A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed by the Sonipat Police for rash and negligent driving in the case of Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu's death in a road accident.
Sidhu, who appeared in numerous Punjabi films, died in a road accident in Haryana on Tuesday, 15 February, after his car collided with a truck on the Kundli–Manesar–Palwal (KMP) Expressway.
As per Sonipat Superintendent of Police (SP) Rahul Sharma, the driver has been identified by the police, and an operation to nab him is underway. He added that the viscera sample had been collected and there would be further action after an analysis of the FSL report.
Meanwhile, the post-mortem examination concluded on Wednesday, after which the actor's body was handed over to his family.
Sharma said that the police had retrieved a partially consumed bottle of liquor from the car.
FIR Registered on Complaint Filed by Brother
The FIR, which had mentioned an unknown driver, was lodged on the complaint of Sidhu's brother Mandeep Singh Sidhu. He had alleged that the driver applied the brakes suddenly, causing the accident. Police sources had earlier told The Quint that Sidhu was driving a Scorpio which had rammed into a parked truck at KMP.
The case has been registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 279 (rash driving), 304-A (causing death by negligence), and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others).
The accident occurred at around 7.30 pm on Tuesday evening. The truck driver had fled from the spot after the accident, as per the police.
The Sonipat Police reached the spot on Tuesday after receiving information about the accident. The police had taken the body of the deceased in its possession and had sent it to Civil Hospital Sonepat for a post-mortem examination. The matter is under investigation, Superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma said.
Sidhu was accompanied by his close friend Reena Rai in the vehicle, who survived the accident and is undergoing treatment in the hospital. She is reportedly being interrogated by the Sonipat Police.
Accused in Republic Day Violence
Sidhu had come to the limelight last year after he claimed responsibility for hoisting the Nishan Sahib (Sikh flag) at the Red Fort on Republic Day 2021, during a tractor rally led by protesting farmers against the Centre's agricultural laws.
The Delhi Police had arrested Sidhu in connection with the case on 9 February 2021. He was granted bail on 16 April but hours later, he was arrested by Delhi Police’s Crime Branch over the charge of damaging the monument.
He was granted bail in the second case on 26 April.
The actor was born in a Jatt Sikh family in Punjab's Sri Muktsar Sahib district in 1984. He had started his acting career at 31 and became most famous for Jora 10 Numbaria (2017).
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)