Shubhdeep Singh Sindhu, the Punjabi singer and Congress leader popularly known as Sidhu Moose Wala, was shot dead in the Mansa district of Punjab on Sunday. Punjab police reportedly suspect that it was the result of a gang war.
According to the police, a member of a gang from Canada has 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.
The 28-year-old singer, who belonged to the Moose Wala village near Mansa, had joined the Congress party recently, in December, ahead of Punjab assembly polls that took place in February. He lost his seat to Aam Aadmi Party’s Dr Vijay Singla.
A day before his murder, Punjab police had withdrawn the security cover of 424 people, including Moose Wala, as part of the newly-elected Bhagwant Mann government’s crackdown on VIP culture.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 in a jeep, on their way to the village Jawahar Ke in Punjab, as seen in CCTV footage from a traffic camera.
Several bullets were shot at the singer’s jeep and he was 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.
Punjab Police has reportedly formed a special investigation team to probe the incident.
During the pandemic-induced lockdown, photographs of Moose Wala that showed him firing an AK-47 rifle at a firing range, had appeared on social media. Following this, in May 2020, he was booked under the Arms Act and the Disaster Management Act in Barnala, Punjab.
Further, in July 2020, Moose Wala had faced criticism for promoting gun culture in his songs and had also been booked for allegedly promoting violence through his song Sanju.
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Several celebrities and politicians took to social media to express their condolences and pay tribute to Moose Wala following his demise. Actors Ajay Devgn, Neha Sharma, Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Shehnaaz Gill, international singer and rapper Drake, musician Vishal Dadlani, Salim Merchant, comedian Kapil Sharma, Munawar Faruqui, cricketer Harbhajan Singh and Shikhar Dhawan, among several others, paid their respects.