The CBI on Wednesday arrested Kalyani Singh, the daughter of Himachal Pradesh High Court’s Acting Chief Justice Sabina for her role in the murder of national shooter Sippy Sidhu. She is believed to be the woman, who had accompanied the man, who killed Sidhu on 20 September 2015 in Chandigarh.
The CBI had been on the lookout for Kalyani for many years. The federal probe agency had even placed newspaper ads promising a cash reward of Rs. 10 lakh for anyone with leads on Sidhu’s killer.
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Sidhu, whose real name was Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, was a corporate lawyer and a national shooter. For so many years authorities investigating his murder struggled to find the motive behind his murder. However, many felt that Sidhu’s murder was a result of a relationship gone sour.
A court on Tuesday sent Kalyani to four days of CBI custody.
Who Is Kalyani Singh?
Kalyani Singh is the daughter of Justice Sabina, who was earlier posted in Punjab and Haryana High Court as a judge before she was promoted to become the acting Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. Justice Sabina’s farewell function in Chandigarh was met with huge protests by friends and relatives of Sidhu as they feared that Kalyani will escape the clutches of the investigating agencies if she was allowed to leave Chandigarh.
Kalyani is one of the two daughters of Justice Sabina. In an affidavit filed by Justice Sabina in 2010, she said that Kalyani owned 400 gms of Gold and had close to Rs. 50,000 bank balance.
Why Was Sippy Sidhu’s Murdered?
Sidhu’s family members have been running a sustained campaign demanding justice for him. They even created a Facebook page ‘Justice for Sippy Sidhu’, which has more than 13,000 followers.
Sidhu’s mother, Deepinder Kaur had earlier told Chandigarh Newsline that Kalyani wanted her son to marry her.
“We told the police that the judge’s husband and a relative of theirs had threatened Sippy, following which I told him to remain cautious. The judge’s daughter also came to our house in August and asked Sippy whether he would marry her. We suspect that he was murdered due to his refusal to marry the girl. The police probe will reveal the true culprit.”
The CBI told a special court that Kalyani called Sippy using a mobile phone and forced him to meet in a park in Sector 27. Sippy was shot four times using a gun.
Sidhu’s grandfather Justice SS Sidhu is a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.