34-year-old lawyer shot dead in Chandigarh

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
2015_9largeimg21_Sep_2015_140815680-1.jpg


A 34-year-old lawyer, Sukhmanpreet (Sippy) Singh Sidhu, was shot dead in a park in Sector 27 in Chandigarh on Sunday night.
He was a grandson of a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice S.S. Sidhu. His father, the late IPS Sidhu, was an Additional Advocate-General of Punjab.
His family has ruled out any enmity.
According to the police, Sippy was shot with a 12-bore gun, and pellets hit him on the face, chest, back and arm.
Sippy’s car was recovered from near the spot.
The police are analysing the call detail records of his mobile phone, which was recovered from the spot.
The body was handed over to the family after an autopsy at GMSH, Sector 16.
Sippy, a resident of Phase 3B2, Mohali, was the chairman of a Mohali-based law firm. He was a former national-level shooter and was active in politics.
 

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
A day after a 34-year-old lawyer was shot dead at a park in Sector 27 here, the police today quizzed three persons in this connection, including two who were reportedly involved in a controversial multi-crore land deal in Fatehgarh Sahib.
The mobile phone of the victim, which was recovered from the spot, is also being scrutinised.
The victim, Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, alias Sippy, chairman of Sippy Sidhu Law Firm, based in Sector 91, Mohali, was shot dead at a park in Sector 27 on Sunday night. Sippy was a grandson of a retired justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Sources said two persons involved in the land deal were questioned by the police. Sippy had struck a land deal with two parties, including an owner of a multinational company, following which one of them nursed a grudge against him. A friend of Sippy was also quizzed by the police.
Parvinder Singh, SP (Ctiy), said they were probing all angles, including the land deal. “Nothing can be said at this stage,” the SP said.
UT SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill visited the victim’s house in Mohali today.
UT police seek info about victim’s complaint
The UT police have sought information from its counterpart in Mohali regarding the complaint of threat to life made by Sippy around a month and a half ago. The UT police are also trying to get a clue about the car which was reportedly seen making the rounds of the victim’s house in Phase 3B2 following which he had approached the Mohali police.
CCTV footage being examined
The footage of a CCTV camera installed at a house in Sector 27 has been procured by the UT police, which is being examined.
Victim’s laptop seized
The victim’s laptop and some documents have also been seized by the UT police from his house in Mohali.
 

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
2015_9largeimg23_Wednesday_2015_01140740-1.jpg


A minor fire broke out today on the premises of a building housing the law firm of Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, alias Sippy, who was shot dead in Chandigarh. The building is located in the Industrial Area here. A short-circuit was suspected to be the reason behind the fire.
Sub-Fire Officer Mohan Lal Verma said a fire call was received at 3.52 pm after which two fire engines were pressed into service. He said the fire was of a minor nature and only an inverter and battery placed on the fourth floor of the building had caught fire.
He suspected that the battery had burst, which led to the fire. He said there was a lot of smoke in the building. He said no fire-fighting equipment had been installed in the building. The police also reached the scene.
ASI Ram Darshan, in charge of the police chowki in the Industrial Area,
however, said the fire was caused by a short-circuit. He said two bags of sand and two buckets of water were used to control the fire before the fire brigade reached the scene. He said there was a lot of smoke in the building as there was no proper outlet. One door had to be removed to let the smoke out.
The ASI ruled out any foul play . Anhad Sidhu, a cousin of the deceased, said Sippy had been running a law firm from the building. He, too, ruled out any foul play.
 

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, alias Sippy, was aware that his life was under a threat.
Sippy had approached the Mohali police around a month and a half ago saying that he suspected that he was being followed by someone.
He had told the police verbally that he had noticed a Maruti car making the rounds of his residence at Phase 3B2 here. Confirming the development, Inspector Mahesh Saini, SHO of the Mataur police station, said Sippy had approached him about 45 days ago before going abroad.
Saini said they had checked the footage of CCTV cameras installed in a neighbouring house of Sippy.
“We saw a car but its exact colour and registration number could not be noticed in the footage,” said Saini.
Asked whether the Mohali police had lodged a DDR or an FIR in this connection, Saini said no such step was taken as Sippy had left for the UK.
“After London, he went to British Columbia, Canada, and then to Belgium before returning to India on September 18,” said a cousin of the victim. Sippy’s latest status on Facebook showed, “Brussels; love it”, from Brussels, Belgium, on September 16 and he was last seen on WhatsApp at 7.38 pm yesterday.
“He had posted some videos, shot in Canada, on a family group, created on WhatsApp yesterday,” said the cousin.
Sippy, who had completed his LLB around five years ago, had started his law firm in Mohali and soon opened branches in several countries. An ambitious youngster, Sippy was the secretary general of the Paralympic Committee of Punjab and MD of Playsports and Entertainment.
 

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today visited the house of Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, alias Sippy, in Phase 3B2 here to offer condolences to the family. Sippy was shot dead in Chandigarh on September 20.
Badal, who stayed there for about half an hour, offered his condolences to Rupinder Kaur, mother of the deceased, brother Jasmanpreet Singh and other members of the family. The Chief Minister said the untimely death was unfortunate and a big loss to the family as well as to society. Sippy was a promising young man.
CM hears woman’s grievance
When the Chief Minister was returning from Sippy’s house, a woman with a child came in front of Badal’s car and called out to him. She was carrying a bag containing complaint papers. The Chief Minister asked the driver to stop the car and heard her grievance. He asked the SSP to look into the matter.
According to reports, the complainant, Rajmeet Kaur Sharma, alleged that her father had thrown her and her mother out of their home and was living with another woman. She claimed that she had been given police protection on the directions of the High Court but the security was later withdrawn.
 

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
The UT police claim to have got some vital clues in the murder case of a 34-year-old lawyer, Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, alias Sippy, that could soon lead them to the killers. Sippy was found shot dead in a park in Sector 27 on Sunday night.
Though officials were tightlipped on the investigations, sources said on the basis of the call details of the victim’s mobile and questioning of a girl, who is believed to have been present at the time of the incident, the police today quizzed at least six youths.
However, UT IGP RP Upadhyay said the police had been informed that some girl was present in the park and was seen running away from the spot. He said they were yet to verify who the girl was.
The police have not ruled out the contract killing angle. They are trying to establish a link between the girl and the “two assailants” who fired at the victim from two different weapons, both .12 bore guns. The sources said the assailants fired at the victim from two weapons to ensure that he got killed.
Investigators believe that the assailants were tracking the victim and chose an isolated area to kill him while he was with the girl. To corroborate the theory, the footage of CCTV cameras installed at different points in Sectors 19 and 27 is being analysed to seen vehicles entering and leaving the area over the past two days.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the girl present with the victim at the time of the incident was compelling him to get married to her despite the fact that the lawyer was already engaged.
On the fateful day, Sippy, chairman of Sippy Sidhu Law Firm, based in Sector 91, Mohali, was supposed to go for a movie at 8 pm along with his fiancee. However, he advanced the plan to 4 pm since someone had asked him to visit the park in Sector 27 later in the evening.
“It seems Sippy’s female friend asked him to come to the park at Sector 27 in the evening following which he preponed the movie plan,” said a police official. The victim straightaway went to Sector 27 from his home in Mohali at around 8 pm.
The IGP today held a meeting with police officials to know the progress in the case.
After gunshots, residents searched area, informed cops
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 23
On the fateful night when the 34-year-old lawyer was murdered in Sector 27, a youth staying nearby, who was present on the first floor of his house, could hear gunshots after which he along with other residents searched the area in a car. They then went inside the park and with the help of a torch found the body lying there. It was the youth who had informed the police.
Victim Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, alias Sippy, was shot four times with two different 12 bore guns on September 20. Sources said after the gunshots were fired the youth informed his brother about the same. On getting suspicious, the duo along with their father then took a round of the area in their car to find out what had happened.
After finding nothing on the road, the family then decided to visit the neighboring park. “They formed a team of two people and started searching in the park with the help of a torch”, said the sources.
The youth then noticed the body lying in one corner of the park after which the police was informed.
A police official said that by the time the residents spotted the body an hour had already passed. “The youth who had heard the gunshots and later spotted the body, didn’t see anyone escaping from the spot”, said a police official.
Statements of the residents that have been recorded by the police are being analysed.
 

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
2 suspects rounded up, taken to crime spot

While the police claim that the high profile murder case of lawyer Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, alias Sippy, is still a mystery, the rounding up of two persons, suspected to be sharpshooters, indicates that the police are close to cracking the case. Sippy was shot dead at a park in Sector 27 on September 20.
The police took the duo to the crime spot late this evening as part of their investigation. Sources said the duo was taken there to recreate the crime scene.
The UT police have claimed that they are working on several theories, including a love triangle, property dispute and professional enmity. The police are also investigating the contract killing angle.
A woman eyewitness, living at a short distance from the scene of the crime, had reportedly told the police that she had seen a girl and a man running away from the spot after she heard the gunshots, which has pointed towards love triangle as a possible cause of the crime.
The police have also zeroed in on Sippy’s female friend, who is a daughter of a judge. The same girl was exerting pressure on him to get married to her, despite the fact that Sippy was engaged. The police are trying to establish whether she was the same girl who was seen running away from the spot after the murder.
A property dispute is another theory which the police are working on. The sources said Sippy had a dispute with a few people over a property purchased in Fatehgarh Sahib.
The sources said a close friend of Sippy, who was involved in property deals, was under the scanner.
The police are exploring whether the victim had some professional rivalry with someone. During the past four days, several people, including the victim’s family friends, have been questioned by the police.
UT IGP RP Upadhyay said in a press note that the police were working on various theories and revealing anything at this stage would hamper the investigation. The police claimed that no arrests had been made in the case so far.
Before leaving his house, Sippy had told family he was going to meet female friend
The police have revealed that before leaving his house, Sippy had told his family that he was going to meet his female friend, who was a daughter of a judge. Sources said Sippy had also met the same girl on September 18, the day he returned from abroad.
 

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
Seven days after 34-year-old lawyer Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, alias Sippy, was shot dead at a park in Sector 27, the UT police are still struggling to make a breakthrough in the high-profile murder case.
While police officials are tightlipped over the investigation, sources said the police would meet Sippy’s family again to gather more information, which could help them crack the case.
The sources said “unknown numbers” from which Sippy had received calls were under scrutiny. Efforts were being made to contact some close friends of Sippy, who are settled abroad, and a few NRIs who were in touch with him in connection with business. The sources said there was a possibility that a male friend of the girl, who was accompanying Sippy at the time of the incident, was also present in the park. The youth is suspected to have led the killers to the spot and even helped them flee. Police officials have, however, denied having any evidence to support this theory. Sippy was shot dead at a park in Sector 27 on September 20. A woman eyewitness, living at a short distance from the scene of the crime, had reportedly told the police that she had seen a girl and a man running away from the spot after she heard the gunshots, which has pointed towards love triangle as a possible cause of the crime. The police have zeroed in on Sippy’s female friend. However, investigators are struggling to gather enough evidence to establish her role in the crime.
 

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
Almost 15 days after 34-year-old lawyer Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, alias Sippy, was shot dead in a park at Sector 27, the Chandigarh Police have narrowed down its investigations on a close female friend of the lawyer who has turned out to be the prime suspect in the case. Police sources said they had gathered substantial evidence that pointed towards the girl, who belonged to an influential family.
The girl under suspicion had spoken to Sippy for long hours after he returned to Indian on September 18. He was murdered on September 20. The police have also ruled out the contract killing angle. They believe a close friend of the girl pumped four bullets into Sippy's body from point-blank range. The sources said the girl was a frequent visitor to Sippy’s house in Mohali and to his office.
Their families were also close to each other. On the day of the crime, a woman eyewitness, living at a short distance from the scene of the crime, had reportedly told the police that she had seen a girl and a man running away from the spot.
The mobile phone of the victim’s female friend was switched off for a few days before the lawyer was shot dead. The sources said the police were expected to make a headway in the case soon.
Police rule outcontract killing
Sources said it was not a case of contract killing. Someone known to the girl was suspected to have shot Sippy.
Telephonic conversation
Sippy's female friend, who is the prime suspect in the case, had a long conversation with him on the mobile from an unknown number. The police have been investigating Sippy’s telephone records to crack the case.
 

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
Sippy’s mother alleges HC Judge influencing probe

With the UT police remaining clueless about the perpetrators even 25 days after the high-profile murder of an advocate, the victim’s family has now alleged that the investigation in the case is being influenced by a Judge.
Kin of 34-year-old lawyer Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, alias Sippy, who was shot dead at a park in Sector 27 here on September 20 night, have reportedly submitted a representation to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court claiming that they were sure that a Judge’s daughter, who was close to Sippy, was involved in the murder, but nothing was being done owing to her influential background.
The police have also questioned the Judge’s daughter at length last Saturday but till now, they are tightlipped on her alleged involvement and have made no disclosures in the case so far.
The representation made by the victim’s mother, Deepinder Kaur, was submitted on October 14.
On the day of crime, a woman eyewitness, living at a short distance from the scene of crime, had reportedly told the police that she had seen a girl and a man running away from the spot after she heard the gunshots.
The police are working on a theory that the acquaintance of the girl shot Sippy.
Police sources said they had circumstantial evidences to nail the accused.
Sippy was the grandson of a former Justice and chairman of Sippy Sidhu Law Firm based in Sector 91, Mohali.
Police to summon Judge’s daughter again
AS Cheema, DIG, UT, on Thursday held a meeting of the SIT to take stock of the investigation. After the meeting it has been decided to summon the Judge’s daughter again for questioning.
 
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