Moosewala murder: Punjab Police detains 5 persons from Dehradun

Chandigarh/ Dehradun: The Punjab Police on Monday said it has rounded up some people and got several important leads in the murder case of Sidhu Moosewala, even as a CCTV footage has emerged on social media which shows the Punjabi singer's vehicle being followed just before he was shot dead.

The Punjab Police on Monday also detained five men in Dehradun in connection with the case, officials said.

Moosewala, who had fought the recent assembly elections in Punjab on a Congress ticket from Mansa, was shot dead on Sunday by unidentified assailants in Mansa district, a day after the state government curtailed his security cover.

As a manhunt has been launched to nab the culprits, the police are also investigating the role of some people who could be seen in a CCTV footage procured from a 'dhaba' in Mansa where they were having meal on Sunday, said police sources.

Another footage has emerged on social media which shows that the vehicle of Moosewala was being followed just before bullets were sprayed on him, leading to his death, the sources said. Talking to reporters in Mansa, Inspector General of Police (Faridkot range) Pradeep Yadav said police have got important leads in connection with the murder of Moosewala.

"We have got some important leads and some people have been rounded up," said Yadav when asked about the CCTV footage of 'dhaba'.

"Not only that, we have got several leads from important places and Punjab Police is working on that," said Yadav.

"How the conspiracy was hatched, we will share the details soon," he said.

To a question, the IGP said that gangsters were behind the incident. "Who did the recce? Who were the hit men? We will unravel it," he said.

On how many people have been rounded up, Yadav said he cannot share details as the matter is sensitive.

Meanwhile, an abandoned car has been recovered in Moga, police said, adding they suspect that the assailants might have fled in this vehicle after committing the murder. A forensic team is examining the car, said police.

According to police, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was behind the murder of Moosewala. A Canada-based Goldy Brar, member of the Bishnoi gang, had taken the responsibility of the murder of the Punjabi singer.

Moosewala's murder was in retaliation of the killing of youth Akali leader Vicky Middukhera last year, police said, adding that the name of Moosewala's manager Shaganpreet had figured in the murder of Middukhera.

Meanwhile, after Moosewala's family gave their consent, the post-mortem of the singer's body was conducted at the civil hospital in Mansa, said the officials.

The Punjab Police on Monday detained five men in Dehradun in connection with the killing of the Punjabi singer.

They were picked up from the Shimla bypass area and taken to Punjab for interrogation, a police official said on condition of anonymity.

The five men were picked up over suspicion of having links with the case, the official said, adding that they were returning from Hemkund Sahib, a Himalayan Sikh shrine located in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district.

Meanwhile, Punjab Police chief V K Bhawra on Monday said he never called Moosewala a gangster or that he was affiliated with gangsters.

The Director General of Police's (DGP) clarification came after the slain Punjabi singer's father Balkaur Singh wrote to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann demanding a public apology from Bhawra for linking his son's killing with a gang war.

In the letter to the CM, Singh had also demanded a probe by a sitting high court judge into the killing of his son.

Later, in a statement, DGP Bhawra said he has the highest respect for Sidhu Moosewala, and called him a celebrated artist and a cultural icon of Punjab.

Condemning the killing, the state police chief said an investigation was underway and the perpetrators of the crime would be brought to justice.

Bhawra further said on no occasion, has he ever said that Moosewala was a gangster or affiliated with gangsters.