Sidhu Moose Wala killing: Two shooters, one aide arrested from Gujarat
All three have a criminal record, the police said.
A Special Cell of the Delhi Police has arrested three persons, including two shooters, in connection with the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, PTI reported on Monday, citing an official.
The accused persons are identified as 26-year-old Priyavrat alias Fauji, a resident of Sonipat in Haryana, Kashish, 24, from Jhajjar district, and Keshav Kumar, 29, who lives in Punjab’s Bhatinda. They all have a criminal record, the police said.
They were arrested on Sunday from Kutch in Gujarat.
At a press conference on Monday, Delhi Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) HS Dhaliwal alleged that the three men had done multiple recces before killing Moose Wala, PTI reported.
“Eight grenades, nine electric detonators, three pistols and one assault rifle have been recovered from the arrested accused,” Dhaliwal said.
The grenades were a backup in case the weapons did not work, Dhaliwal added.
Moose Wala, who fought the Punjab Assembly polls on a Congress ticket, was shot dead in Mansa on May 29. Two others were injured in the shooting.
On June 8, Dhaliwal had said that gangster Lawrence Bishnoi was the mastermind behind the murder.
Bishnoi, however, has denied that he is connected to the crime, claiming that only his gang members were involved and they had planned and executed the murder. He is reportedly associated with Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, who had claimed responsibility for the singer’s murder.
On June 14, the Punjab Police arrested Bishnoi and also received a transit remand to take him to the state. Until then, Bishnoi was in custody of the Delhi Police in the national capital in an arms smuggling case.
On Monday, Dhaliwal said that Priyavrat is the main shooter and executioner of the murder, PTI reported. He was in touch with Brar at the time of the murder and also led a team of shooters, Dhaliwal added.
There were two active modules in killing Moose Wala, the official said.
“One of the cars, a Bolero, was driven by Priyavrat while another car – a Corolla – was driven by shooters,” Dhaliwal said. “The Corolla overtook Moose Wala’s car and six shooters came out of both the vehicles and opened fire at the singer. They left only after confirming that Moose Wala had been killed.”
Priyavrat was spotted in a CCTV footage of a petrol pump just before the murder, the police said, reported PTI.
Two murder cases are registered against Priyavrat. He was arrested in 2015 for one of the crime in Sonipat, the police added. He is wanted in the second murder case in Sonipat since 2021.
The police said that Kashish was also seen in the CCTV footage and is wanted in a 2021 murder case in Jhajjar.
Kumar drove an Alto car and picked up the shooters after the murder. He was arrested in a murder case in Bathinda in 2020 and the police suspect his involvement in other extortion cases in Punjab.