Moose Wala murder: Trial against 25 accused begins in Mansa court

Faridkot : Nearly 12 months after the Punjab Police special investigation team (SIT) filed the first chargesheet against gangsters in Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala’s murder case, the trial against 25 accused, including Lawrence Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, started in the Mansa district and sessions court on Wednesday.

A total of 24 accused lodged in various jails of Punjab were presented in the court of district and sessions judge Preeti Sahni through video-conferencing on Wednesday. Bishnoi did not attend the proceedings on medical grounds.

The court will hear arguments on framing of charges against the accused on August 23.

Last month, the court of chief judicial magistrate, Mansa, Surabhi Prashar committed the chargesheets to the sessions court observing “the offences under Sections 302 (murder) of the IPC are exclusively triable by the sessions court.”

Reacting to the development, Moose Wala’s father Balkaur Singh said: “We pray that the trial be fair and all culprits involved directly or indirectly be given the harshest punishment. It must set an example for all-powerful or ordinary.”

Moose Wala was shot dead by six assailants at Jawahar Ke village in Punjab’s Mansa on May 29 last year.

Gangster Goldy Brar, who is a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, had claimed responsibility for the murder terming it a revenge for the killing of Youth Akali Dal leader Vicky Middukhera, who was shot dead in Mohali in 2021.

The police had identified the six shooters as Priyavrat Fauji, Kashish, Ankit Sersa and Deepak Mundi of the Haryana module and Manpreet Singh, alias Mannu, and Jagroop Singh, alias Roopa, of Punjab module. Mannu and Roopa were killed in an encounter with Punjab Police in Amritsar on July 20 last year.

The special investigation team (SIT) probing Moose Wala’s murder has filed two chargesheets against 31 accused, including gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, claiming the murder was part of a series of revenge killings between the Bishnoi and Bambiha gangs. The probe team revealed a history of retaliatory killings, with each gang seeking vengeance for its members’ deaths.

On August 26, last year, the probe team filed a 1,850-page chargesheet against 24 persons, including Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, while a supplementary chargesheet was filed on December 5 against seven accused.

Of the total 31 accused, the police have arrested 27. Two of them -- Mandeep Singh and Manmohan Singh -- were killed during a clash in Goindwal jail in February. Three accused, including Goldy Brar, are absconding and are believed to be abroad.

Another accused Sachin Thapan Bishnoi, who was extradited from Azebhaijan earlier this month, is in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Mansa police will soon bring him on transit remand in the Moose Wala murder case, say officials privy to the development.