Who is Deep Sidhu, the man allegedly behind farmers' tractor rally chaos?

Deep Sihdu has been named as one of the primary instigators of the tractor rally violence

The visual of protestors swarming inside the Red Fort and hoisting a flag during the Republic Day tractor rally has triggered a massive controversy in India. The tractor rally on January 26 was supposed to be the crescendo of the farmers' protests but instead, it turned out to be a chaotic event strewn with violence.

Many have been accused of instigating the violence during the tractor rally, however, one name that gained prominence is Deep Sidhu. The Delhi Police have also named him in the FIR registered in the case related to violence at the Red Fort.

As questions regarding his political allegiance and allegations continue to do the round, here's what we know about him:

But who is Deep Sidhu?

Deep Sidhu is an actor who has worked in Hindi and Punjabi films. He debuted in the Punjabi film Ramta Jogi produced by the Bollywood legend Dharmendra. Sidhu has also worked as a model and walked ramps in Bombay for designers like Hemant Trivedi, Rohit Gandhi and others. On the education front, Sidhu has studied law and worked in the British law firm Hammonds and later in Balaji Telefilms.

Read: Farmers tractor rally: Centre to use iron fist to deal with violence

He was first spotted in a political sphere in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections when he campaigned for Gurudaspur BJP MP and Bollywood actor Sunny Deol. However, Deol has denied having links with Sidhu and clarified that he or his family members have no links with him.

In the aftermath of the tractor rally, Sidhu defended the farmers' action of removing the flag, saying they did not remove the national flag and had put up the 'Nishan Sahib' flag as a symbolic protest. The 'Nishan Sahib' flag, a symbol of Sikh religion, is seen at all Gurdwara complexes.

In a video posted on Facebook, Sidhu claimed it was not a planned move and that it should not be given any communal colour or dub them as fundamentalists or hardliners.

Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav, who is among the leaders spearheading the agitation against the farm laws, said Sidhu had been disassociated "from our protest right from the beginning".

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The Samkyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 41 farmer unions that is leading the protest against the three central farm laws, also disassociated itself from those who indulged in violence during the tractor parade and alleged that some "anti-social elements" infiltrated their otherwise peaceful movement.