It is of course heartrending to know a popular Punjabi singer, Sidhu Moose Wala, was shot dead by gangsters the way a character was massacred in the 1972 Hollywood movie ‘Godfather’. He was reportedly shot at 10 times near a temple in village. Incidentally, Moose Wala was among the 424 so-called VIPs who lost their security cover as part of the Bhagwant Mann Government’s exercise to crack down on the despised VIP culture. The Canada-based gangster GoldyBrar, a member of the infamous Lawrence Bishnoi gang,has claimed responsibility for the murder. Another Punjabi pop singer, Mika Singh, says many Punjab singers including himself feel unsafe for getting threat calls from gangsters every now and then.
The AAP Government of Delhi came down heavily on people of strange standing who had availed public security for personal safety when police or similar forces were inadequate to maintain public order across the State. Besides, most politicians and so-called celebrities, not entitled to get public security of any kind, were provided the same indiscriminately by concerned authorities just for gaining cheap popularity. Singer Sidhu was not stripped of the security cover. His system was only downgraded for being deployed at more sensitive places where law and order situations had gravely endangered public life. He too was reckless and said ‘no’ to the available personal security guys with guns as he was going on a joyride kind of a drive around the village for a short while. What’s more intriguing is that he had trouble with law a few years ago. He had been booked in multiple cases by police for promoting violence and gun culture. But somehow, he used his local popularity to avoid getting arrested. He had three damning FIRs filed against him by the middle of 2020. On July 25 the same year, the State Crime Branch registered a fourth case against him for glorifying use of weapons and boasting about the various FIRs, including one under the Arms Act, in his latest song ‘Sanju’. He was severally booked under relevant Sections of the IPC including 188 (disobedience to order) and 294 (obscene acts and songs) and 504 (provocation to break public peace). Even before that, the Mansa police had booked Moose Wala for a similar offence on February 1, 2020 based on a Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling in September 2019, banning glorification of liquor, wine, drugs and violence in songs.
Later on May 4, another case was registered against him and eight others, including five cops, under various provisions of the Disaster Management Act and Sections of the Arms Act. It was registered after a video of the singer firing an AK-47 rifle at ‘Badbar’ police firing range during the lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 went viral on social media. Very next day, yet another case was registered against him and eight others under the same sections in Sangrur district for using a 9mm pistol to fire a few shots at Ladda Kothi firing range. Later, after the HC directions, Sections of the Arms Act were also added to the two FIRs, making the two cases non-bailable. Police had then set up a special team to carry out raids to arrest him, but he vanished into thin air until the heat died down.
Curiously, despite being wanted by police of two districts, Moose Wala was only ‘challaned’ and not arrested when caught driving an SUV with tinted glass in Nabha on June 6. The district police had later released a statement saying it was for the ‘Sangrur’ and ‘Barnala’ police to proceed further in the particular cases. The eight other accused in the two cases had moved bail applications before the Sangrur and Barnala courts. While the Sangrur court granted them bail, the Barnala court rejected their applications. All the same, the singer was never a saint although, by no reason, he deserved to die so early! He had a long time at hand to realise mistakes, repent and regret and eventually reform well enough to turn saintly.
In India, police and local government provide security for dignitaries. On the basis of information given by the intelligence department, different categories of security, namely, Z +, Z, Y and X are provided to different people. Generally, people in politics or bureaucracy are given various categories of security according to their position and life threats.
‘Kashmir Files’ director Vivek Agnihotri has been granted Y-category of security with CRPF by the Ministry of Home Affairs based on intelligence inputs on a ‘threat to his life’ as per sources. Sidhu was given X category that has 12 personnel with no commandos but only armed police personnel which costs nearly Rs 7 lakh per month monetarily but value-wise its huge because the super trained manpower is scarce and always in short supply even for Constitutionally-entitled dignitaries who specifically contribute to nation building.
The SSP attributed the singer’s killing to ‘inter-gang rivalry’ between Lawrence Bishnoi and Lakhi Patial gangs. Moose Wala’s manager Shagunpreet Singh was named in a police case relating to one Vicky Midukhera murder that had occurred at a Mohali market place in August 2021. So, police have reasons to suspect that the gruesome incident may have been carried out due to that. Family members of Middukhera, a former SAD leader, had been demanding that Moose Wala be questioned in the murder case. Police had arrested three shooters who were allegedly hired by the killers; and during their questioning, the name of Shaganpreet Singh had cropped up. Shaganpreet had left the country and is suspected to be in Australia. Police have also issued a Lookout Corner notice against him.
Several High Courts, including Bombay, have sought to know why the Governments needed to spend taxpayers’ money on providing police protection to politicians, most of whom are worthless creatures. A Bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice MS Sonakhad of the Bombay HC made it clear that it felt that politicians who needed police protection could very well pay for the same out of the funds received by their respective parties. The court’s observations came while directing the Government to streamline its current process of approving and assigning police protection to private persons while hearing a PIL filed by a lawyer seeking directions to the police to recover dues from the so-called VIPs, including politicians, film actors and such other rich entertainers, some of whom even do not pay charges for the super service provided by the state.
Sidhu’s untimely death is most certainly disturbing because the common folks feel insecure and frightened. But providing scarce elite class public security to ordinary people with money is as bad as offending the masses. This culture has to go instantly.
