CHANDIGARH: Fearing a threat to his son's life, slain Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala's father followed him with guards when he did not take his security men with him and witnessed the 28-year-old fall to a hail of bullets, according to an FIR.
Balkaur Singh, who took Moose Wala and two others to a civil hospital on Sunday after the attack in Mansa district, said in his police complaint that his son would get threats to his life from gangsters for extortion.
On Sunday, when he learnt that Moose Wala had left home without his security guards or his bullet-proof vehicle, he went after him.
The famous singer and Congress leader was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Sunday, a day after the AAP-led state government brought down his security cover from four Punjab Police commandos to two.
When Balkaur Singh reached Jawahar Ke village, he saw a Corolla car with four occupants trailing Moose Wala's vehicle.
"After his son took a turn towards village Barnala, a Bolero vehicle with four youths stopped in front of his son's Thar," said the FIR.
The occupants of the Corolla and Bolero started indiscriminate firing at his son, Balkaur Singh said, adding that the assailants later fled.
He said many bullets hit his son.
He took Moose Wala and the two other occupants to a civil hospital with the help of some locals but his son died, he added.
The two others escaped with injuries.
Police registered a case of murder at the Mansa police station (City-1) after Balkaur Singh's complaint.
He said in the complaint that his son kept a bulletproof Fortuner after receiving threats to his life from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and other gangsters.
Balkaur Singh demanded that the Punjab government should involve the CBI and the NIA in the inquiry.
He also demanded a public apology from the DGP for linking his son's murder to gang war.
It is learnt that the family of Moose Wala was not agreeing to conduct the post-mortem.
In a letter to CM Mann, Singh blamed the AAP government's alleged incompetency for the incident.
"Shubhdeep's mother is asking me where her son is and when he will return. What reply should I give?" said Singh in an emotional letter.
"I hope that I will get justice," he added.
"This case should be inquired by a sitting judge of the high court. The Punjab government should ensure assistance of the CBI and the NIA in the inquiry," Singh wrote in the letter.
He demanded that the accountability of officers, who reviewed his son's security and made public the order of withdrawal of the security cover, be fixed.
Yesterday, Moose Wala went out with his cousin Gurpreet Singh and neighbour Gurwinder Singh, who were injured in the attack, without taking his two security men in his Thar vehicle.
Punjab Police has termed Moose Wala's murder the result of an inter-gang rivalry and said the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was behind the killing.
At least three weapons were used and 30 empty cases recovered from the site.
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, who gained fame as Sidhu Moose Wala, was left with two Punjab Police commandos after the state police withdrew two of four commandos from his security cover.
He was among 424 people whose security was withdrawn or curtailed by the Punjab Police on Saturday on a temporary basis.
A case under various sections, including 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC and relevant sections of the Arms Act has been registered.
A three-member special investigation team (SIT) has been set up to probe the murder.
Meanwhile, a Himachal Pradesh Congress MLA has sought imposition of the president's rule in Punjab after Moose Wala's killing.
In a Facebook post in Hindi, Shimla Rural MLA Vikramaditya Singh alleged that running government was not the Aam Aadmi Party's "cup of tea".
He had fought the recent assembly election in Punjab on a Congress ticket from Mansa and was defeated by the AAP's Vijay Singla.
"President's rule should be imposed in Punjab immediately. It is not the Aam Aadmi Party's cup of tea to run a government," Vikramaditya Singh said in the Facebook post.
Earlier, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur held Punjab's AAP government responsible for Moose Wala's killing.
"Removing Sidhu Moose Wala's security by Punjab's AAP government is unfortunate. I strongly condemn it. If anybody is responsible for this killing, that is Punjab's AAP government," he tweeted in Hindi.
The Himachal Pradesh chief minister demanded a fair investigation into the killing and accused the AAP government in Punjab of being unsuccessful in maintaining law and order.
Punjab DGP V K Bhawra on Sunday said the killing of Moose Wala seemed to be the result of an inter-gang rivalry and that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was involved in it.
He said a special investigation team (SIT) has been set up to investigate the incident.
Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Bathinda Range, Pardeep Yadav constituted the three-member SIT to ensure an effective and speedy investigation of the murder.
The team includes SP (investigation) Mansa Dharamveer Singh, DSP (Investigation) Bathinda Vishawajeet Singh and in-charge CIA Mansa Prithipal Singh.
Addressing the media here, the DGP said, "This incident seems to be a case of an inter-gang rivalry."
He said the name of Moose Wala's manager Shaganpreet had figured in the murder of youth Akali leader Vicky Middukhera last year.
Shagunpreet had fled to Australia.
This murder appeared to be in retaliation of Middukhera's murder, the top police officer said.
He said the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was behind this incident, adding that one of the members of the gang from Canada had taken the responsibility of the murder.
According to official sources, one Canada-based Goldy Brar had claimed the responsibility of the murder of Moose Wala.
There is an inter-gang rivalry between Lawrence Bishnoi gang and Lucky Patial gang, they said.
Notably, three shooters identified as Sunny, Anil Lath and Bholu -- all residents of Haryana -- had already been arrested by Delhi Police's Special Cell in connection with the murder of Middukhera, while Shaganpreet was named as accused in the FIR registered in this case.
DGP Bhawra said four Punjab police commandos had been deployed with the singer.
He said every year, security is "thinned out" because of the anniversary of Operation Bluestar and 'Ghalughara week' next month.
Two commandos of Moose Wala were also withdrawn.
But he did not take two of his remaining commandos along with him, the police official noted.
He said the popular singer chose not to take his private bulletproof vehicle as well.
On Saturday, the Punjab Police had ordered the withdrawal of security of 424 people, including former MLAs, heads of Deras and serving and retired policemen, on a temporary basis.
The DGP further said 30 empty bullet shells have been recovered and at least three weapons like 9 mm and 455 bore appeared to have been used in the crime.
Giving more details of the incident, he said Moose Wala left his house around 4:30 pm along with Gurwinder Singh (neighbour) and Gurpreet Singh (cousin).
The singer was driving the vehicle.
Bhawra said when Moose Wala reached Jawahar Ke village, they were followed by a car and were intercepted from the front by two vehicles.
"There was heavy firing from the front on Sidhu Moose Wala," he said, adding that the police team reached the spot immediately and the trio was taken to Civil Hospital Mansa where the singer was declared brought dead.
The Haryana government on Sunday said a programme of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar with singer Daler Mehndi at Gururgram has been cancelled following the death of Moose Wala.
An official spokesperson said the programme has been cancelled to express grief on the untimely demise of the popular Punjabi singer.
Khattar was to launch a song by Mehndi during the programme to be held in Gurugram on May 30 based on the development work taking place in Haryana.
The opposition parties in Punjab lashed out at the AAP government for curtailing his security cover, with the Congress terming the incident a "political murder".
Moose Wala was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Punjab's Mansa district, a day after the state government curtailed his security cover.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring condemned the "brutal assassination" of Punjabi singer and party colleague Moose Wala, saying it is a "political murder conceived and executed under a proper conspiracy."
"I feel shocked and devastated beyond belief and expression over the loss of my colleague and a promising star in the party", Warring said in a statement, while holding Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann wholly and solely responsible for his murder.
The state Congress president said it was just two days ago that Moose Wala's security had been withdrawn by the Punjab government, without assessing his threat perception.
"Moose Wala was not only a political leader, but he was also an internationally acclaimed singer who should have been provided extra security," he said, while asserting that there was a "deep-rooted conspiracy" behind his murder.
Warring demanded the registration of an FIR against the Punjab director general of police and Mansa senior superintendent of police not only for the "lapse", but also for being part of the "conspiracy to eliminate" Moose Wala.
He said that about six months ago, Moose Wala was provided security by the Punjab government, it was after specific intelligence inputs.
"The DGP and the SSP must be put behind the bars for being part of the conspiracy," he demanded.
"It just can't be a coincidence that two days ago his security was withdrawn and today he was killed in an ambush by more than a dozen assailants," the statement quoted Warring as saying.
Warring said Moose Wala's father spoke to him on Sunday morning and said that his son was left with just two security men.
He claimed that Moose Wala could not take his two security men along with him as they were tired and wanted to take rest, asserting that the singer was given eight security guards during the previous Congress regime.
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said Moose Wala's murder within hours of the AAP government withdrawing his security demonstrated once again the "complete collapse" of law and order in Punjab.
Chugh said the Bhagwant Mann government should immediately "stop helping his mentor Arvind Kejriwal for making political use of Punjab Police".
While expressing shock over the incident, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said this incident "exhibits an abject breakdown of law and order in Punjab."
"This is an extremely sombre and critical hour, requiring all of us to exercise restraint and statesmanship. On his part, CM must reflect deeply why Punjab under him has drifted into anarchy with a total breakdown of law & order," said Badal in a tweet.
"CM also must honestly think if the cheaply populist decision to withdraw Moosewala's security is directly responsible for the tragedy. After all, he faced a tangible threat to life. This is no time for political point-scoring but someone must take responsibility for the situation," said the SAD chief.
Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa asked the ruling AAP to "stop tinkering with the security of individuals to gain cheap publicity on social media".
"What was the point of putting the list on social media after withdrawal of their security. If anything happens to any individual whose security has been withdrawn."
"It will be direct responsibility of Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann. Instead of giving 80 security officials to Kejriwal, 45 to Raghav Chadha, 20 to his sister and 15 to his mother, he should focus on managing the law and order of Punjab," said Bajwa in a tweet.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday too expressed grief over the killing of Moose Wala and said tampering with security "for the sake of publicity" is absolutely wrong.
"The news of the murder of the eminent singer and Congress candidate in the Punjab Assembly elections, Sidhu Moose Wala, is sad. May God give peace to his soul and courage to his family members. His contribution in the field of music will be remembered," Gehlot tweeted in Hindi.
Moose Wala had fought on the Congress ticket from Mansa assembly seat in the recent assembly election and was defeated by AAP's Vijay Singla.
"The Punjab government should ensure the safety of all the citizens of Punjab. Tampering with security for the sake of publicity is absolutely wrong. Punjab has lost thousands of people including Chief Minister Shri Beant Singh. To maintain peace in Punjab, the government should take all necessary steps in time," Gehlot said in another tweet.
(With PTI Inputs)