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2 gangsters linked to Sidhu Moose Wala’s killing held in Amritsar
Both accused, Mandeep Singh and Manpreet Singh, are accomplices of notorious gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and prime suspects in Rana Kandowalia’s killing in Amritsar
The anti-gangster task force (AGTF) in collaboration with the Amritsar police commissionerate arrested two key members of Jaggu Bhagwanpuria-Lawrence Bishnoi gang, linked to the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, during an intelligence-led operation in Tarn Taran and Amritsar district on Friday.
Those arrested were identified as Mandeep Singh alias Toofan alias Manu, 24, of Batala and Manpreet Singh alias Mani Rayya, 30, of Amritsar. Police have also recovered four sophisticated weapons from their possession—a .30 caliber Chinese pistol, a .45 caliber pistol Taurus USA, a .357 caliber magnum revolver, and a .32 caliber pistol.
Police said the arrested men had not only made several unsuccessful attempts on Moosewala’s life when he was alive, but were also involved in the high-profile killing of gangster Ranbir Singh alias Rana Kandowalia in Amritsar. Rana, who was a rival of Bhagwanpuria, was shot dead at a private hospital in Amritsar in August 2021.
A senior police official who didn’t wish to be named said both the accused had also provided shelter and logistic support to gangsters Jagroop Singh alias Roopa and Manpreet Singh alias Manu Kusa who were killed in an encounter with Punjab Police in July. Both Kusa and Roopa were among the other shooters who had killed Moosewala.
Police said with the arrest of the two accused, they have also got a vital clue in the case pertaining to the rocket propelled grenade (RPG) attack at the intelligence headquarters in Mohali as the duo had accompanied gangsters Deepak Jhajjar and Devayanshu during the murder of Rana Kandowalia. Jhajjar and Devayanshu are the key accused in the RPG attack case.
The development comes just five days after the AGTF had arrested the sixth and last shooter identified as Deepak Mundi in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case along with his two aides from Indo-Nepal Border in West Bengal, while they were attempting to escape to Nepal to further reach Thailand via Bhutan. The same gang had also ‘hatched a conspiracy to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan’.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said a team of AGTF under the supervision of ADGP Promod Ban, led by AIG AGTF Sandeep Goel apprehended Mani Rayya from Harsha Chhina village in Raja Sansi area of Amritsar Rural, while, accused Mandeep Toofan was arrested from Khakh village in Verowaal of Tarn Taran district. The AGTF team also included DSP Bikram Brar, SP Abhimanyu Rana, DSP Parminder Rajan, and DSP Gurinderpal Singh Nagra, while, a team from Amritsar Commissionerate led-by DCP (investigation) Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar also joined in the operation.
“Initially, these two shooters were assigned the task of killing Sidhu Moosewala. In fact, they along with gangsters Kapil Pandit and Sachin Thapan had conducted reconnaissance at Moosewala village twice or thrice in February 2022, besides, arranging police uniforms for impersonation, but had failed to accomplish the task despite repeated attempts,” he said. The probe has also revealed that Goldy Brar and Bishnoi had sent two separate teams to take the life of Sidhu Moosewala, for which they had started planning a long time back, he added.
The DGP said that, later on, Satvir Singh (already arrested) brought Toofan and Mani Rayya to Bathinda on his Fortuner car on May 20, 2022, and introduced them to Manu and Priyavart Fauji, which was the second team sent to kill Moosewala. They were in close contact with Goldy Brar while they stayed in Bathinda, he added.
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History-sheets of the two accused
Mandeep Singh alias Toofan, 24, faces seven criminal cases, of which, he is under trial in four cases, absconding in three, and a proclaimed offender (PO) in two. He was involved in the broad daylight murder of councillor Gurdeep Pehalwan in Amritsar and one of the prime suspects in the murder of gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria’s wife Harsimran Kaur. He was also involved in the sensational dacoity of 11 kg gold from Srafa Bazaar of Amritsar in 2019. Mandeep Toofan was the main shooter involved in the murder of rival gangster Fauji in 2020. He was also nominated as one of the main accused in the murder of Satu, a wine contractor of Fatehgarh Churian in 2021.
Manpreet Singh alias Mani Rayya, 30, has been facing 18 criminal cases, of which, he is facing trial in seven cases and wanted in four cases, while, convicted in three criminal cases and acquitted in four criminal cases. Mani Rayya was involved in the infamous 2016-gang war in Tarn Taran between Harry, Bambiha, and Jaggu group. He had escaped from police custody in Central Jail, Hoshiarpur, and also aided another gangster Akul Khatri’s escape from police custody by injuring police personnel in SBS Nagar in 2016. He extorted a huge amount of money from a cloth merchant of Baba Bakala in 2022. He had also snatched an Innova Crysta car at gunpoint from Rayya.
