Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead in Jawaharke village of Mansa district of Punjab. Two others were injured when the attackers opened fire on the jeep they were traveling in.
The assailants have not been identified yet. The attack came just a day after the Punjab government withdrew the security cover for 424 people, including Moose Wala.
Who was Sidhu Moose Wala?
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu aka Sidhu Moose Wala was born on 17 June 1993 in Moose Wala village, Mansa district, Punjab. Sidhu Moose Wala’s father Balkar Singh is a former soldier and his mother Charan Kaur is a sarpanch. Moose Wala, who had a huge fan base, was known for his gangster rap.
Sidhu Moose Wala earned a degree in electrical engineering and studied music in college. He later moved to Canada.
Controversy over the song of Sidhu Moose Wala
Sidhu Moose Wala was also known for his controversial Punjabi songs which openly promoted gun culture and glorified gangsters.
His song ‘Jatti Jionne Mod Di Guntak Vargi’, released in September 2019, sparked outrage due to its reference to the 18th century Sikh warrior Mai Bhago. He was accused of casting a negative light on the Sikh warrior. Moose Wala later apologized.
Another song ‘Sanju’ also created controversy in July 2020. The song was released after Sidhu Moose Wala got bail in the AK-47 shooting case. In the song released on social media, he compared himself to actor Sanjay Dutt. In May 2020, a case was also registered against him under the Arms Act after a video clip of him practicing at a firing range in Barnala village went viral on social media. However, he was later granted bail by a court in Sangrur.
In December 2020, he once again courted controversy over his song ‘Punjab’, in which he glorified Khalistan separatist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
During the first Covid wave of March 2020, Musewala released a song ‘Gacheya Gurbaksh’, in which he mocked Gurbaksh Singh, who had come to Punjab from Italy, and also Punjab’s first Covid death and a ‘super spreader’. became. He was criticized for taunting a Covid victim.
After losing the recent assembly election from Mansa, he released the song ‘Bali ka kraa’, in which he called the voters anti-national. After this, AAP retaliated, accusing him of insulting voters.
In September 2019, he landed in trouble for making an inappropriate mention of ‘Mai Bhago’ (the famous Sikh woman who led 40 Sikh soldiers in the fight against the Mughals) in her song. Later, he apologized for the mistake on social media and also appeared before the Akal Takht regarding the matter in March 2020.
Role during the peasant movement, Covid
Sidhu Musewala was the first Punjabi singer to come out in support of farmers against the three agricultural laws on September 25, 2020, when a Bharat Bandh was called by farmers. At that time the biggest impact of the movement was visible in Punjab itself. He also took part in the bandh in Mansa. He was adamant in support of the protest, which was later supported by many Punjabi singers.
During the first wave of lockdown, he appealed to the people to stay indoors.
Banners with his picture and appeal to people to follow ‘self-lockdown’ were seen across Punjab. He then started ‘Thikri Pehraas (Night Watch by the Community)’ in his village Musa to enforce the lockdown. This was done in collaboration with the then SSP Dr Narendra Bhargava and later these nakas could be seen all over the state. Moosewala was also among those leading the way in distributing ration and other items of daily needs to the people during the lockdown.
Funeral
Along with some relatives, Musewala’s father received his son’s body from Mansa Civil Hospital, where it was kept for postmortem, around 8.15 pm. The body has been taken to his residence in Musa village of Mansa. The last rites of Musewala, who died on Sunday, will be performed on Tuesday. Heavy police force has been deployed outside the residence of the slain Punjabi singer.
The bereaved, especially the youth and fans of the singer, gathered outside the house to pay their last respects. Many people raised slogans in his favor. Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Musewala, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Punjab’s Mansa district on Sunday. His cousin and a friend, who were traveling with him in a Mahindra Thar jeep, were also injured in the attack.
The 28-year-old Punjabi singer had contested the recent assembly elections in Punjab on a Congress ticket from Mansa and lost to AAP’s Vijay Singla. Musewala was among 424 people whose security was temporarily withdrawn or downgraded by the Punjab Police on Saturday.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday announced the formation of a judicial commission, headed by a sitting High Court judge, to probe the brutal murder of Sidhu Musewala. The state police on Monday claimed that it had arrested some suspects and got important leads in connection with the murder. It had termed the murder as a case of inter-gang rivalry and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was behind the murder.