The CBI on Wednesday arrested Kalyani Singh, daughter of the acting Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court, in connection with the killing of national level shooter Sukhmanpreet Singh, alias Sippy Sidhu, over six years ago in Chandigarh.
During probe, the CBI found some documentary evidence suggesting Kalyani Singh and Sidhu were close, and a romantic relationship had turned sour, officials said.
The CBI had called Kalyani Singh, daughter of acting Chief Justice Sabina Singh, for questioning where she was found evasive in responses following which she was arrested.
The agency had registered the FIR in the killing of Sidhu, who was also a lawyer, on April 13, 2016, on the request of Chandigarh Administration, the CBI said in a statement.
“During further investigation, alleged involvement of the accused (Kalyani Singh) came forth in the case. Accordingly, she was examined and arrested. The arrested accused was produced today (Wednesday) in the Court of Special Judicial Magistrate, Chandigarh and she was remanded in four days police custody,” the CBI said in its statement.
The case was originally registered by police station, Sector-26, Chandigarh as FIR No. 374 dated September 21, 2015, in connection with the murder of Sidhu in the night of September 20, 2015 in Sector 27, Chandigarh by unknown persons. Sidhu had started his own law firm styled as Sippy Sidhu LLB at Mohali (Punjab).
The bullet-riddled body of national-level shooter and corporate lawyer Sidhu, 35, was found in a park in Sector 27 on September 20, 2015. Sippy was the grandson of the late Justice SS Sidhu, a former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge.
The alleged role of judge’s daughter in the murder cropped up during the CBI investigation. However, the agency wanted to have a watertight lead and in September 2016, it announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh to any persons leading to provide a clue to crack the case, officials said.
The CBI also issued a newspaper advertisement stating that “there is reason to believe that a woman was accompanying Sidhu’s killer at the time of the murder. The said woman is also being given this opportunity to come forward and contact us if she is innocent. Otherwise it shall be presumed that she was a party to the offence”.
In December 2021, the CBI raised the reward money to Rs 10 lakh, stating that members of the public are requested to come forward, if they have any credible information regarding the murder or any relevant information. However, the investigating agency failed to make headway in the case.
Earlier in 2020, the CBI had also filed an “untraced report” in the court and had mentioned that investigation may be allowed to open and continue as it has brought strong suspicion as to the role of a woman to eliminate Sippy Sidhu. But Sippy Siddhu’s relatives protested before the designated court that directed the CBI to expedite the probe.
Sippy’s mother Deepinder Kaur Sidhu had earlier alleged that the daughter of Punjab & Haryana Court judge was involved in the murder but the Chandigarh Police did not take cognizance. However, she had expressed hope that the CBI would solve the case.