An accused in the case of murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala escaped from Punjab Police's custody on Saturday night.
Gangster Deepak Tinu escaped from police custody in Punjab's Mansa district, official sources said on Sunday. He one of the accused in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case.
Sources told PTI that a manhunt has been launched to nab Tinu, who escaped on Saturday night when he was brought on a production warrant from Goindwal Sahib jail in another case by the Mansa police.
Tinu is a close aide of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, also an accused in the murder case of the Punjabi singer.
When asked about the incident, Inspector General (Bathinda Range) Mukhwinder Singh Chhina told PTI, "We are working on it. Police parties are on the job and we will catch him soon."
Inter-gang rivalry in Sidhu Moosewala's murder
Moosewala was shot dead in Jawahar Ke village Punjab's Mansa district on May 29. He was travelling with his cousin and a friend when bullets were sprayed on him by six shooters.
After Moosewala's killing, Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, associated with Bishnoi, claimed responsibility for the murder. Tinu is among 24 accused who have been charge-sheeted in the murder case.
Inter-gang rivalry has repeatedly been mentioned in Moosewala's case. While Punjab Director General of Police VK Bhawra clarified in May that he did not call Moosewala a gangster, the police did say that the name of Moosewala's manager had come up in a murder of an Akali leader last year. Moosewala's father Balkaur Singh also said his son had received death threats from Bishnoi and other gangsters.
"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," said Brar, as per IANS.
The name of Moosewala's manager Shaganpreet had cropped up in the murder case of youth Akali leader Vicky Middukhera last year. Shagunpreet had then fled to Australia. 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 a song lead to Sidhu Moosewala's murder?
Moosewala's killing was also a fallout of the rivalry between Bishnoi and Bambiha gangs, according to the police.
"He [Moosewala] provoked us through his song and extolled the Bambiha gang. He dared us to attack him. We let him off initially, following the intervention of Harvinder Rinda (gangster-turned-terrorist). But something had to be done after Vikramjit Singh Middukhera," The Tribune quoted Bishnoi as saying.
(With PTI inputs)
