Indian-American Sikh police officer Sandeep Dhaliwal's murderer sentenced to death
Houston (PTI): Robert Solis, the man convicted of murdering Sandeep Dhaliwal, the first turbaned Indian-American Sikh police officer in the US state of Texas while making a traffic stop in 2019, has been sentenced to death, according to a police official.
The verdict was handed down by the jury, a panel made up of citizens. Solis showed no emotion as the sentence was read on Wednesday. Jurors deliberated for just 35 minutes before recommending the death penalty in the punishment phase of the trial. They deliberated for 25 minutes in the guilt phase.
“Verdict is in: Jurors sentence Robert Solis to death. We are extremely grateful that justice has been served,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted.
Solis, 50, was convicted by the jury of the Harris County Criminal Court in Houston for the murder of 42-year-old Dhaliwal, a 10-year-veteran of the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
Dhaliwal made national headlines when he was allowed to grow a beard and wear a turban on the job. He was gunned down in an ambush-style shooting while conducting a routine mid-day traffic stop in northwest Houston on September 27, 2019.
Authorities said Dhaliwal was shot multiple times from behind after he had stopped Solis in a residential neighbourhood and was walking back to his patrol car.
"...Basically just shot him in a very ruthless, cold-blooded way," Sheriff Gonzalez had said in 2019.
Jurors saw multiple angles of the shooting and heard from 65 prosecution witnesses, who testified about a criminal history that goes back more than 30 years.
During the trial, Solis testified in his own defense and told jurors he had accidentally shot Dhaliwal.
But prosecutors argued Solis deliberately shot Dhaliwal because he didn't want to go back to jail. At the time of the traffic stop, Solis had a warrant for violating parole, CBS News reported.
During his closing argument, his last chance to address jurors, Solis merely said, "The only thing I have to say is that it's your decision to make. My life is in your hands," KTRK-TV Houston reported.
Solis asked for several delays during the trial. He told the judge he was sick, and also said he had not been given proper time to prepare.
His behaviour throughout the trial stands in direct contrast to the life and legacy of Dhaliwal, who leaves behind a wife and three children.
"Anybody I talked to, they say, 'I wish we had a Dhaliwal at this time. How many people get justice today? How many families?" Dhaliwal's older sister, Harpreet Rai was quoted as saying in the report.
"We should all aspire to be a Dhaliwal. He left such a legacy. He was a humanitarian and he helped so many beyond his work," Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
Just moments after Solis received the death sentence, a teenager gave a victim's impact statement, speaking directly to Solis. "You're a nobody, Robert. You're the least powerful person in this room," she told the court.
Dhaliwal worked with United Sikhs, a global humanitarian relief and advocacy nonprofit, to help organize the donation of truckloads of supplies for first responders after Hurricane Harvey.
A post office in west Houston has been renamed in his honour and Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, who brought the renaming legislation to the US House of Representatives, had said at the dedication ceremony, “I am honoured to play a role in commemorating Deputy Dhaliwal's remarkable life of selfless service.”
Fletcher added, “He represented the very best of our community: he worked for equality, connection, and community through his life of service to others. I was glad to work with a bipartisan delegation, our community partners, and those in the Sikh community, to pass legislation to rename this building the Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal Post Office.”
However, this wasn't the first dedication for Deputy Dhaliwal. A year after his death, a portion of Beltway 8 near Highway 249 was renamed in his honour.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
