On May 29, 2022, Punjab was numbed by the gruesome murder of the singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala. Hit by 24 bullets, the 24-year-old renowned rapper was shot dead on the periphery of Jawaharke village which adjoined his native village Moosa of Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29.
The tragedy struck at a time when his parents were looking forward to the marriage of their only child.
The global range of his rap genre was based on his intrepid lyrical discourse against the rat race of the corporate world and consumerist lifestyles. There is a stark difference between the real life of Sidhu Moosewala and his life on the rap turf.
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Born on June 11, 1993, Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known by his stage name Sidhu Moosewala, began his career in Punjabi music and rap with the song ‘License’ by Ninja and ‘G Wagon’ in 2017. From there he moved on to collaborate with Brown Boyz for various tracks. In October 2018, Moosewala released his debut album PBX 1 in the pop music genre with a touch of hip-hop.
In his music career, Moosewala has been the recipient of several awards including the Brit Asia TV Music Awards. In September 2020, Moosewala released 'Game' with Shooter Kahlon, which became his first song to chart on the Canadian Hot 100 by Billboard.
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Moosewala joined Congress in 2021 and later contested the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election. Prior to that, in 2018, he actively campaigned for his mother Charan Kaur, who won the sarpanch election from Moosa village in December of the same year.
Moosewala’s Congress candidature was opposed by Congress MLA Nazar Singh Manshahia from Mansa. However, Moosewala lost to Aam Admi Party by over 60,000 votes and a case was registered against him under IPC Section 188 for violating the Model Code of Conduct.
On 11 April 2022, Moosewala released a song titled "Scapegoat", in which he laments his failure in the 2022 Punjab state assembly elections.
Months after the release of the song, Moosewala was shot dead on May 29. The singer was travelling in his Mahindra Thar SUV to visit his aunt in Barnala when he was shot dead in broad daylight. The eclectic pop star’s death sparked deep anger and outrage among fans from across the world.
On May 30, the Punjab Police revealed that Moosewala’s death could have been because of an inter-gang rivalry. The names of Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar and jailed gangster Lawrence Bhosnoi’s names came up as suspects.
On May 31, the Punjab Police made the first arrest, Manpreet Singh, who confessed to having provided logistic support to the attackers.
On June 1, the police questioned Bishnoi, who is lodged in the Tihar jail. Although Bishnoi had later accepted that his gang had killed Moosewala, he denied his hands in it.
On the same day, the Punjab Police reconstituted the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that was probing the matter.
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On June 2, doctors released the autopsy report of Moosewala and it confirmed 19 bullet injuries.
On June 5 and June 6, two suspects, Davinder alias Kala and Sandeep Singh aka Kenkra were arrested from Haryana’s Fatehabad and Sirsa respectively.
On June 7, police confirmed the arrest of a total of eight people related to the case. The names included Sandeep Singh, Manpreet Singh, Manpreet Bhau, Saraj Mintu, Prabhdeep Sidhu, Monu Dagar, Pawan Bishnoi and Naseeb.
On June 14, the Patiala House Court in Delhi allowed Punjab Police to take gangster Lawrence Bishnoi to Mansa court in the neighbouring state in the murder case.
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Santosh Jadhav, another sharpshooter, was nabbed by the Pune Police on June 18. A total of 13 illegal pistols and eight mobile phones were recovered from him.
On June 20, the Delhi Police arrested two main shooters involved in the murder --- Priyavrat Fauji (26) and Kashish (24) --- from Gujarat’s Mundra.
On June 23, Bishnoi admitted that he was the 'mastermind' in Moosewala’s killing and was planning it since August last year.
On June 27, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Bishnoi’s plea challenging orders passed by Delhi and Mansa courts granting his custody to Punjab Police for interrogation in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case.
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On July 4, Delhi Police’s Special Cell said that two more people -- Ankit and Sachin Biwani --- allegedly involved in the killing were arrested.
On July 11 Bishnoi was presented in a local court in Amritsar after his police remand ended. The State of Punjab, represented by senior advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, made a submission to continue with the investigation challenging the transit plea remand order issued by a Delhi Court for the production of Bishnoi in Punjab’s Mansa court. The matter has been scheduled for July 18.
Meanwhile, a spontaneous samadhi or shrine has come up at the location in the Moosewala family's fields where the rapper was cremated and it has become a part of the pilgrimage for fans of the slain rapper.
