Encounter site at Bhakna village, 20 km from Amritsar.
Chandigarh:
Two gangsters involved in the murder of singer Sidhu Moose Wala were gunned down in an encounter with the police near Amritsar today. Three policemen were also injured. Jagroop Singh Roopa was killed first, while the second suspect, Manpreet Singh alias Mannu Kussa, opened fire for about an hour and was gunned down in the firing that lasted for about four hours in the evening, officials said.
In the shootout, a news channel’s cameraperson sustained a bullet injury in the right leg.
State police chief Gaurav Yadav also reached the spot at Bhakna village, 20 km from Amritsar, by the end of the encounter, amid reports that two more people were inside the house where the two were hiding. It has not been confirmed yet. “An AK-47 rifle, a pistol and a large number of bullets were found,” ADGP Pramod Ban, chief of Punjab Police’s Anti-Gangster Task Force, told reporters at the spot.
The encounter started around noon as the task force was chasing two men. He was among the three shooters who were still absconding. While these two were tracked down, Deepak Mundi is yet to be traced. The rest – at least eight were shooters – have been arrested.
An ambulance had reached the spot minutes before Jagroop Roopa was declared brought dead by the police. The area, about 10 km from the border with Pakistan, has been cordoned off and people have been asked to stay indoors.
Jagroop Singh Roopa and Manpreet Singh alias Mannu Kussa belonged to the villages of Tarn Taran, the same border area where the encounter took place.
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu alias Sidhu Moose Wala (28), a singer-songwriter and rapper as well as a Congress leader, was shot dead on May 29 near his village Musa in Punjab’s Mansa district.
Police sources said that Mannu Kussa had fired the first shot at Moose Wala with an AK-47 rifle.
Police of Punjab, Delhi and Mumbai are engaged in the matter. The murder was allegedly directed by Canada’s Satinderjit Singh alias Goldie Brar in association with gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who was already lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
Goldie Barr is alleged to have claimed responsibility for the murder through a Facebook post. The post said that this was a revenge for the killing of an Akali leader Vicky Middukheda last year. Interpol has since issued a Red Corner Notice to trace Goldie Brar in connection with two other cases registered in Faridkot, Punjab.
Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government is also facing questions as the killing took place a day after the security of Sidhu Moose Wala was cut for two policemen as part of a massive campaign against “VIP culture”. However, the singer did not take the two policemen along, nor was he using his bulletproof car when he was attacked.