Sippy’s murder: CBI yet to take over case from UTpolice
Amit Sharma
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 29
The family of 34-year-old lawyer Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, aka Sippy, who was shot dead at a park in Sector 27, is still waiting for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the case after the UT Administrator directed to transfer the case to the agency in January.
Sippy was slain on September 20 last year. According to the UT police, a .12-bore gun was used in the crime, from which four bullets were fired. Since the day of the crime, the UT police were groping in the dark even though an SIT was constituted to crack the case. The victim’s kin, whose patience was wearing thin, met high-ups in the UT Administration, following which UT Administrator Kaptan Singh Solanki ordered that the case should be transferred to the CBI.
A CBI official said their head office in Delhi would take the call whether to investigate the murder case or not. “Only after we get directions from the head office, we will initiate an investigation into the case,” said the official.
Sippy’s younger brother Jippy said they had no other option but to wait for the CBI to take over the case. “We are hoping that the wait doesn’t get long and the case is transferred to the CBI at the earliest,” Jippy added.
On the day when Sippy was shot dead, a woman eyewitness, who lived at a short distance from the scene of the crime, had reportedly told the police that she had seen a girl running away from the spot after she heard gunshots. Before leaving home on the fateful day, Sippy had reportedly told his mother that he was going to meet his female friend. The police had questioned Sippy’s several friends, including a High Court Judge’s daughter who was quizzed twice in connection with the murder case.
Dejected over the police investigation, Sippy’s kin had staged several protests, including one outside the Prime Minister’s residence in Delhi. Besides, they had met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and gave representations to several dignitaries.
