The Punjab police made a fresh arrest in the murder case of Congress leader and singer Sidhu Moose Wala, who was shot dead in the Mansa district of the state last month. The accused arrested by the police is named Kekda and he allegedly acted as an informer for the shooters.

Kekda was arrested from the Sirsa district of Haryana on Monday, confirmed police sources. The accused was identified as Sandeep alias Kenkra, who hails from Kalanwali village in Sirsa district, as per news agency PTI.

The police further said that Kekda’s role in the murder case is under scanner for allegedly passing on information about Moosewala’s movement to the shooters involved in the killing. The killers had allegedly used the man for recce in the crime and police are believed to have zeroed in on him on the basis of CCTV footage.

According to news reports, Kekda was outside the residence of Moose Wala just 15 minutes before the attack. He posed as a fan and even took selfies with the singer after having tea, showing the CCTV footage.

The police said that the CCTV footage revealed that Kekda, along with his companion, posed for pictures with Sidhu Moose Wala, and then informed the shooters that the singer had left in a non-bulletproof vehicle just 15 minutes before the attack.

On May 29, Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead by unidentified persons when he was traveling to the Jawahar Ke Village in Mansa. The post-mortem revealed that he had sustained 19 bullet injuries, and was brought dead to the hospital.

The state police had termed the incident a case of an inter-gang rivalry and said the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was behind the killing. Canada-based Goldy Brar, who is a member of the gang, had claimed the responsibility for the murder. 

Days after the murder, Lawrence Bishnoi’s nephew Sachin had called up a national news channel and confessed to shooting Moose Wala as an act of revenge. He alleged that Moose Wala was involved in the killing of Vicky Middukhera, a close friend of Bishnoi.

(With PTI inputs)

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