The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday, 2 June, dismissed a plea filed by jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in connection with the murder of singer Sidhu Moose Wala.
Bishnoi had sought for the jurisdictional magistrate to be restrained from handing over his custody to the investigating agency in Punjab.
A bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur was informed by Advocate General Punjab Anmol Rattan Sidhu on Thursday that Bishnoi had not been named in the FIR registered at Mansa in the Moose Wala murder case, and so the petition was premature and not maintainable, reported The Indian Express. The court subsequently dismissed the plea.
What Did the Plea Say?
The plea said that there was a serious threat to Bishnoi's life and a possibility that upon being produced or while being brought from custody in connection with the FIR registered by the Mansa police, he could be "put to harm or liquidated by adopting extrajudicial means," reported news agency PTI.
The petition also prayed for the issuance of appropriate directions for questioning him through an online/video conference facility or within the precincts of Tihar Jail, New Delhi.
Bishnoi had earlier approached the Delhi High Court with his petition asking for safeguards against a "fake encounter" by the Punjab Police but had then withdrawn the application.
Moose Wala's Murder
On 29 May, Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Punjab's Mansa district, a day after the state government curtailed his security cover. His cousin and a friend who were travelling in a jeep with him were also injured in the attack.
Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar allegedly claimed responsibility for the murder on the same day, and said it was planned by him and the Lawrence Bishnoi group.
Bishnoi had been lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with a case under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) since 2016. On Tuesday, the Delhi Police took custody of Bishnoi in connection to a different case, under the Arms Act, a day after he was questioned by the police inside Tihar jail over Moose Wala's death.
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