It has been a year since the untimely demise of singer-politician Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moose Wala, but his memory continues to live on in the hearts of his fans. Not only that, his murder has also kept the political landscape in Punjab heated and contentious.

Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead by six assailants in Jawahar Ke village, Mansa, Punjab, on May 29 last year. The police revealed that the murder was meticulously planned over a period of ten months, following a failed attempt during the 2022 assembly polls. Gangsters, both incarcerated in Punjab jails and residing abroad, collaborated to execute the plan, utilizing an AK-47 assault rifle for the first time.

Goldy Brar, a gangster based in Canada and a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, claimed responsibility for the murder, citing it as revenge for the killing of Youth Akali Dal leader Vicky Middukhera, who was shot dead in Mohali in 2021.

The shooters had been monitoring Moose Wala’s movements in Mansa district for several days and received the green light from Brar after discovering that the singer had departed in a jeep without his usual bulletproof SUV and security guards.

The political fallout following Moose Wala’s murder was significant. Having joined the Congress in December 2021, the singer-turned-politician contested the 2022 Punjab assembly elections from Mansa but lost to AAP’s Dr Vijay Singla by a considerable margin of 63,323 votes.

The Bhagwant Mann government faced severe criticism following the murder, as it coincided with the withdrawal of security cover for Moose Wala and 423 others by the Aam Aadmi Party government. The details of this security reduction were widely circulated on social media. The public outrage that ensued after the murder is believed to have been one of the contributing factors to the ruling party’s defeat in the 2022 Sangrur Lok Sabha bypoll.

Moose Wala’s parents, Balkaur Singh and Charan Kaur, have consistently demanded an investigation into the leaked information about the security detail. However, the Punjab Police chargesheet did not address this aspect.

Recently, the singer’s parents campaigned against the AAP in the Jalandhar bypoll, seeking justice for their son and urging people not to vote for the ruling party. However, unlike the Sangrur bypoll, AAP emerged victorious in Jalandhar. Nevertheless, Moose Wala’s parents have vowed to continue opposing the AAP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In the aftermath of the singer’s murder, the Delhi Police Special Cell made significant progress in the case while Punjab Police struggled to identify the shooters. A day after the murder, the Delhi Police took custody of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and, a week later, disclosed details about the singer’s assassination. The Delhi Special Cell arrested three shooters from the Haryana module: Priyavrat Fauji, Kashish, and Ankit Sersa. Subsequently, shooters Mannu and Roopa were tracked down and killed in an encounter with the Punjab Police in Amritsar on July 20.

Deepak Mundi, another shooter involved, managed to evade the police for over 100 days before being apprehended at the West Bengal-Nepal border by the Punjab Police, with assistance from their Delhi counterparts and central agencies.

However, Punjab Police faced embarrassment when one of the accused, Deepak Tinu, escaped from the custody of the Mansa Crime Investigation Agency (CIA). He was later arrested by the Delhi Police in Ajmer on October 19.

The Punjab Police has been unable to apprehend gangster Goldy Brar, who claimed responsibility for the murder and is believed to be residing in Canada. Efforts to extradite him have been met with legal and diplomatic challenges.

The investigation into Sidhu Moose Wala’s murder has raised concerns about the nexus between politicians, gangsters, and the entertainment industry in Punjab. The police have uncovered connections between Moose Wala and gangsters, including Goldy Brar, and have alleged that the singer-politician used his popularity and influence to promote and glorify violence and gang culture through his songs.

The controversy surrounding Moose Wala’s murder has also intensified the political rivalry between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the opposition parties in Punjab. The opposition, particularly the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have accused the AAP of failing to maintain law and order in the state and have demanded a thorough investigation into the murder.

In response, the AAP government has defended its actions, stating that the decision to withdraw security cover from Moose Wala and others was based on a security review conducted by the police. They have also criticized the opposition parties for politicizing the issue and using it for their own gain.

The murder of Sidhu Moose Wala