Among those arrested from Kutch, Special Commissioner of Police H G S Dhaliwal identified Priyavrat (26) as the alleged “main shooter and head of the module” that gunned down Moosewala. After the incident, Priyavrat sent a message to Brar saying “work is done”.  Police said Priyavrat’s associate, Kashish (24), was allegedly the “second shooter”. The third arrested accused, Keshav Kumar, allegedly received the shooters after the murder.

CHANDIGARH – In a big embarrassment to the Punjab Police, a special cell of Delhi Police has managed to arrest three persons — including two main shooters — allegedly involved in the murder of Punjabi pop singer Sidhu Moosewala.

The killers were arrested near Mundra port in Kutch on Sunday morning following a police raid at a rented apartment where they were hiding. Kutch (west) police said the Delhi Police team picked up the three accused from Baroi village. The shooters had gone to Mundra around a week ago in search of work and had taken a room on rent in Baroi.  The six shooters have so far been identified by the Delhi Police Special Cell, which is questioning jailed gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Kala Rana and Kala Jathedi in connection with the Moosewala killing. A total of 16 gang members and leaders have been arrested by the Delhi Police and other agencies in the case.

This begs the question: What has the Punjab Police being doing all these days? After all, the hi-profile murder took place in the jurisdiction of Punjab Police. Yet it is the Delhi police which has caught the killers.

The Punjab Police had won encomiums after it had successfully busted the international network behind the targeted killings. Well known for its professional investigative skills and expertise in tracing criminals, the state police had successfully trapped and liquidated gangsters like Jaipal Bhullar in far off West Bengal besides nabbing others in Rajasthan.

However, the same police failed to prevent Moosewala’s killing even though it had some intel input on the likely attack on him. Later, the Delhi Police were able to identify the shooters and conspirators in the case while the Punjab Police could arrest some as a follow-up action only. The police claimed it had identified all four shooters, but two of those were already named in the list of eight released by the Delhi Police. Although the Punjab Police too was on the trail of the main shooter Priyawarat, yet it was the Delhi police which captured him.

Among those arrested from Kutch, Special Commissioner of Police H G S Dhaliwal identified Priyavrat (26) as the alleged “main shooter and head of the module” that gunned down Moosewala. After the incident, Priyavrat sent a message to Brar saying “work is done”.  Police said Priyavrat’s associate, Kashish (24), was allegedly the “second shooter”. The third arrested accused, Keshav Kumar, allegedly received the shooters after the murder.

Priyavrat was previously involved in two other murder cases, in 2015 and 2021, while Jhajjar resident Kashish was wanted in another murder case, the police said. Keshav has a criminal record, too, including alleged involvement in a murder case in 2020, the police said.

Moosewala was killed on May 29 at his village in Punjab’s Mansa by assailants who waylaid the vehicle he was driving and opened fire, killing him on the spot. Brar and Bishnoi had taken responsibility for the murder on social media.

According to police sources, the preliminary probe has revealed that Brar and Bishnoi had planned the murder to take revenge for the killing of Akali Dal leader Vicky Middukhera. The two gangsters allegedly suspected that Moosewala and his manager had helped the assailants who gunned down Middukhera.

In the Moosewalakilling, the shooters were seen in CCTV footage recovered from a petrol pump near the spot. They were spotted in Fatehgarh right before the incident, they said. The murder was well planned. The men had conducted recce around 9-10 times in the weeks before the killing. They roamed around different routes to note Moosewala’s movement. They were not aware of his security arrangements, and were waiting for him to be alone.

Their aim was to kill Moosewala. For this, they had mounted grenade launchers in reserve and were ready to throw grenades as well. However, Moosewala died within minutes of firing and the additional weapons weren’t used.

According to sources, the police also found that the accused had bought uniforms to pose as Punjab Police officers but didn’t use them and decided to wear masks instead. Dhaliwal said: “All teams of the Special Cell worked round the clock to track down the syndicate members. We have identified six of the shooters. Two modules were involved in the murder. One was in a Bolero car, which was driven by Kashish. The others were in a Corolla car in which assailants Jagdeep Roopa and Manpreet Mannu were travelling.”

In the Bolero, sources said, Priyavrat and another alleged accused Ankit Sirsa and Deepak Munde were in the back seat. According to police, Mannu allegedly fired the first burst from the Corolla at Moosewala’s car. This halted the singer’s vehicle, they said. From the other side, the shooters in the Bolero then shot the singer, they said. The men later left in an Alto for different hideouts, sources said.

According to the police, they found weapons and ammunition in Haryana’s Hisar in raids conducted after Sunday’s arrest, including eight grenades, nine electric detonators, an assault rifle, three pistols and a grenade launcher.

On June 8, the Special Cell along with Maharashtra Police had arrested another associate named SiddheshKamble from Punjab. He was allegedly involved in planning the incident.

A large number of arms & explosives — 8 grenades, 3 pistols and around 50 bullets — were recovered from the possession. The main shooter PriyavratFauji from Sonipat in Haryana who was heading the hit squad equipped with AN-94 assault rifle. Fauji was in direct touch with Goldy Brar (in Canada) at the time of the incident. The other shooter was Kuldeep Kashish from Jhajjar in Haryana, police said.

During the interrogation, Lawrence Bishnoi confessed that he had planned to kill Sidhu Moosewala to avenge the death of Vicky Middukhera and had also arranged to recce his movements but he is not aware of the persons who executed the killings. The third is a facilitator, Keshav, who dropped the shooters to Mansa in Punjab for the murder that day.

Manpreet Manu, riding in the Corolla car, fired at Moose Wala that day. Soon after the incident, Manpreet Manu and Roopa left. The Priyavrat-led module also left the spot after the incident, According to HGS Dhaliwal.

The arrested accused had a call before the incident to move in because Goldy Brar got the information from the recce that Sidhu Moose Wala was moving without enough security. After shooting, they again called and told him that they had carried out the task. AK series of rifles were used in the crime, said the Delhi Police special cell. The shooters also purchased uniforms of Punjab police during the incident, but could not use them due to the lack of name plates.

A total of six uniforms were purchased, the Delhi Police said. The accused were identified after they were caught on a CCTV camera installed at a petrol pump in Fatehgarh in Punjab just before the incident.

The Punjab Police is continuing with the interrogation of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The cops also identified four shooters who fired indiscriminately at singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu aka Sidhu Moose Wala on May 29 but have not named the shooters.

Prior to this, another accused, Saurabh Mahakal, was arrested by the special cell in the case and is in the custody of Pune Police. Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known as Sidhu Moosewala, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29.

The revelations that the shooters possessed not only advanced and sophisticated weapons but also rocket launchers for use in case of need go to show how serious is the need to come down heavily on gangsters and criminals in the State.  The AAP Government that came to power about three months back has a lot at stake as links of dreaded gangsters with politicians and police officials are well known.  The case of Moosewala’s killing is a litmus test for the Punjab Government and its police.

Courtesy The Rising Panjab Bureau