Chandigarh, March 7 (IANS) The parents of singer Sidhu Moosewala, who was shot dead last year, on Tuesday staged a sit-in protest in front of the Punjab assembly complex in Chandigarh, seeking justice for their son.
Carrying placards, father Balkaur Singh and mother Charan Kaur told the media it has been almost a year of the crime occurrence and the main culprits have not been arrested.
They demanded that the case should be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as crucial witnesses "are being eliminated and nothing is going in their favour."
"Enough time has been given to the police and the administration to act. But the reality is the case is being suppressed. We are forced to sit outside the Vidhan Sabha," the singer's father said.
"Till the state assembly is in session, we will sit outside in protest," he added.
The elderly couple were accompanied by Congress leaders, including Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and state unit chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring.
Later the couple ended the sit-in protest on the assurance of Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal who assured them at the spot that the Aam Aadmi Party government was with them.
"It is your own government, you do not need to sit on dharna. All culprits, including the masterminds, will be arrested. Your meeting will be fixed with the chief minister after March 20," he said.
Dhaliwal told the media that 29 people have been arrested in the case, while two of the accused were killed in an encounter and five are to be brought from outside India for which the state is in touch with the Centre and other agencies.
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala, was shot dead by gangsters in Mansa district on May 29, 2022.
Both -- Mandeep, alias Manna Tuffan, and Manpreet, alias Mani Rayia -- were allegedly involved in the murder of gangster Ranbir Singh, alias Rana Kandowalia. Kandowalia, who was facing dozens of cases of murder and attempt to murder, was gunned down outside a private hospital in Amritsar in August last year. The Bhagwanpuria group had taken the responsibility for the murder.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had ordered a CBI probe into the death of Phogat. The move came after Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant recommended a CBI probe into the case as per demand of Phogat's daughter and people of Haryana.
The two-time chief minister of Punjab had fought the assembly elections in the state earlier this year in alliance with the BJP as well as Akali Dal (Sanyukt). His party - Punjab Lok Congress - though had failed to get even a single seat during the assembly elections.
During deliberations, the Chief Minister envisaged opportunities for mutual collaboration in business and solutions. He said that the alliance could provide on-field handholding to Punjab farmers in best practices of crop management.
Balkaur Singh, whose son was shot dead in daylight on May 29 close to his Moosa village in Punjab on May 28, had complained of uneasiness on Thursday night following which he was admitted to a private hospital in Patiala from where he was shifted to the PGIMER here.
Majithia told the media here that this was also necessary because the AAP government had neither made the FIR registered in this case public even after 24 hours, nor taken any action against any BJP leader or middlemen involved.
