No word yet on Navjot Sidhu's release from Patiala jail; supporters ready to welcome Congress leader
Chandigarh, Jan 25: The supporters of jailed Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu have made preparations to welcome the former cricketer in Patiala on Thursday even as there is no official word from the Punjab government on his premature release on the Republic Day.
Sidhu is serving a one-year jail term in the Patiala central prison in connection with a 1988 road rage case in which a man was killed.
There was speculation in a section of the media that Sidhu could be among the 50 prisoners who might be given a special remission on the Republic Day.
However, there is no official word from the state government on Sidhu's release. Official sources maintained that the cricketer-turned-politician is not going to be released on Thursday.
State governments usually release prisoners of certain categories who have maintained good behaviour during their jail term on January 26.
A route map to welcome the Congress leader was posted on Sidhu's official Facebook page by his team on Wednesday evening.
It urged the supporters of Sidhu to gather at the designated places -- the Patiala central jail, Gurdwara Dukhniwarn Sahib, Khanda Chowk, Leela Bhawan, Fountain Chowk, Sheranwala Gate and finally, at the former Punjab minister's residence.
Posters welcoming Sidhu have also come up in Ludhiana and at some other places in the state.
Sidhu's media advisor Surinder Dalla had tweeted on Tuesday: "The protector of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat Navjot Singh Sidhu coming soon."
Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu recently participated in the Punjab leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The former Punjab Congress chief was sent to jail on May 20 last year after he surrendered before a Patiala court on being sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for a year by the Supreme Court in the 1988 road rage case.
The apex court had sent Sidhu to jail, saying any undue sympathy in imposing an inadequate sentence would do more harm to the justice system and undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law.
Though the apex court had, in May 2018, held Sidhu guilty of "voluntarily causing hurt" to the victim, it had spared him a jail term and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on the former cricketer.
ਪੰਜਾਬ, ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਅਤੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀਅਤ ਦਾ ਰਾਖਾ
— Surinder Dalla (@surinder_dalla) January 24, 2023
ਨਵਜੋਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਿੱਧੂ coming soon pic.twitter.com/LCf51N4PD2
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Pak court grants bail to PM Shehbaz's daughter and her husband in graft case
Lahore (PTI): A Pakistani court on Tuesday granted bail to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's daughter Rabia Imran and her husband Imran Yousaf in a mega corruption and money laundering case.
Judge Ashfaq Ahmed allowed the bail petitions of the couple and restrained the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from arresting them till May 7.
"The special court (central) Lahore granted interim pre-arrest bail to PM Shehbaz's daughter, Rabia Imran and her husband Imran Yousaf till May 7 in a mega corruption and money laundering case as the couple personally appeared before the court along with their counsel after arriving from the UK, where they had gone in 2022 to evade arrest," a court official said.
Last week, an accountability court had suspended the perpetual arrest warrants issued against the couple in the multi-billion corruption case, related to the Punjab Saaf Pani Company case.
The accountability court had issued perpetual warrants for their arrest in 2022 during the tenure of the Imran Khan government.
The PM's daughter and her husband had fled to the UK in 2022, and the court subsequently had declared them proclaimed offenders.
Interestingly, the country's anti-graft body -- National Accountability Bureau (NAB) -- that had instituted the multi-billion corruption case against the couple told the accountability court that it has no objection if the court suspends their warrants.
PM Shehbaz was also nominated in this corruption case but has been acquitted because of a lack of evidence.
Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has consistently alleged that the acquittal of PM Shehbaz and other ruling coalition members in various mega corruption cases is the result of a "compromised judiciary" and a "NAB-PMLN nexus" (referring to a perceived alliance between the NAB and the military-backed government).
His party has claimed these acquittals represent the "demise of justice" and has accused the judiciary of acting as a "silent accomplice" to state-backed political terrorism.
Khan was ousted from power in April 2022 through a no-confidence motion. Subsequently, he was arrested in August 2023 and has been in jail in multiple cases since then.
