NEW DELHI: In a major breakthrough, the Special Cell of Delhi Police on June 20 arrested two main shooters including a module head who were involved in the killing of Punjabi singer Shubhdeep Singh, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala. A third person who facilitated the murder too was arrested.
A huge cache of arms including 3 pistols 50 rounds, 8 high explosive grenades and grenade launchers, and 9 electric detonators were recovered by the police.
"Of the two shooters, one is the head of the module," a senior Delhi Police official said in a briefing. The accused were identified as Priyavrat alias Fauji (26), a resident of Sonipat in Haryana, and Kashish alias Kuldeep (24).
The senior official said that the accused Priyavrat, who was the head of 'Bolero Module' of the gangsters, led the team of shooters and was in direct touch with Goldy Brar at the time of the incident. "Priyavrat was the main shooter and executioner of the murder and can be seen in CCTV footage from a petrol pump at Fatehgarh before the incident," the official said.
Canada-based gangster Satinder Singh aka Goldy Brar was arrested on June 19 for making extortion calls in separate cases. Brar had claimed responsibility for Moose Wala's murder in a Facebook post. He is also a close aide of gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi, who is the chief suspect in the Punjabi rapper's murder.
Bishnoi was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate on June 15, where the Punjab Police got 7 days remand of the wanted criminal.
"Manpreet fired the first shot"
"All four were travelling in one Bolero car driven by Kashish. Ankit Sirsa, and Deepak, and Priyavrat, the head of this one module of shooters were travelling in the car. There was another car, Corolla, driven by Jagroop Roopa," said the Delhi Police Special Cell.
The police also said that a man named Manpreet Manu first shot at Moose Wala.
"Manpreet Manu riding in this Corolla car fired at Moose Wala. Soon after the incident Manpreet Manu and Roopa left. Priyavrat-led module also left the spot after the incident," said the chief of the anti-terror unit (Delhi special cell), HGS Dhaliwal.
The arrests were made in Kutch, Gujarat on June 19.
The accused also planned to use Punjab Police uniforms but could not use them due to lack of initials on the uniform. A total of six uniforms were prepared.
The accused Priyavrat was arrested in 2015 in connection to a Sonipat murder case. He is wanted in another case --- a 2021 Sonipat murder.
Kuldeep, the second accused shooter, was also seen in the CCTV footage. He is wanted in a 2021 murder case in Haryana's Jhajjar, police said.
The third arrestee was identified as Keshav Kumar (29), a resident of Bhatinda, Punjab. "The accused Keshav acted as a facilitator and received the shooters just after the shootout in an Alto car," said the official. Keshav accompanied the shooters till Mansa on the day of the incident, during reconnaissance of the murder site, and also during previous attempts. Police said he was previously arrested in a murder case in Bathinda in 2020 and is suspected to be involved in other cases of extortion in Punjab.
Moosewala, 28, who was one of the most famous contemporary Punjabi language singers, was shot dead on May 29 while he was travelling in a car through Jawaharke village of Mansa district in Punjab. Around 8 assailants fired over 30 shots at him.
Sidhu was found soaked in blood on the driving seat of his Mahindra Thar SUV while two more occupants in the car, Sidhu's friends, Gurwinder Singh and Gurpreet Singh, also received bullet injuries, but they survived.
The incident took place a day after his security was withdrawn by the Punjab police among 424 others. Notably, the singer had joined the Congress party last year in December ahead of the Assembly elections.
(With PTI and IANS inputs)