The Delhi Police’s Special Cell has arrested a 19-year-old, Ankit, who fired the lethal shots at popular Punjabi Singer Sidhu Moose Wala from close range. The police also arrested Ankit’s partner-in-crime Sachin Bhiwani (25) in what is being seen as a major breakthrough in the case.
The police recovered two loaded pistols, three police uniforms of the Punjab Police, and two mobile handsets from their possession. Both Ankit and Sachin are wanted criminals belonging to Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar gang alliance.
The two were apprehended on Sunday around 11.05 pm by a team of Special Cell from Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Near Kashmiri Gate Bus Adda.
According to police, Ankit was one of the shooters involved in the killing of Moose Wala while the other accused Sachin was responsible for harbouring four of the shooters.
Addressing a Press conference, HGS Dhaliwal, the Special Commissioner of Police, Special Cell, after the initial arrests made in the case, multiple teams were working extensively to nab those involved in providing logistical support, weapons and hideout facilities to them.
“Police teams conducted raids in six States -- Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi. Our teams continued to work on the leads received and developed them diligently,” said the Special CP.
“On July 3, specific inputs were received that two members of Bishnoi gang would come to ISBT Delhi for executing some heinous crime. The police team arrested both Ankit and Deepak in a swift operation,” said the Special CP.
“Sachin provided the shooters all support before and after the incident. Ankit, a resident of Sersa village in Haryana, is also named in two other cases of attempt to murder in Rajasthan. A 9 mm pistol along with 10 live cartridges, a 30 mm pistol with nine live cartridges, three police uniforms of Punjab Police and two mobile handsets along with a dongle and SIM card have been seized from their possession,” said the Special CP.
“Ankit alias Chhota fired on Moose Wala with two pistols. He was closest to Moose Wala’s vehicle while firing,” said a senior police official.
“Bhiwani was wanted in a recent extortion case of Churu in Rajasthan, which he committed on the directions of Lawrence Bishnoi- Sampat Nehra gang in 2022. He is associated with Bishnoi gang and he came out of jail on October 21 after three and half years,” said the senior police official.
Last month, the Special Cell arrested three people, including two shooters, in connection with the killing of Moose Wala. The accused were identified as Priyavrat alias Fauji (26), a resident of Sonipat in Haryana; Kashish (24), also from the State’s Jhajjar district; and Keshav Kumar (29), a resident of Bhatinda in Punjab.
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known as Moose Wala, was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29.