Explained: Sidhu Moosewala Case Accused Killed In Punjab Jail, Rival Gangsters Celebrate In Video, What's Rivalry About?

After videos surfaced showing inmates at a Punjab jail celebrating killings of rival gangsters, the Punjab government suspended seven police officers and arrested five of them.

On February 26, two Sidhu Moosewala murder case accused were killed in the Goindwal Sahib Central Jail in Punjab's Tarn Taran district. The killings were described as part of gang rivalry. The deceased were identified as Mandeep Singh alias Toofan of Batala and Manmohan Singh alias Mohna of Budhlada. Seven rival gangsters were booked for the killings. 

In the video that surfaced on Sunday, the gangsters are seen pointing to the bodies lying on the floor with some on-duty police personnel nearby. An inmate who identified himself as Sachin Bhiwani said the slain gangsters were henchmen of Jaggu Bhagwanpuria. Bhiwani and others in the video allegedly belong to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which had come to the fore initially after Moosewala's murder. 

What we know of prison killings, video

Mandeep Singh alias Toofan and Manmohan Singh alias Mohna were killed on February 26 in Goindwal Sahib Central Jail in Punjab's Tarn Taran district. The two faced charges in the Moosewala murder case among other cases. 

Initial investigation revealed that the clash took place between members of two gangs led by Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Lawrence Bishnoi. 

The video was allegedly shot by some members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang lodged in the prison. In videos shared by journalist Nikhil on Twitter, Bishnoi gang members launch into an abusive tirade against Bhagwanpuria gang and hail the killings. 

After the video went viral, the Punjab Police on Sunday suspended seven jail officials and arrested five of them for alleged negligence and connivance with jail inmates in a video leak case, said Inspector General of Police (Headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill.

Gill identified the five arrested officials as Jail Superintendent Iqbal Singh Brar, Additional Jail Superintendent Vijay Kumar, Assistant Jail Superintendent Harish Kumar, Assistant Sub Inspector Joginder Singh, and ASI Harchand Singh. The other two suspended jail officials are Additional Jail Superintendent Jaspal Singh Khaira and Head Constable Savinder Singh.

He said, "A fresh case has been registered under Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, Section 52 of the Prisons Act, Sections 506 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Police Station Goindwal Sahib."

After the killings, Punjab Police had registered a first information report (FIR). 

Gill said, "Initially, the case was registered against jail inmates including Manpreet Singh alias Bhau, Sachin Bhiwani alias Sachin Chaudhary, Ankit Latti alias Ankit Sirsa, Kashish alias Kuldeep, Rajinder alias Joker, Hardeep Singh alias Mamma, Baldev Singh alias Nikku, Deepak alias Mundi and Malkit Singh alias Kita."

He said that after last week's incident, police and jail authorities have moved the accused persons to different jails in the state.

Gill said that the Punjab Police has strict directions from the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led government that any government employee found negligent in duty should be dealt with strictly. 

The killings and the video leak comes at a time when Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is facing criticism for worsening law and order situation in Punjab.

Siddhu Moosewala murder case

Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala was shot dead in Jawahar Ke village Punjab's Mansa district on May 29, 2022. He was travelling with his cousin and a friend in a car when bullets were sprayed on him by six shooters.

Punjab's Director General of Police VK Bhawra initially said at least three weapons were used and 30 rounds fired in the attack.

Inter-gang rivalry has been suspected to be behind Moosewala's murder since the very beginning. 

Of inter-gang rivalry, Mansa Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Toora earlier said the name of Moosewala's manager Shaganpreet had cropped up in the murder case of youth Akali leader Vicky Middukhera last year.  He added that there was a rivalry between Lawrence Bishnoi and Lucky Patial gangs and the attack could be connected to it. 

Following Moosewala's killings, Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, associated with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, claimed responsibility for the killing.

Inter-gang rivalry in Sidhu Moosewala's killing

Canada-based Brar claimed responsibility for Moosewala's killing in a social media post. The translation of the post, shared by The IANS, highlighted Brar and Bishnoi's rivalry with Moosewala over Middukhera's killing and other incidents. 

The post read, "Today, Moosewala was killed in Punjab, I, Sachin Bishnoi, Lawrence Bishnoi take the responsibility. It's our work. Moosewala's name surfaced in our brother Vikramjit Singh Middukhera and Gurlal Brar's murder, but the Punjab Police did not take any action against him. We also came to know that Moosewala was also involved in the encounter of our associate Ankit Bhadu."

Brar's real name is Satinder Singh and he is a native of Faridkot, as per The Indian Express. Lawrence Bishnoi is a native of Dhattaranwali village near Abohar in Punjab's Ferozepur. He is facing two dozen cases.

The Bishoi-Brar gang and another Bambiha gang of deceased Davinder Bambiha are engaged in a turf-war in Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi. Investigators earlier indicated that Moosewala's praise of Bambiha gang could have inspired the murder by Bambiha's rivals as a show of strength and a measure to keep their prestige. 

Moreover, the Brar-Bishnoi side had taken Moosewala on their radar after Middukhera's killing, for which they believe Moosewala via his manager hired Kaushal Chaudhary's gang members, according to The Tribune. 

Did Moosewala's praise of rival gang lead to his murder?

In 2020, Moosewala released a provocative song Bambiha Bole that had dual meaning of sorts. While Bambiha is a Punjabi name for a bird, the song was seen as praise of Bambiha gang.

"Bambiha is the Punjabi name for the Jacobin Cuckoo, a bird with a sweet, high-pitched voice. It finds special mention in the Guru Granth Sahib. Moosewala's song, though, is laden with gunshot sounds. And its video is a revenge fantasy that focuses on ways to kill detractors, collaborators and enemies. Depicting himself as a criminal, Moosewala boasts that he is a desi guy all police stations are familiar with. Moosewala also brags about having a ferocious nature and a Russian assault rifle," noted Ashutosh Sharma for Outlook earlier. 

Moosewala, police say, was killed as a fallout of rivalry between Bishnoi and Bambiha gangs, noted Sharma further last year.

(With PTI inputs)