Fans, supporters throng Patiala jail to welcome soon-to-be released Navjot Sidhu
Patiala (PTI): After spending about 10 months in Patiala's central jail, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu will walk free on Saturday.
Several Congress leaders and supporters assembled outside the prison to accord the 59-year-old former cricketer a grand welcome upon his release and chanted 'Navjot Sidhu zindabad'.
'Dhol' players have also been arranged by his supporters standing outside the jail to welcome the cricketer-turned-politician.
Speaking to reporters at his residence on Saturday, Sidhu's son Karan Sidhu said the family has been eagerly waiting for his release from the jail.
He said it had been a tough time for the family but now they were happy to see him coming out of the jail.
Several posters and hoardings of Navjot Sidhu were put up at many places in Patiala city by Sidhu's supporters to welcome him.
Party workers are quite ecstatic over the release of Sidhu, said one of the supporters outside the jail.
Congress leader and former MLA Navtej Singh Cheema said people of Punjab are waiting for Sidhu to come out of jail.
The former state Congress chief was jailed on May 20 last year after being sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court over the death of 65-year-old Gurnam Singh in a road rage case in 1988.
Sidhu's lawyer HPS Varma on Friday had said the release was happening earlier due to Sidhu's good conduct during imprisonment, as allowed under the rules.
Sidhu's family had got an intimation from authorities regarding his release from the Patiala jail.
Will address the media outside patiala jail around noon..
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) April 1, 2023
#Vlog | "Navjot Sidhu Will Fill The Leadership Vacuum": Punjab Congress Workers pic.twitter.com/YwAvMLuJN7
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Trump rushed out of dinner event after shots fired; one arrested
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump and other top White House officials were evacuated unharmed from the annual dinner of White House correspondents after a man armed with multiple weapons fired shots outside the ballroom of the hotel.
The incident took place at around 8:34 PM local time when dinner was served. At that time, Trump was seen having a conversation with Weijia Jiang, the President of the White House Correspondents' Association, and mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was scheduled to present a show at the marquee event at the Washington Hilton here.
Secret Service officials and other security personnel covered the President, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J D Vance, and the Second Lady Usha Vance, who were seated at the head table, and escorted them out of the ballroom.
Several guests at the dinner, including leaders across the political spectrum, journalists and other invitees, ducked under the table, apparently as a reflex reaction.
Putting up a brave face, President Trump later announced on Truth Social that the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom is all that I heard, and many guests ducked under the table,” a C-SPAN reporter at the dinner said.
Hours later, Trump addressed a press conference at the White House and announced that the security personnel had captured one person who hails from California.
“I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray going down. I've heard that many times. It was a pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away. He (the attacker) hadn't reached the area at all. They really got him,” Trump told reporters, recalling the incident.
Trump said one security officer was shot at but saved as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Several protestors had lined up on the road outside the hotel, raising slogans against the Trump administration and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A CNN reporter who was outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton said he saw a gunman opening fire just a few feet away. He was among the dozens of attendees who took cover as law enforcement swarmed the venue.
The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California.
Asked how Saturday’s incident impacts him as the US president, Trump told reporters he is in a dangerous job but that he is no “basket case.”
“I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it’s a dangerous life. I think I handle it as well as it can be handled,” Trump said.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts over the past two years – first at a presidential election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and later in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.
“I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives...everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd,” he said.
“We had some great work done by law enforcement, but in light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully,” Trump said.
