'My mere presence doesn't make me part of unlawful assembly'
New Delhi: Claiming that he was simply "pacifying" the crowd and was part of a peaceful protest, actor Deep Sidhu, an accused in the Republic Day violence, on Thursday told a Delhi court that his mere presence at the spot doesn't make him a part of an unlawful assembly.
Arguing before Additional Sessions Judge Neelofer Abida Perveen, advocate Abhishek Gupta, for Sidhu, stated: "It's shocking that I'm made the main accused...I'm not a member of any of these farm unions...I have not given any call for a tractor rally to Red Fort...there is nothing to show that I've mobilised any crowd at Red Fort…"
Claiming that he had already disclosed the complete route of the tractor rally and that the crowd had gathered before he came to Red Fort, his counsel argued that, "There is a video where I am pacifying the crowd...saying please vacate the area, please come down, police is not happy…"
"I'm a Punjabi actor...he was a lawyer from 2015 to 2018...he was a lead actor in six movies. He has been made a scapegoat...he was at the wrong place at the wrong time…" advocate Gupta argued.
Sidhu further told the court that even in media interviews he has been advocating for peace among protestors. "Right to protest is a fundamental right and hence I was there...I'm trying to pacify them, there is no question of provocation, unlawful assembly...not everyone present there can be implicated...they have nothing to show that I committed an act of violence," his counsel argued.
On a video allegedly showing Sidhu taking part in sloganeering among other protestors, the lawyer argued that, "It's just a video. I can show you the video. Slogans like 'Jo Bole So Nihaal' are said in various Gurudwaras and it's a common religious slogan.These are common slogans like 'Jai Shree Ram'...I don't understand that how can reciting such spiritual slogans can be termed as a crime".
Pinning the blame on the media for conducting their own trial and painting him as an accused, advocate Gupta argued: "Even prior to the investigation...media trial painted me as the main accused because I went live from Facebook...I was labelled by the media as an instigator. I don't know how? I am asking myself, I went live and they are calling me a traitor. What kind of humiliation is that?"
In response, the Public Prosecutor (PP) in the case rebutted saying that, "144 police officers sustained injuries...some protestors tried to kill police officers. The attack started after the accused arrived and thereafter he also addressed the mob through tractor speakers and instigated them to attack police
officials".
The PP further asked as to how did the mob reach Red Fort when the same wasn't a part of the route in the tractor rally. "This was only to defame the country...there was a conspiracy to injure police officers," he submitted.
After recording arguments from both sides, the court asked them to submit transcripts of the alleged speeches made by Sidhu and fixed the hearing on April 12.
