On the day slain Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala was laid to rest, the police made the first arrest in the murder case. The accused, Manpreet, has been arrested from Uttarakhand. Manpreet was among the six suspects detained by the police on Monday. He has been sent to police custody for five days.
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known as Sidhu Moosewala, was shot dead on Sunday by unidentified assailants in Punjab’s Mansa district. His cousin and a friend, who were travelling in a Mahindra Thar jeep with him, were also injured in the attack.
The Punjab Police suspects the murder to be a case of revenge killing and inter-gang rivalry. The name of Moose Wala’s manager Shaganpreet had figured in the murder of youth Akali leader Vicky Middukhera last year. Shagunpreet had fled to Australia.
After Canada-based gangster reportedly claimed responsibility for Moosewala’s murder, the police has been looking into the involvement of Bishnoi gang. Bishnoi and his aides, along with Kala Rana and Kala Jathedi, were questioned by Delhi Police Special Cell on Monday.
The police are also looking into the suspected links of the murder plot to Tihar Jail. A phone number has been traced to the jail. Few days ago, a criminal namely Shahrukh was arrested by police. He was using a messaging app to communicate with Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, according to sources quoted by ANI.
Facing criticism from the Opposition and Moosewala’s family over the withdrawal of the singer-politician just a day before he was murdered, Punjab DGP V K Bhawra said four Punjab police commandos had been deployed with the singer. He said every year, security is “thinned out” because of the anniversary of Operation Bluestar and ‘Ghalughara week’ next month.
Two commandos of Moose Wala were also withdrawn. But he did not take two of his remaining commandos along with him, the police official noted. He said the popular singer chose not to take his private bullet proof vehicle as well.