Moose Wala, cops booked under Arms Act; arrest imminent Fascination for guns backfires on singer
HC DISPOSES OF PETITION ON FIRS INVOLVING SINGER
SANGRUR: Two weeks after Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala was booked by Sangrur and Barnala police after a video showing him firing an official assault rifle and a pistol/revolver was widely shared on social media, the police on Monday added provisions of the Arms Act in the first information reports (FIR).
“The case has been handed over to the SP, Punjab Bureau of Investigation, Gurmeet Singh, but before further probe, Sections 25, 29 and 30 of the Arms Act have been added in the FIRS,” said Sangrur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sandeep Garg.
Earlier, the cases were registered under Section 188 of the IPC and Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act at Dhanauala police station of Barnala and Dhuri Sadar police station of Sangrur.
“Under the Arms Act, it is a non-bailable offence and the accused will be arrested soon,” the SSP said.
Barnala SSP Sandeep Goel said that the police had also added Section 120-B of the IPC.
CHANDIGARH : The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday disposed of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a Chandigarh resident seeking a probe into singer Sidhu Moose Wala firing from an official assault rifle as per a video making round on the social media.
The petition was disposed of after state government told the court that Sp-level officers of the PBI in two districts (where FIRS were registered) have been tasked with the probe.
IN CROSSHAIRS OF CONTROVERSY
On May 4, Moose Wala triggered a new controversy when a video was shared on social media in which he was allegedly seen firing from an official assault rifle at a shooting range at Badbar village of Barnala district.
Some Punjab police personnel could be seen assisting the singer as he fired at the target from the official weapon.
Six policemen were placed under suspension by the Sangrur police chief.
Four people and five policemen were booked for violating curfew.
On May 5, in another video, of the singer surfaced where he was firing from a private pistol/ revolver at Ladda Kothi shooting range of Sangrur.
The police booked Moose Wala and six cops at Sadar Dhuri police station.
After the incidents, eight police personnel, including deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Daljit Singh Virk, Julkan police station house officer (SHO) Gurpreet Singh Bhinder and three assistant sub-inspectors, were suspended.
Inspector general of police (Patiala range) Jatinder Singh Aulakh had directed the police of both districts to depute Sp-level officers to probe the case as a deputy superintendent of police (DSP-HOME, Sangrur), Daljit Singh Virk, was also suspended in the case.
PATIALA: Until some weeks ago, he was a blue-eyed boy of Punjab Police, with the state top cop even retweeting his song. But now Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, 26, who has been grabbing eyeballs ever since he shot into limelight, finds himself on the wrong side of the law.
Hailing from Moosa, a remote village in Mansa, Moose Wala has emerged as king of controversies, especially for promoting violence and gun culture in his songs. In February, Moose Wala and singer Mankirat Aulakh were booked for allegedly promoting gun culture and violence via their song ‘Panj golian’ (five bullets).
Shubdeep Singh Sidhu, aka Moosewala, completed his electrical engineering from Punjab and moved to Canada on study visa in 2016. A year later, he released his first track ‘So High’ that was followed by two back-toback albums.
The man clearly has fascination for guns --- be it his songs or his official Youtube channel logo that depicts ‘a man dressed in black with a covered face and carrying an AK-47 assault rifle.
Laced with Canada’s style and culture, most of his songs have thumping beats and deep bass. He tries to give a rural touch to the songs with his lyrics.
Moose Wala’s die-hard fans say he has never promoted drugs, alcohol and vulgarity in his videos, unlike many of his contemporaries. Apart from his gun-promoting numbers, Moosewala has been locked in war of words on social media with other fellow singers, including Karan Aujla.
The singer’s brush with controversies continued in 2019 when he angered the Sikh community while making a reference to Bhai Bhago, an18th century Sikh warrior, in the song “Jatti Jeoney Morh Di Bandook”. In March 2020, Moose Wala tendered an apology before the Akal Takht.
Moose Wala found favour with Punjab Police after his song on preacher Baldev Singh of Pathlawa village in SBS Nagar. Baldev was the first coronavirus victim in Punjab. The song was shared by DGP Dinkar Gupta on his official Twitter account. Later, both DGP and Moosewala faced backlash from netizens for defaming Baldev Singh following which Gupta removed the song link.
Moose Wala also backed Punjab Police’s #Mainbhiharjeetsingh campaign.
Last month, Mansa SSP Narinder Bhargav took Moose Wala along with him to give a birthday surprise for a corona warrior. A video of some cops teaching the controversial singer how to fire a gun using their service weapons went viral following which a case was registered.