Moosewala murder: Youngest attacker was most desperate, fired simultaneously from two guns
Darpan News Desk IANS, 04 Jul, 2022 10:20 AM
The youngest among the six shooters, who were involved in the brutal killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, has been arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police.
The ambidextrous sharpshooter, identified as Ankit alias Chhota, a resident of Sonipat in Haryana, was most desperate to commit the crime.
"He fired simultaneously from two pistols in his two hands," H.G.S. Dhaliwal, Special Commissioner (Special Cell), said during a media briefing.
The accused shooter was closest to Moosewala's car during the shootout.
Apart from Ankit, the Special Cell has also nabbed another dreaded face of the Lawrence Bishnoi-Goldy Brar-Kala Jathedi criminal nexus across Haryana, Rajasthan and bordering areas of Punjab.
The criminal, identified as Sachin Choudhary alias Sachin Bhiwani, provided shelter to the module of four shooters, immediately after the murder of the singer.
Later, he even helped them escape to Haryana-Rajasthan-Gujarat-Madhya Pradesh-Uttar Pradesh-Jharkhand and provided shelter there.
Moosewala, 28, one of the most famous Punjabi singers of the current time, was shot dead on May 29 by six assailants who fired over 30 shots at him near Jawaharke village in Punjab's Mansa district.
Sidhu was found soaked in blood on the driver's seat of his Mahindra Thar SUV while two more occupants in the car, Gurwinder Singh and Gurpreet Singh, also received bullet injuries, but they survived.
The Special CP said during the past 30-35 days, these attackers changed over 30 locations and were constantly on the run to evade arrest.
The major breakthrough was achieved when the Special Cell on June 19 arrested module head Priyavrat alias Fauji and Kashish alias Kuldeep, and a facilitator named Keshav Kumar from Kutch district in Gujarat. They unravelled the conspiracy and execution of the crime.
After their arrest, the remaining members of the alliance continuously changed their hideouts, and sparingly used mobile phones for communication through end-to-end encrypted chat platforms.
The police have arrested three of the six shooters so far -- Priyavrat, Kashish and Ankit alias Chhota. Three others are still at large.
Lt Gen Aujla, an alumnus of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, was commissioned in December 1987 and has had an illustrious military career spanning 35 years during which he has held varied prestigious command, staff and instructional appointments.
The area around the Intelligence Bureau office has been sealed and investigation is in progress. A bomb disposal and forensic squads have been positioned at the spot. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann spoke to Director General of Police V.K. Bhawra and sought details about the incident.
Notably, the police detained several people, including party workers, who were not allowing the SDMC to carry out the demolition drive at Shaheen Bagh. After the agitation was quelled, the bulldozer moved forward to demolish the illegal encroachment, an iron structure in front of a building. It is at this juncture that Khan reached the spot and was seen speaking to the officials.
Punjab shares a 553-km barbed-wire fenced international border with Pakistan which is under the vigil of nearly 135 BSF battalions. The drug network operates along the Afghanistan-Pakistan-India route.
Police are looking at this angle. The incident took place near Kengeri at 1 a.m. and the injured were shifted to nearby hospitals. According to the police, the bus had first hit the 4-feet tall road divider and then rammed into the Namma Metro Pillar number 545.
Chairing a meeting of the Special Task Force (STF) team led by its chief Harpreet Sidhu here, Mann said neither political persons nor officers would be spared if found conniving with the drug mafia. He told the police officers to work freely without any political pressure with a sharpened focus to make Punjab a drug-free state.
