Pakistani and Khalistani links surface in Moosewala murder probe

Sidhu Moosewala was shot dead in May last year in Mansa, Punjab.

It was a Pakistani arms supplier who had supplied weapons for infamous murder of popular Punjabi singer and politician Sidhu Moosewala. Startling revelations were made during National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) ongoing probe against a nexus of North India based gangsters and Khalistani radicals. The investigations reveal that Pakistani arms dealer Hamid, currently based in Dubai, was involved in murder.

Moosewala was shot dead by six shooters using assault rifles and pistols at Jawaharke village in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29 last year. He was a Congress leader and his security cover, along with at least 400 others, was withdrawn by the Aam Aadmi Party led Punjab government a day before the incident. Goldy Brar had claimed responsibility for the killing.

According to a senior investigator Hamid met Shahbaz Ansari, a Bulandshahr-based regular arms supplier of Lawrence Bishnoi gang, in Dubai before Moosewala’s killing. To initiate a business deal he bragged about his close association with gangster Satinderjit Singh, alias Goldy Brar and provision of arms for murder of Moosewala. Ansari who was nabbed in December 2022 by NIA has revealed the details to the agency according to sources.

“Shahbaz Ansari visited Dubai many times and during these visits, he came in contact with Hamid, a Pakistani national and arms smuggler. Duo discussed the business of arms smuggling and supply of consignment of arms and ammunition in India. During this meeting, Hamid also told Ansari that he was going to supply assault rifles and other weapons to gangster Bishnoi for the killing of Moosewala. Hamid said he was in touch with Goldy Brar for this, who was a regular customer .To back his claim Hamid showed Ansari his phone which had an audio recording related to arms supply to Brar,” read investigation details submitted by NIA in the case. The agency is now investigating this arms network along with Khalistani links in this murder. The investigations have revealed involvement of proscribed Babbar Khalsa International’s (BKI) leader Lakhbir Singh Landa based in Canada though the extent of involvement has to be verified.