International News
Former Indian cricketer Sidhu jailed for one year
NEW DELHI (AFP) – Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu was sentenced on Thursday to one year in jail, nearly 35 years after he was accused of killing a man in a fit of rage.
India s Supreme Court gave its latest ruling after the victim s family appealed a 2018 verdict that saw the 58-year-old former Test opener walk away with a 1,000-rupee ($13) fine.
A lower court initially sentenced Sidhu to three years in jail over the 1988 incident in which the batsman, a regular part of the national side at the time, and one of his friends beat up a man in a parking lot.
The victim later died in hospital but Sidhu was only convicted for the assault in 1999.
India s Supreme Court overturned that ruling in 2018, saying the case was over 30 years old and Sidhu had not used a weapon — choosing instead to impose a small fine.
Following the decision, the victim s family approached the Supreme Court with a plea for a harsher sentence.
A doughty opener, Sidhu scored 3,202 runs off 51 Test matches and 4,413 runs from 136 one-day internationals.
Sidhu is remembered for famously hitting Shane Warne to all corners at the start of the great Australian spinner s Test career.
He made his political debut with the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party before switching to the opposition Congress.
