Moose Wala Death: Man Who Took Selfie With Singer as Fan Among 8 Held for 'Recce' Before Murder

Eight people have been arrested in connection with Sidhu Moose Wala’s murder for providing logistic support and conducting recce before the singer was shot dead by unidentified assailant.

A man who disguised as a fan, clicked selfies with Sidhu Moose Wala and shared information with shooters, is among those who have been arrested.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing Moose Wala’s murder has also identified four shooters.

Those arrested have been identified as Sandeep Singh alias Kekda of Haryana’s Sirsa; Manpreet Singh alias Manna of Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda; Manpreet Bhau of Dhaipai, Faridkot; Saraj Mintu of village Dode Kalsia, Amritsar; Prabhdeep Sidhu alias Pabbi of Takhat-Mall, Haryana; Monu Dagar of village Rewli in Sonipat, Haryana; Pawan Bishnoi and Naseeb, both residents of Fatehabad, Haryana.

On May 29, Moose Wala was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Punjab’s Mansa district, a day after the state government curtailed his security cover. His cousin and a friend, who were travelling in a jeep with him, were also injured in the attack.

Sidhu Moose Wala was among the 424 people whose security was withdrawn or curtailed by the Punjab Police on a temporary basis. The state police had termed the incident a case of an inter-gang rivalry and said the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was behind the killing. Canada-based Goldy Brar, who is a member of the gang, had claimed the responsibility for the murder.

According to ADGP Anti-Gangster Task Force Parmod Ban, Sandeep alias Kekda, on the directions of Goldy Brar and Sachin Thapan, had kept tab on the singer’s movements by impersonating himself as his fan. Kekda was the one who clicked selfies with the singer when the latter was leaving from his home minutes before his murder, ADGP Parmod Ban said.

“Kekda has shared all the inputs like the singer was not accompanied by his security personnel, number of occupants, vehicle details and he is travelling in non-bullet-proof vehicle Mahindra Thar, with the shooters and handlers operating from abroad,” ADGP Ban said.

He said that Manpreet Manna had provided a Toyota Corolla car to Manpreet Bahu, who further delivered the car to two persons— suspected to be the shooters, on the directions of Saraj Mintu, who is a close aide of Goldy Brar and Sachin Thapan.

According to the police statement, the fifth accused, Prabhdeep Sidhu alias Pabbi, had provided shelter to two associates of Goldy Brar, who came from Haryana in January, 2022, and also conducted recce of Sidhu Moose Wala’s home and surrounding areas through them, while Monu Dagar had provided two shooters and helped assemble the team of shooters to carry out this murder the directions of Goldy Brar.

The ADGP said that Pawan Bishnoi and Naseeb had handed-over Balero vehicle to shooters and also provided them hideout.