Priyavrat aka Fauji, the main shooter who allegedly gunned down Sidhu Moose Wala and was arrested on Sunday, 19 June, was in contact with Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, the right-hand man of Lawrence Bishnoi, as per Delhi Police.
Fauji was nabbed along with another shooter named Kashish aka Kuldeep from Gujarat's Kutch district.
Another accused, a facilitator named Keshav Kumar, was also arrested. Kumar allegedly accompanied the shooters till Punjab's Mansa on the day of the murder, and later during reconnaissance. He also received the shooters in an Alto after the incident.
The police also found a consignment of weapons, including eight grenades, nine electric detonators, three pistols, and one assault rifle.
Fauji and Kashish are among the eight shooters who have been charged with the popular Punjabi singer's murder. The police said that six of the eight alleged assassins have been identified so far.
What the Police Said About the Shooters
The police stated that both Kashish and Fauji were caught on CCTV cameras at a petrol station in Fatehgarh ahead of the incident.
They also stated that Fauji "coordinated and executed the entire operation" as per Brar's instructions.
Fauji had received a consignment of weapons from Pakistan, sent via a drone, which included eight grenades, an AK-47 rifle, and nine electric detonators. The arms were provided as a contingency arrangement in case the shooters failed to kill Moose Wala, The Indian Express reported the police as saying.
Delhi Police further said that the shooters travelled in two vehicles. One of them, which was driven by Kashish, contained Fauji, Deepak Munde, and Ankit Sirsa. The other was driven by Jagroop Roopa, and contained Manpreet Mannu.
"While the first car overtook Moose Wala's Thar jeep and opened fire, the second car continued to remain on his tail."
Past Cases Against the Accused
The three accused, all of them in their 20s, have had a history of cases against them.
Fauji, 26, was arrested in connection with a murder in 2015 from Haryana's Sonipat. He has also been on a wanted list for another alleged murder since last year.
Fauji is said to have attended an Army school in Pune, after which he got addicted to drugs and indulged in several criminal offences, the police said.
Kashish, 24, has also been accused of a murder in Haryana's Jhajjhar.
29-year-old Kumar, on the other hand, was nabbed in Punjab's Bathinda in 2020, and is believed to be involved in multiple extortion cases in the state.
Moose Wala's Murder
Moose Wala was murdered in Punjab's Mansa on 29 May. According to the autopsy report, 25 bullets had been pumped into him during the gruesome incident.
Soon after his murder, Punjab police claimed that Bishnoi's gang was responsible for the attack.
In two widely circulated Facebook posts, Bishnoi and Brar had also taken responsibility for killing the singer-turned-politician.
"I, along with my brother Goldy Brar, take responsibility for killing Sidhu Moose Wala. People may say whatever they want to, but we have avenged the death of our brother Vicky Middukhera. Sidhu Moose Wala had helped to get him killed," one of the posts read.
"I had called him from Jaipur and told him that what he did was wrong. He told me he didn't care for anyone and he challenged me saying that he too kept his weapon loaded. So now we have avenged our brother's death. But this is just the beginning. Whoever was involved in the killing of our brother, they should be alert," the Facebook post added.
A total of 16 persons have been arrested by different police agencies across the country in connection with the case so far.
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
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