Who Was Deep Sidhu? Punjabi Actor Accused In Republic Day Violence Case During Farmers' Protest

Deep Sidhu Death: Punjabi actor-activist Deep Sidhu hit the headlines last year during the farmers' protest for his involvement in the Republic Day violence. 

Actor Deep Sidhu (Getty Images)

New Delhi: Punjabi actor-activist Deep Sidhu died in a road accident on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway, which bypasses Delhi, on Tuesday.

Sidhu hit the headlines last year during the farmers' protest for his involvement in the Republic Day violence. 

Sidhu was accused of being the key conspirator of the violence and was arrested on February 9. He was arrested charges of inciting the agitators during the January 26 tractor rally that was organised by farmers protesting against three farm laws. He was later released on bail.

Visuals of the car from the accident site. Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu died in a road accident after he rammed his car into a standing truck near Pipli toll at Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway, as per Haryana Police pic.twitter.com/WL2MzT1hYd

— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2022

Sidhu, born in 1984 in Punjab's Muktsar district, had a huge fan following in the Punjab film industry.

However, acting was not his first career option. Sidhu studied law and practised for a brief period before he started working in films after winning the Kingfisher Model Hunt award. 

As a lawyer, Sidhu worked with Sahara India Pariwar as a legal advisor and British law firm Hammonds. He was also a member of the legal team of Balaji Telefilms and reportedly Ekta Kapoor told him to take the plunge in acting.

He made his acting debut in 2015 in the movie "Ramta Jogi", produced by actor Dharmendra under his banner Vijayta Films.

However, Sidhu became a household name in Punjab with the 2018 movie "Jora Das Numbria". In the movie, Sidhu played the lead role of a young gangster. 

Sidhu's interest in politics grew after Bollywood star Sunny Deol, whom he was close to, got the BJP ticket to content from Gurdaspur in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Sidhu was an important member in Sunny Deol's campaign team and was instrumental in establishing a connect with residents of the area.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, Sidhu started posting videos on different subjects, ranging from politics to economics. His videos got much traction on Fcebook. When protests around the contentious farm laws started gaining ground in Punjab, Sidhu started attending these gatherings.

Deep Sidhu also launched his own political outfit called 'Warris Punjab De' last year to contest the Punjab election.