Ongoing case · 2022
Also known as Sidhu Moose Wala's Assassination · Assassination of Sidhu Moose Wala
Ongoing case: this file carries charge-sheet facts only. Anyone charged is presumed innocent unless convicted.
The short answer
Punjabi musician Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead by unidentified assailants in his car on 29 May 2022 in Jawaharke village, Mansa, a day after his police security detail was reduced.
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Suggest coverage for Killing of Sidhu Moose WalaPunjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, 28, was shot dead by unidentified assailants while travelling in his private car in Jawaharke village, Mansa district, Punjab, on 29 May 2022. He had been travelling with two others in his personal vehicle rather than his bullet-proof car, and did not have his police security detail with him at the time, reportedly because his Thar SUV could not accommodate five people.
The day before the killing, Moose Wala was among 424 people whose police security cover was reduced or removed entirely as part of measures ahead of the anniversary of Operation Blue Star, which left him with two commandos instead of four.
According to police, a gang led by Lawrence Bishnoi claimed responsibility for the killing in an unverified Facebook post, though Bishnoi denied making the claim. He was nonetheless held by Punjab Police, who described him as considering him the "mastermind" of the murder as of June 2022. Police stated the gang claimed the killing was in revenge for the 2021 murder of Akali Youth leader Vicky Middukhera, alleging an aide of Moose Wala had a role in that killing, though no legal evidence has been presented to support this claim. A Canadian gangster of Punjabi origin, Satinder Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, separately claimed responsibility, saying his "Punjab module" carried out the shooting. Punjab Police later confirmed the involvement of the Bishnoi gang. Moose Wala's father stated that his son had been receiving death threats from gangsters over extortion, a statement corroborated by singer Mika Singh.
Investigators recovered bullets from an AN-94 Russian assault rifle and a pistol at the scene. Six suspects were detained from Uttarakhand, including one detained on 30 May while hiding among pilgrims at Gurudwara Shri Hemkund Sahib. An autopsy conducted by five doctors and videographed found that Moose Wala suffered 19 bullet injuries and died within 15 minutes. He was cremated in his ancestral village on 31 May, with last rites performed on his farmland.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann condemned the killing, calling Moose Wala "a cultural icon of Punjab," ordered an investigation into the security reduction, and announced a judicial commission led by a sitting Punjab and Haryana High Court judge to examine the killing.
Subsequent developments included the arrest of Ankit Sirsa by Delhi police on 3 July as one of the shooters; the killing of gangsters Manpreet Mannu and Jagrup Rupa by Punjab Police on 20 July; and reports of the arrest of an absconding shooter, Deepak Mundi, with differing dates reported (26 July by India TV and 11 September near the Bengal-Nepal border by The Indian Express). Two other accused were later killed and a third injured in a jail fight at Goindwal Sahib Central Jail in Tarn Taran district.
Akali Youth leader Vicky Middukhera was killed; police say the Bishnoi gang later cited this as motive for Moose Wala's murder.
Police security cover was reduced or removed for 424 people, including Moose Wala, ahead of the Operation Blue Star anniversary.
Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead by unidentified assailants in his car in Jawaharke village, Mansa.
One murder suspect was detained by Punjab Police while hiding among pilgrims at Gurudwara Shri Hemkund Sahib; Delhi unit of INC staged a protest near Arvind Kejriwal's residence.
Moose Wala was cremated in his ancestral village; last rites performed on his farmland.
Lawrence Bishnoi was held by Punjab Police, who considered him the mastermind of the murder.
Bishnoi allegedly admitted involvement in the murder and a rivalry with Moose Wala.
A bhog ceremony was arranged in Mansa.
Ankit Sirsa was arrested by Delhi police as one of the shooters involved in the killing.
Gangsters Manpreet Mannu and Jagrup Rupa, suspected of involvement, were killed by Punjab Police.
India TV reported Punjab Police arrested the last absconding shooter, Deepak Mundi.
The Indian Express reported Deepak Mundi was arrested near the Bengal-Nepal border.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Punjabi musician shot dead in his car on 29 May 2022 in Jawaharke village, Mansa.[3]
Charged by Mansa Police, in a 1,850-page chargesheet filed against 24 accused in May 2023, in the May 2022 murder of singer Sidhu Moose Wala; identified by police as one of six shooters who fired at least six rounds from two pistols at close range. Arrested by Delhi Police Special Cell on 4 July 2022; case remains before the courts.[3]
Charged with murder as the identified shooter in the Bolero module that killed Sidhu Moose Wala; arrested in September 2022 near the Bengal-Nepal border; named in the Mansa court chargesheet; trial pending.[3]
Identified by Punjab Police as one of the shooters who fired on Sidhu Moose Wala, causing his death; killed in a police encounter near Amritsar on 20 July 2022, so was never prosecuted.[3]
Charged with murder and criminal conspiracy after a Mansa court framed charges against him and 26 others in 2024, under IPC sections including 302 (murder) and 120B (conspiracy) plus the Arms Act; identified by Punjab Police as the case mastermind; trial pending.[3]
Identified by Punjab Police as one of the shooters who fired on Sidhu Moose Wala, causing his death; killed in a police encounter near Amritsar on 20 July 2022, so was never prosecuted.[3]
Charged with criminal conspiracy and murder in an NIA chargesheet naming him alongside Lawrence Bishnoi and others; separately designated a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act; remains absconding in Canada, and no trial has concluded.[3]
Punjab Chief Minister who condemned the murder, ordered an investigation into the security reduction, and announced a judicial commission to investigate the killing.[3]
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Credit: Kulwant Singh.CC BY-SA 2.5SourceONGOINGListenSangrur district, Punjab, India · 2010s
In November 2019, Jagmael Singh, a 37-year-old Dalit construction worker in Sangrur district, Punjab, was abducted and tortured by four men following a dispute at a village panchayat gathering of upper-caste Sikhs. He died nine days later from his injuries, prompting protests and demands for justice from Dalit organizations.
UNSOLVEDListenPunjab Armored Police headquarters, Jalandhar, Punjab, India · 1980s
On 3 October 1986, Khalistan Commando Force militants led by Labh Singh attacked Punjab Police chief Julio Ribeiro at the Punjab Armored Police headquarters in Jalandhar, wounding him and his wife and killing two officers.
SOLVEDListenKasur, Punjab, Pakistan · 2010s
Seven-year-old Zainab Ansari was abducted, raped, tortured, and strangled in Kasur, Pakistan in January 2018. Imran Ali, identified as a serial rapist and killer of multiple prepubescent girls in the area, was convicted and executed later that year.
SOLVEDListenLeongatha, Victoria, Australia · 2023
Erin Patterson murdered three relatives and seriously injured a fourth by serving beef Wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms at a family lunch in Leongatha, Victoria, in July 2023. She was convicted on all charges in July 2025 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Credit: National Center for Missing and Exploited ChildrenEditorial useSourceOVERTURNEDListenColorado Springs, Colorado · 2020
Gannon Stauch, an 11-year-old boy from Colorado Springs, was reported missing on January 27, 2020, and later found to have been murdered by his stepmother, Letecia Stauch (also known as Letecia Hardin), who was convicted in 2023 and sentenced to life without parole; her conviction was overturned on appeal in April 2026.
Satilla Shores, near Brunswick, Glynn County, Georgia · 2020
On February 23, 2020, 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery was chased by three white men in trucks while jogging in the Satilla Shores neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia, and was fatally shot by Travis McMichael after a struggle. No arrests were made for over two months until a video of the killing went viral, after which Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan were charged, tried, and convicted of murder and other crimes in state court, and later convicted of federal hate crime and attempted kidnapping charges.
