First arrest made in killing as Sidhu Moosewala is cremated

The ceremony ran high with emotions as it did with the many symbolisms that associated with the sometimes controversial but deeply admired life and work of the 28-year-old pop star.

Thousands of people – family, friends, and fans from multiple states – gathered at the home of Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, the Punjabi singer and Congress leader popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala, who was cremated on Tuesday.

Balkaur Singh, father of Sidhu Moosewala, who was shot dead on Sunday, accepts condolences from supporters and fans of the Punjabi singer during his last rites, in Mansa district on Tuesday. (PTI)

The ceremony ran high with emotions as it did with the many symbolisms that associated with the sometimes controversial but deeply admired life and work of the 28-year-old pop star. Chief among them was the uncanny resemblance that Tuesday’s ceremony – the outpouring of grief by thousands who came from other states – resembled Moosewala’s song “Last Ride”; his body was carried on the HMT 5911 tractor, which featured in his music videos; and the cremation took place in the fields he once farmed.

“Aina pyaar sab toh laike, hun tu sanu chadd ke chala gaya (after getting a lot of love from everyone, now you have left us),” his father Balkaur Singh was seen saying, hunched over Moosewala’s body, which arrived at the home after an autopsy.

On Sunday, Moosewala, the only child of his parents, was gunned down while he drove through Jawaharke village, five kilometres from his residence.

With a traditional wedding headdress, or sehra, tied to the turban, Moosewala’s body was prepared for the cremation in the traditions that a bridegroom prepares for a wedding – family members said this was meant to symbolically celebrate a marriage that was scheduled for later this year.

Several moments during the cremation were striking: At one point, Moosewala’s father was seen thumping his chest and thighs in the manner his son did while on stage as a show of strength, and at another, he took off his turban to acknowledge the sea of mourners around him.

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring was at the ceremony, while BJP state president Ashwani Sharma and former cabinet minister Rana Gurmeet Sodhi visited the family later in the day.

The Punjab Police on Tuesday made its first arrest in Sunday’s murder. “The first arrest has been made in the murder of Sidhu Moosewala. Police have secured 5-day remand of the accused, identified as Manpreet Singh, from Mansa court,” said Parveen Kumar Yadav, inspector general of police, Faridkot range. “As per investigation, he has played key role in the murder plot.”

In the days since the death, the state police has blamed the murder on a case of gang rivalry and accused a group led by a gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.