Moose Wala: SIT names 8 shooters
Man who did recce held, had taken selfies posing as fan before passing info to shooters; third arrest made in gangster’s murder at Moga, role suspected in Moose Wala case
MANSA : The Punjab police special investigation team (SIT) on Monday identified the eight shooters who pumped 19 bullets into singer-politician Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, aka Sidhu Moose Wala, in Mansa on May 29..
The gang led by Lawrence Bishnoi, who is lodged in the Delhi’s Tihar Jail, has claimed the responsibility for Moose Wala’s murder. A senior police official said all men identified (see box) are sharpshooters and are directly linked with the Bishnoi gang. Police teams are conducting raids in three states to arrest them.
The SIT had made the first arrest in the Moose Wala killing two days after the crime. Identified as Manpreet Bhau, the suspect is accused of providing logistics support to the assailants. The same day, two jailed gangsters, Manpreet Singh Manna and Saraj Sandhu, were brought on production warrants. The SIT had secured three more days’ remand on Sunday.
Man who did recce roped in by Sachin Bishnoi
The SIT on Monday also officially arrested a Haryana resident, Sandeep Kumar, alias Kekra, who allegedly passed on the real-time information about the movement of Moose Wala’s vehicle to the shooters. He was detained by police on Saturday after his alleged involvement came to the fore during the investigation.
A CCTV image has surfaced from the slain Punjabi singer’s village in Mansa moments before he was killed. The CCTV footage dated May 29, the day the killing took place, shows Moose Wala’s jeep which stopped near some people. In the footage, some people are seen taking selfies. The footage was recorded at 5:15 pm, while the singer was shot dead at 5:30 pm.
Sources in the Punjab Police said that the CCTV footage revealed Kekra spent 40 minutes at the singer’s house as a fan and later also took selfies after stopping him outside his house. In fact, Kekra was the one who informed the shooters that Moose Wala was travelling in his Thar leaving behind his bulletproof vehicle and was not accompanied by his gunmen for security.
Police sources said Kekra was roped in for doing the recce by Sachin Bishnoi, who had earlier claimed to have killed Moose Wala. Sachin also claimed to be the nephew of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The official said Kekra is not an active gangster but a long-time friend of Sachin.
Fatehabad man’s role in singer’s killing suspected
The Moga police also arrested a Haryana resident from Fatehabad for the murder of a Moga gangster, while his involvement in the killing of Moose Wala is also suspected.
A crime investigation agency (CIA) team from Moga arrested Devinder Singh of Fatehabad in connection with the murder of gangster Harjit Singh Penta, who was shot dead at Marhi Mustafa village in Moga’s Baghapurana in April. Penta, a member of the Devinder Bambiha gang, was allegedly killed on the directions of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. This is the third arrest by the Moga police in this case and all three accused are suspected to be involved in Moose Wala’s murder as well.
Three days after Moose Wala’s murder, Moga police arrested two men, Pawan Bishnoi and Naseeb, linked to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi from Haryana’s Fatehabad in Penta’s murder case. Manpreet Mannu, who is one of the alleged shooters in Moose Wala case, had shot dead Penta.
SUV used in crime brought from Rajasthan
“Devinder is facing a 10-year sentence in a Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) case registered in Moga after 3 kg of opium was recovered from him. He was out on parole. The probe found he was involved in Penta’s murder and his role in Moose Wala’s murder also surfaced,” a senior official of the Moga police said.
According to police sources, Devinder is suspected of providing the white Mahindra Bolero SUV, used in the crime, to the shooters. He is facing at least six NDPS cases in Fatehabad. “Two other Haryana residents had approached Devinder on May 16. The probe found Naseeb had brought the Bolero to Fatehabad from Rawatsar in Rajasthan and handed it over to both Haryana residents suspected in the Moose Wala case, one among them brought the SUV to Punjab,” sources said.