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Middukhera murder: HC dismisses anticipatory bail plea of Moose Wala’s manager
Punjab and Haryana HC dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Shagunpreet Singh, the manager of slain singer Sidhu Moose Wala, in the murder case of Youth Akali Dal (YAD) leader Vicky Middukhera.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Shagunpreet Singh, the manager of slain singer Sidhu Moose Wala, in the murder case of Youth Akali Dal (YAD) leader Vicky Middukhera.
Taking note of the status report submitted by the Punjab Police, the high court bench of justice Anoop Chitkara observed that “the prosecution has collected sufficient evidence pointing out a prima facie case”. Middukhera was shot dead in August 2021 in a Mohali market.
Shagunpreet, who is in Australia, had approached the high court on June 30 seeking protection from arrest claiming that he has been “implicated” in the murder FIR on the basis of a reported disclosure statement of a co-accused without any “corroborative evidence”.
The high court took note of police probe findings in which it was claimed that Shagunpreet made arrangements for the assailants to stay in a private flat instead of a rest house or a hotel to avoid creating evidence about their presence in the area through identification documents required for a stay. It was also claimed by the police that he arranged a private car with a fake number, making them travel not in his car but with someone else so that his location and identification does not take place. Also, it was claimed that his mobile phone location and the spot of crime were in the same signal zones of mobile towers. The petitioner’s conduct of flying away at the brink of time, are the incriminating circumstances pointing towards his involvement and suggestive of his attempt of fleeing from justice and thwarting its course, the police had claimed.
The court stated that Shagunpreet did not explain the purpose of his hasty unscheduled travel to Australia, which points out that he has tried to flee from justice.
The high court bench further observed that the crime is “exceptionally grave, of immense importance” to law and order, and raises serious concerns about an uprising of gangsters in the region. “Unfolding this crime is required to get to know the conspiracies being hatched to raise some cause taking advantage of the gang rivalries or in disguise of the gangs. For that, custodial interrogation is the only option that remains on the table,” the bench further recorded while dismissing the anticipatory bail plea.
