Fuel receipt unfolds murder mystery of Sidhu Moosewala

A small clue seized from a vehicle used in the crime helped Punjab Police unveil a trail of events related to the sensational murder of Punjabi singer Shubhdeep Singh, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala, that led to the arrest of 10 people, including main conspirator Lawrence Bishnoi, investigators said on Thursday.

The police have identified four shooters behind the crime, an official statement said.

Moosewala, who left his house at around 5pm on May 29 along with two persons — Gurwinder Singh and Gurpreet Singh (cousin) — was shot dead by unidentified people.

Acting swiftly, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the supervision of the ADGP (Anti-Gangster Task Force-AGTF) to bring his killers to justice.

One of the important leads in the case was the recovery of a receipt of May 25 of a petrol pump in Fatehabad in Haryana.

It was recovered from a Balero car, which is believed to be used in the crime. It was later found abandoned near Khayala village, some 13km from the crime scene, said the ADGP AGTF, adding a police team was sent to the petrol station in Fatehabad to gather the CCTV footage.

"The police teams have procured the CCTV footage and managed to identify one of the accused, possibly a shooter, who was later identified as Priyawarat of Sonipat," he said. Similarly, the owner of the vehicle was traced.

The police have recovered all vehicles, including Mahindra Bolero, Toyota Corolla, and White Alto car, used in the crime.

The assailants in Toyota Corolla had stopped and snatched a White Alto car at gunpoint, leaving behind Toyota Corolla, which got damaged during the incident and escaped towards Khara Barnala village followed by the white Bolero Jeep.

The white Alto was also found abandoned on May 30 near Dharamkot in Moga district and the route taken by the accused was identified from the CCTV footage.

Apart from arresting gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who was brought on production warrant from Tihar Jail in Delhi to Punjab, the other nine arrested accused have been identified as Charanjit Singh of Bathinda; Sandeep Singh alias Kekda of Sirsa, Manpreet Singh of Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda; Manpreet Bhau of Faridkot; Saraj Mintu of Amritsar; Prabhdeep Sidhu of Haryana; Monu Dagar of Sonipat; and Pawan Bishnoi and Naseeb, both residents of Fatehabad.

They have been arrested for hatching conspiracy, providing logistic support, conducting recce and harbouring the shooters.

The ADGP said the registration number of the Corolla vehicle was found to be genuine and the owner was identified. However, the person on whose name an affidavit of purchase was recovered was not the actual owner but had given his Aadhaar card to Manpreet Manna, the gangster linked to Goldy Brar, who is lodged in Ferozepur jail.

Manpreet Bhau, who was arrested from Chamoli in Uttarakhand on May 30, during interrogation said he had delivered the car to two suspected shooters identified as Manu Kusa of Moga and Jagroop Singh, alias Roopa, of Amritsar on the directions of Manna.

He also revealed that the shooters were provided by Saraj Mintu, who is a close aide of Goldy Brar and Sachin Thapan, and is believed to be a part of the group of shooters.

Prabhdeep Sidhu, alias Pabbi, who was arrested on June 3 in his interrogation said he had provided shelter to two associates of Goldy Brar, who had come and stayed with him and he helped them to conduct recce of Moosewala's house.

He has also visited the house and interacted with the security and checked the cameras, etc., it is revealed.

Following inputs, Monu Dagar, a close associate of Goldy Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi, was brought on a production warrant.

During interrogation, he confessed to having arranged two shooters identified as Priyawarat and Ankit, both residents of Sonipat on the directions of Goldy Brar.

Indo-Asian News Service