The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday grilled Punjabi singer Afsana Khan for nearly five hours in an ongoing probe into the murder of globally renowned Punjabi pop sensation Sidhu Moosewala, who was gunned down in his native village on May 29 this year.
The 27-year-old singer was questioned about her association with the ‘Bambiha’ gang, an organized crime group Sidhu Moosewala allegedly shared close ties with. Bambiha is also an arch-rival of the Bishnoi gang, which allegedly orchestrated Sidhu Moosewala’s murder.
After her questioning, Khan took to Instagram to deny links with the gangsters in question.
In her live session on Instagram, she said that the questioning was held in a very cordial atmosphere where she was even offered lunch.
“I have nothing to do with the gangsters. NIA did not ask anything about gangsters but only personal questions about my relations with Sidhu Moosewala, about my career and songs we sang together,” said Khan.
She claimed that efforts are being made to tarnish her image by associating her name with the gangsters. “It is being said that I want fame by using the name of Sidhu Moosewala by projecting myself close to him…I am a person who rose to fame due to sheer hard work and had a very sacred relationship with Sidhu which I need not prove. I was behaving like his sister and never tried to ask anything beyond our relationship and into his professional life as to whom he meets,” she said.
At the same time, Khan added that she was happy that the murder probe has reached the NIA. “Many charges were levelled against me. But I am happy that the matter has reached the NIA and Sidhu Moosewala will definitely get justice,” she said.
Khan said that she was happy that NIA had questioned her for five to six hours. “Only the Lord, the NIA, and I know what was asked during the interrogation. The investigation of Moosewala’s murder has reached a true agency,” she added.
Notably, NIA had issued summons to Afsana Khan for questioning to appear personally at the NIA headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Khan was the person to feature with Sidhu Moose Wala in the final video released by the artist before he was killed on May 29, 2022. The late singer had reportedly told Afsana that he was receiving threatening calls. These reasons have forced the NIA to summon the singer and get her statements recorded.
Khan's summoning is seen in the backdrop of the NIA's objective to bring down organised crime networks and gangsters in the country. The agency recently conducted several searches and is working in close coordination with the police departments of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi.