Punjab police nab shooters in Moosewala killing; unravels plot to kill Salman Khan

The Punjab police have finally arrested the sixth and last absconding shooter involved in the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala, at the West Bengal-Nepal border on September 10. The main conspirator in the case, Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar will also be brought to justice soon, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav told reporters. A red corner notice has also been issued against Brar.

Meanwhile, one of the accused arrested told the police that a plot was also hatched to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan at the behest of jailed gangster Laurence Bishnoi.

The Punjab Police’s Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) on Saturday arrested the sixth and last shooter, who is identified as Deepak Mundi. He was nabbed along with his two aides from the Indo-Nepal Border in West Bengal, when the trio was attempting to flee to Nepal. The operation was carried out jointly by the AGTF along with Delhi Police and Central agencies.

The Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav first broke the news in a tweet that the trio were caught in a joint operation. With this arrest, all the sharpshooters in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case have been caught and the Punjab police claimed to have unearthed the conspiracy behind the crime.

Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav later told the media that Deepak Mundi and his two aides, Kapil Pandit and Rajinder alias Joker, were fleeing to Nepal when they were caught near the Indo-Nepal checkpoint in the area of Kharibari Police Station in Darjeeling district of West Bengal. His associates were the ones who provided logistic support including weapons and hideouts for the accused.

Also read: 2 suspects in Sidhu Moosewala’s murder killed in encounter with police

The total number of arrests in the Sidhu Moosewala Murder case has now reached 23 out of the total 35 named in the case. Two of the shooters Manpreet Singh and Jagroop Singh Roopa were killed in a ‘live encounter’ with the Punjab police.

Yadav said that after killing Moosewala, both Mundi and Kapil had been staying together and were constantly shifting their locations on the directions of Goldy Brar.  “Mundi and Kapil stayed in Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, UP and West Bengal,” he said, adding that Rajinder, who was already in Nepal, had come to West Bengal to take Mundi and Kapil to a safe house in Nepal.

From Nepal, Mundi and Kapil were to fly to Dubai using fake passports and settle down in the Gulf country. This was the promise made to them by Brar. “Both were supposed to receive their fake passports in Nepal or Thailand, after which they were to fly to Dubai,” DGP Yadav added.

Police interrogated Kapil Pandit, who is absconding in a murder case, and preliminary investigations have revealed that he was approached by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang through Sampat Nehra and Goldy Brar to kill actor Salman Khan. They had also done a recce of Salman Khan’s house.

Also read: Moosewala murder: 19-year-old shooter among two arrested by Delhi police

“Kapil did a recce of Salman Khan’s house. He revealed this during his interrogation,” said Yadav.

Bishnoi, the main conspirator, confessed that planning of Mooswala’s murder was hatched in August last year to avenge the murder of Akali leader Middukhera.

The DGP said that concerted efforts are being made to arrest the gangsters who had escaped overseas. As a result, gangster Sachin Thapan has been detained in Azerbaijan, and he will soon be extradited to India. The DGP said the police carried out the investigation in a scientific manner. “We are committed to ensuring justice in the Shubhdeep (Sidhu Moosewala) case. Our endeavour would be to make a water-tight case to get all the accused convicted,” added Yadav.

In August, Moosewala’s father Balkaur Singh had opened a twitter account called “Justice for Sidhu Moose Wala”, accusing the police of not pursuing the case and that the killers had not been caught two months after his son had been brutally killed.