Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 03 Jun, 2022 09:57 AM
New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court by BJP Punjab leader Jagjit Singh seeking CBI investigation in the cold-blooded murder of famous Punjabi rap singer Sidhu Moosewala.
The plea, filed through advocate-on-record Namit Saxena and advocates Sarthak Chaturvedi and Shubham Jaiswal, submitted that there is a storm of fear and terror in Punjab, which warrants interference by the Supreme Court as fundamental rights of entire population of Punjab have been jeopardised at large.
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known by his stage name 'Sidhu Moosewala', was shot dead in broad daylight on May 29 by unknown assailants. The plea said he was a young artist of just 28 years of age, who became globally famous by performing a niche art of Punjabi rap.
"The brutal murder of Sidhu Moosewala is a glaring example where the conscience of the community at large has been shocked and people of Punjab are confident that no effective investigation will be done by the state, rather it will try to cover up its failure by removing the security cover and the incident deserves to be investigated by a central agency," said the plea.
The plea said on the next day of the murder, names of gangsters such as Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar started coming into play when they took the responsibility of killing the deceased. "That also the present facts of the case involve not only inter-state but also international crime syndicates and it is expedient in the interests of justice if the investigation related to the present FIR is transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation," added the plea.
The petitioner contended it is also important to bear in mind that it is not arcane knowledge that Punjab is ridden with the menace of drugs and gun culture. "The state has unfortunately not ridden itself from the movement of separatists seeking establishment of Khalistan and therefore possibility of involvement of separatists in the murder also cannot be ruled out. The matter at hand deserves investigation by a central agency such as the CBI," it added.
The plea argued that the CBI being a central agency, has a far more reach and jurisdiction than the state authorities and the same would also help the state authorities, the justice they seek.
The plea said the way the cold blooded killing was done in broad daylight is indicative of the fact that the state machinery in Punjab has miserably failed in its duty not only to prevent the crime but also to effectively curb the menace of gangwars.
Singh had contested from Sardurgarh seat on a BJP ticket in the recently-conducted Punjab polls.
In less than 24 hours after his security was curtailed, singer-turned-actor-politician Sidhu Moosewala was shot dead by gangsters close to his ancestral village in Mansa in broad daylight.
Moosewala, 29, was brutally murdered on May 29 by assailants who fired multiple rounds at him near his native village in Punjab's Mansa district. He was rushed to a hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead.
The gangster had moved the high court after a NIA court of Patiala House Court junked his plea on Monday. In the plea, he sought a direction to the Delhi Police and the Tihar Jail authorities to ensure all necessary security arrangements for him.
The decision taken by the government will at least save Rs 35 crore annually, which was incurred on printing of stamp papers, besides facilitating the public to obtain stamp papers in a hassle-free manner.
He was found soaked in blood on the driving seat of the Mahindra Thar SUV. There were two more occupants in the car -- Sidhu's friends, Gurwinder Singh and Gurpreet Singh.
As per the information, Shubhdeep Singh, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala, who left his house around 4.30 p.m. on Sunday along with two persons -- Gurwinder Singh (neighbour) and Gurpreet Singh (cousin), was shot dead by some unidentified persons.
