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Moose Wala’s murder: 39 days on, SIT clueless about Punjab module shooters’ whereabouts
Around 39 days after the brutal killing of singer Sidhu Moose Wala, the Punjab police’s special investigation team (SIT) is still groping in the dark to trace Punjab module shooters, which included Jagroop Singh Roopa and Manpreet Singh Mannu.
Around 39 days after the brutal killing of singer Sidhu Moose Wala, the Punjab police’s special investigation team (SIT) is still groping in the dark to trace Punjab module shooters, which included Jagroop Singh Roopa and Manpreet Singh Mannu.
Despite custodial interrogation of the masterminds of the killing, Lawrence Bishnoi and Jagdeep Singh, alias Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, the Punjab police are struggling to find the trail of Mannu and Roopa. Both Punjab and Delhi police have also failed to recover the weapons used in the crime so far.
The police have identified six shooters and claimed that two modules of shooters were involved in the killing, who were directly in touch with Canada-based Goldy Brar. While Delhi police have arrested three shooters - Priyavrat Fauji, Kashish and Ankit Sirsa - of the Haryana module, their counterparts in Punjab have failed to arrest any shooter so far. Deepak of the Haryana module, Mannu and Roopa of the Punjab module are still absconding.
As per the police, Mannu who was in a Toyota Corolla car along with Roopa fired at Moose Wala with an AK-47 assault rifle. Soon after the incident, Mannu and Roopa fled from the spot along with the assault rifle. Later, they snatched an Alto car, which was found abandoned in Moga district. An officer privy to the development said that SIT has identified a very limited trail of Mannu and Roopa, with no information on their movement it has become difficult to trace them. Meanwhile, the Delhi police have also not disclosed any information regarding Mannu and Roopa, while they were able to trace Priyavrat and Kashish in Gujarat. The Delhi Police have disclosed all the escape routes and even places used as hideouts by shooters of the Haryana module.
As per sources, police suspect that, unlike other modules, instead of fleeing to other states Mannu and Roopa stayed in rural areas of Punjab after the murder but there is no further trace of their movement so far.
A henchman of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, Manpreet Singh, alias Mannu of Kussa village in Moga district, is facing 13 cases, including four murder cases in various districts of Punjab. A perusal of the record shows that since September last year, Mannu had carried out three murders and made two attempts to murder on directions of Bishnoi and Canada-based Goldy Brar (excluding Moose Wala’s murder).
The dreaded sharpshooter was first booked for an attempt to murder in 2010 for which he was convicted in 2013. So far, he has been convicted in three cases, including murder and two attempts to murder cases. In April, Mannu had shot dead gangster Harjit Singh Penta, who was affiliated with Devinder Bambiha group, on the directions of Bishnoi at Marhi Mustafa village.
Despite Mannu being on the wanted list of the Punjab Police, they had no clue of his movement along with an AK-47 rifle before Moose Wala’s murder. Even Mannu along with Roopa fled via Moga district, where he was wanted in a murder, as the car they had snatched from Mansa was found abandoned on the road in the Dharamkot sub-division of the district.
Jagroop Singh, alias Roopa, who belongs to Jaura village in Tarn Taran, is facing six criminal cases, including robbery. He was arrested in an Arms Act case in 2020 and now he was absconding after coming out on bail in 2021. Police say Roopa was in contact with illegal arms dealers and suspected to have a key in procuring weapons.
The Punjab Police have questioned Bishnoi, whose custody they have till July 11, for more than 22 days already, and before that the Delhi police special cell had also questioned him for 14 days. But the recovery of weapons has become an uphill task for the police.
Even the nine days of custodial interrogation of Bhagwanpuria by SIT also failed to get any vital clues. Bhagwanpuria’s police remand in a singer’s murder case was extended till July 11 on Wednesday. Failing to get any new lead now, the SIT plans to cross-interrogate Bishnoi and Bhagwanpuria with the shooters.
The Punjab Police on Tuesday brought three accused, including Priyavrat and Kashish, to Mansa and secured their eight-day custody. An official privy to the development said that after two days of interrogation, they have not disclosed any significant information but SIT is grilling them to get lead to nab other accused and recover weapons. Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead by assailants in Jawaharke village of Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29.
