Shaganpreet Singh, the manager of deceased singer-politician Sidhu Moosewala, has filed an anticipatory bail petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in connection with the murder of Youth Akali leader Vicky Middukhera.
He also requested security, stating that criminals Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar, the suspects in the singer’s murder case, had threatened his life.
On June 30, Justice Anoop Chitkara’s Bench issued a notice to the state administration and requested a progress report on the probe by July 4, 2022. Shaganpreet, 29, stated in his plea that he was a close friend of the artist and worked as a de-facto manager for Moose Wala, and that he travelled to Australia on April 6.
“The petitioner is receiving death threats from associates of Bishnoi and Brar,” the plea claimed, adding that being his manager, he too apprehended the same fate as that of Moose Wala at the hands of these gangsters who believed that he had a role in the murder of the youth Akali leader murdered in Sector 71 on August 7 last year.
It should be recalled that Goldy Brar, a close aide of Bishnoi, claimed responsibility for the death of Sidhu Moosewala last month. It was said that because Moosewala and his manager Shagunpreet (current applicant) played an active role in Middukhera’s murder, Moosewala was assassinated to revenge his death.
Soon after Moosewala’s murder, Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang member, Goldy Brar (now in Canada), claimed responsibility in a Facebook post, stating that Moosewala and his manager, Shagunpreet, were involved in Vicky’s murder. While driving his SUV, Moosewala was shot at least 30 times with an automatic assault rifle.
Shagunpreet petitioned the High Court, stating that the persons accused of the attack on the deceased are also being interrogated and are being held behind bars, and that, with the exception of one accused, none of the accused in the matter have ever stated that the petitioner was involved in the attack or plan.
“The petitioner was neither named in the FIR (pertaining to murder of Middukhera) nor had his role surfaced during the investigation conducted for around eight months. The investigating agency, by taking the benefit of his absence, manipulated disclosure statement of one Ajay alias Sunny on April 10, 2022, introducing the name of the petitioner, the disclosure statement was manipulated with “ulterior motives” and was recorded under pressure and coercion”, the plea claimed referring to the probe into Middukhera’s murder.
In his petition, he further stated that the police are practically stalking him and that he faces instant arrest as soon as he enters his home, and that he should be granted anticipatory bail.
He requested that his petition be approved and that he be granted anticipatory relief under Sections 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code 1860, Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act 1959, and Sections 120B and 473 IPC added afterwards.
However, the Court denied him any relief, citing the fact that he is currently residing in Australia, and thus there is no immediate need for any interim relief until the next date of hearing.
On August 7, last year, Vicky Middukhera was murdered in Sector 71 Mohali. Shaganpreet Singh, Moose Wala’s manager, had filed an anticipatory bail petition in this case. Shaganpreet, 29, stated in his plea that he is being threatened with death by associates of gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar.
Case Title: Shaganpreet Singh vs State of Punjab