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Moose Wala murder: 10 days on, shooters still elude Punjab Police
In its first official statement on the Moose Wala murder case, the Punjab Police SIT had claimed that four shooters have been identified while eight people who aided them have been arrested till June 7
Despite police raids being carried out in various states, the Punjab Police special investigation team (SIT) has failed to nab the shooters who pumped 19 bullets into singer-politician Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, aka Sidhu Moose Wala, on May 29.
In its first official statement on the high-profile murder case, the SIT on Tuesday had claimed that eight people who provided logistics support and conducted recce have been arrested while four shooters have been identified so far.
Mansa senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gaurav Toora, who is part of the SIT, said on Wednesday that the interrogation of the arrested suspects has revealed crucial leads about the shooters. “Police teams are conducting raids in various states to nab the shooters identified so far,” he said. The six-member SIT, led by inspector general of police (IGP) Jaskaran Singh, is set to meet in Bathinda to discuss the status of the case and further course of action, said Toora.
According to sources, Punjab Police teams on Wednesday carried out raids in Bathinda and surrounding districts to arrest a suspect but failed to find him. The probe has found that the suspect, identified as Keshav of Bathinda, along with an associate had brought the Mahindra Bolero SUV, which was used in the crime, to Punjab from Fatehabad and handed it over to the shooters.
Meanwhile, arrested gangster Monu Dagar and his aides Pawan Bishnoi and Naseeb, whose involvement is suspected in Moose Wala’s killing, were sent to the Faridkot jail. The three Haryana men were arrested recently for the murder of a rival in Moga. Moga senior superintendent of police Gulneet Singh Khurrana said the trio has provided information regarding Moose Wala’s case, which has been shared with the Mansa police.
The Mansa police plan to bring them on production warrants for interrogation in Moose Wala’s case on Thursday. The SIT has claimed that Dagar had provided two shooters on the directions of Goldy Brar, Canada-based aide of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and key suspect in the case, while Pawan and Naseeb played a role in arranging the Bolero.
Gangster with link to shooter held in Pune
The Maharashtra Police have arrested Siddhesh Hiraman Kamle, alias Mahakal, a close associate of one of the shooters involved in Moose Wala’s murder, the Delhi Police claimed on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, senior Delhi Police officer Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal said that Mahakal was arrested on the basis of leads provided by his department during interrogation of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
Bishnoi, who is lodged in the Tihar Jail, is at present being interrogated by the Delhi Police in an Arms Act case. He has been identified as the “mastermind” behind Moose Wala’s murder.
“It was a big conspiracy to kill the Punjabi singer. We have identified at least five persons in this case and sharing their details with our counterparts in other states. We’ll soon arrest them. The Maharashtra Police, on basis of our inputs, have arrested Mahakal, who was involved in a killing recently in Punjab’s Moga district. He is a close associate of one of the shooters in Moose Wala’s case too, but he’s not involved in the killing,” said Dhaliwal.
The police officer said that Mahakal was arrested in a case registered against him under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. According to sources in the Punjab Police, a team reached Pune in the evening and met with the local superintendent of police after Mahakal’s arrest.
(with inputs from Delhi)
