Bhagwant Mann announces to set up Judicial Commission

Six suspects were nabbed by the Punjab Police and Uttarakhand Special Task Force from a suburb of Dehradun on Monday in connection with the murder of Punjabi rapper and Congress leader Sidhu Moose Wala.

As the brutal killing triggered huge protests and political attacks on the Punjab Government, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced to set up of a Judicial Commission under the chairmanship of a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for enquiring into the murder.

According to the police, one of the arrested persons had allegedly supplied guns and vehicles to the killers of  Moose Wala.

The accused said to be a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang along with his friends came to Uttarakhand for the pilgrimage to Hemkund Sahib. The police apprehended the suspects in the Shimla bypass area when they were returning from the pilgrimage. The police questioned the suspects in the Nayagaon police post for about an hour after which they were taken away by the Punjab Police.

According to sources, after Moose Wala’s murder, a Punjab Police team reached Dehradun while tracking the location of a mobile phone. The team sought the help of the Uttarakhand STF. According to the STF, the Punjab Police had got clues that Mansa district resident Manpreet Singh may have provided the guns and vehicles for the murder.

Tracking the mobile phone location, the police were monitoring the traffic coming from Rishikesh to Dehradun. The police tried to stop the vehicle of the suspects near the ISBT but it turned towards the road going to Poanta Sahib from Shimla bypass. The Nayagaon police post was alerted and its personnel set up barricades which resulted in a traffic jam. The suspects were nabbed after their car got stuck in the jam.

Meanwhile,  Punjab Chief Minister Mann, while acceding to a request by Balkar Singh Sidhu, the father of slain singer, said the State Government will be requesting the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court to get the case enquired into by the sitting judge of the High Court. Mann said the State Government will ensure full cooperation with this Enquiry Commission, which may also rope in any of the Central agencies like the National Investigation Agency.

Condemning the gruesome murder, Mann  said the Government will leave no stone unturned to put the perpetrators of this heinous crime behind the bars.

Expressing deep shock and grief at the sad and untimely demise of Moose Wala, the Chief Minister said the departed singer was a celebrated artist and a cultural icon of Punjab.

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6 held in Doon for murder of  Punjab rapper Moose Wala

Meanwhile, a SAD delegation on Monday met Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit and sought the dismissal of the AAP-led State Government and an NIA probe into the matter. The four-member delegation comprised Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal and party leaders Prem Singh Chandumajra, Balwinder Singh Bhundar and Daljit Singh Cheema.

‘’Met Governor Punjab & urged him to dismiss @BhagwantMann from his office. He doesn’t deserve to remain the CM. He is pushing the State back into black days of anarchy. We also demand an NIA probe into the killing of Moosewala as Pbis (Punjabis) don’t trust the AAP govt to give justice in the case,’’ Badal said in a series of tweets.

The SAD chief also demanded a probe by a sitting High Court judge into the alleged lapses in ordering the withdrawal of the security cover of several people and that Mann be booked for making public confidential information.

The Punjab BJP too termed it as a complete collapse of law and order in the State. “It has been a complete collapse of the AAP Government’s intelligence and security network that has been reflected in more than two dozen murder incidents involving public figures”, said BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh.

He said Mann, being Home Minister, owes an explanation to the State why security information was made public. “Are you looking for cheap publicity making the border state vulnerable to the Pakistan ISI designs?” he asked, adding that if you are unable to handle the situation you should quit and go to Kejriwal for advice.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur too demanded a high-level inquiry into the killing of Moosewala and charged that the AAP Government curtailed his security for getting fake appreciation from the public. He also accused the AAP Government in Punjab of not taking any action against Khalistanis despite their raising pro-Khalistan slogans and  waving Khalistani flags.