Punjab Police has detained five people from Dehradun, Uttarakhand in connection with the recent murder of singer-politician Sidhu Moose Wala.
As per the police, the five persons were picked up from the Shimla bypass of Dehradun and taken to Punjab for interrogation.
Shubhdeep Singh Sindhu, the 28-year-old Punjabi singer and Congress leader, popularly known as Sidhu Moose Wala, was shot dead in the Mansa district of Punjab on Sunday.
The singer, who belonged to the Moose Wala village near Mansa, had joined the Congress party in December, ahead of the Punjab assembly polls that took place in February. He lost his seat to Aam Aadmi Party’s Dr Vijay Singla.
A day before he was shot, Punjab police had withdrawn the security cover of 424 people, including Moose Wala, as part of the newly-elected Bhagwant Mann government’s crackdown on VIP culture.
The following day, Moose Wala and two of his friends were attacked while they were in a jeep, on their way to the village of Jawahar Ke in Punjab. Several bullets were shot at the singer’s jeep and he was later found bleeding on his seat. Moose Wala was taken to a hospital where he was declared ‘brought dead’. The singer’s two friends were also injured during the course of the firing.
In addition to detaining the five people, Punjab Police also recovered three vehicles used in the crime, including an Alto car that was allegedly snatched from a family by the accused to flee following the murder, said Faridkot Range Inspector-General PK Yadav, who is leading the investigations.
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Soon after the shooting, the police said that a member of a gang from Canada had claimed responsibility for the murder. “The Lawrence Bishnoi gang is involved in this murder. Lucky, a member of the gang, has taken responsibility from Canada,” Punjab DGP VK Bhawra told the media. He further referred to the late singer’s manager, Shaganpreet, whose name had come up in connection with the murder of an individual named Vicky Middukhera last year, and said that this act was likely done in retaliation for that.
“Today, Moosewala was killed in Punjab. I, Sachin Bishnoi, Lawrence Bishnoi take the responsibility. It’s our work. Moosewala’s name surfaced in our brother Vikramjit Singh Middukhera and Gurlal Brar’s murder, but the Punjab Police did not take any action against him. We also came to know that Moosewala was also involved in the encounter of our associate Ankit Bhadu. Moosewala was working against us. Delhi Police had taken his name but Moosewala used his political power and saved his skin each time,” an individual named Goldy Brar reportedly wrote on social media. The post is currently unavailable.