Mann announces setting up judicial panel after Moosewala's father seeks probe by HC judge

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday announced setting up a judicial commission headed by a sitting high court judge to probe the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.

This came after Moosewala’s father Balkaur Singh urged Mann to order a probe by a sitting high court judge into the killing of his son. He also demanded the Punjab government involves the CBI and the NIA in the inquiry.

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Expressing shock over the killing, Mann said, ”The Punjab government will request the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court to get the case enquired into by a sitting judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court.” The state government will extend full cooperation to this panel, including roping in any of the central agencies like the National Investigation Agency (NIA), he said.

Mann assured people that his government will leave no stone unturned to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice. Facing severe criticism from opposition parties over the pruning of the singer’s security cover, the chief minister said he has already ordered an inquiry at the highest level to look into the matter and fix responsibility.

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known as Sidhu Moosewala, was among the 424 people whose security was withdrawn or curtailed by the Punjab Police on Saturday temporarily.

After the deceased singer’s father demanded a public apology from Punjab police chief V K Bhawra for linking his son’s killing with a gang war, the chief minister said he has directed the DGP to issue a clarification.

Mann said Moosewala was a celebrated artist and a cultural icon of Punjab and he has the highest respect for him.

”In this hour of sadness, my prayers are with his family and I pray to the Waheguru to grant peace to the departed soul,” he said.

Earlier Moosewala’s father wrote an emotional letter to the chief minister, seeking a probe by a sitting high court judge into his son’s killing. It is learned that Moosewala’s family was not agreeing to conduct the post-mortem.

In a letter to the chief minister, Balkaur Singh blamed the AAP government’s alleged incompetency for the incident.

”Shubhdeep’s mother is asking me where her son is and when he will return. What reply should I give?” said Singh in an emotional letter. ”I hope that I will get justice.” ”This case should be inquired by a sitting judge of the high court. The Punjab government should ensure assistance of the CBI and the NIA in the inquiry,” he wrote.

Moosewala’s father also demanded that the accountability of officers, who reviewed his son’s security and made public the order of withdrawal of the security cover, be fixed.

Moosewala, 28, was shot dead on Sunday by unidentified assailants in Punjab’s Mansa district, a day after the state government curtailed his security cover. His cousin and a friend, who were traveling in a Mahindra Thar jeep with him, were also injured in the attack.

He had fought the recent assembly election in Punjab on a Congress ticket from Mansa and was defeated by the AAP’s Vijay Singla.

The Punjab Police DGP on Sunday said, ”This incident seems to be a case of an inter-gang rivalry.” He blamed the Lawrence Bishnoi gang for the killing of Moosewala.

At least three weapons and 30 empty cartridge cases were recovered from the killing site.

Moosewala was left with two Punjab Police commandos after the state police withdrew two of four commandos from his security cover. However, he neither took the remaining two commandos nor his bullet-proof vehicle with him on Sunday.