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.
According to sources, Singh, a resident of Faridkot, was the person who had launched the attack on Monday. A rocket-propelled grenade or RPG was fired from the street that shattered the window panes of Punjab Police's intelligence headquarters in Mohali.
Lt Gen Aujla, an alumnus of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, was commissioned in December 1987 and has had an illustrious military career spanning 35 years during which he has held varied prestigious command, staff and instructional appointments.
The area around the Intelligence Bureau office has been sealed and investigation is in progress. A bomb disposal and forensic squads have been positioned at the spot. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann spoke to Director General of Police V.K. Bhawra and sought details about the incident.
Notably, the police detained several people, including party workers, who were not allowing the SDMC to carry out the demolition drive at Shaheen Bagh. After the agitation was quelled, the bulldozer moved forward to demolish the illegal encroachment, an iron structure in front of a building. It is at this juncture that Khan reached the spot and was seen speaking to the officials.
Punjab shares a 553-km barbed-wire fenced international border with Pakistan which is under the vigil of nearly 135 BSF battalions. The drug network operates along the Afghanistan-Pakistan-India route.
Police are looking at this angle. The incident took place near Kengeri at 1 a.m. and the injured were shifted to nearby hospitals. According to the police, the bus had first hit the 4-feet tall road divider and then rammed into the Namma Metro Pillar number 545.
