TARN TARAN: Two gangsters lodged in the Goindwal Sahib Central Jail in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district in connection with the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala were killed during a clash among inmates on Sunday, police said.
Another associate of the deceased gangsters was injured in the incident, which took place around 3.30 pm, said a jail official, requesting anonymity.
Police have identified the deceased as Mandeep Singh alias Toofan, a resident of Batala, and Manmohan Singh alias Mohna, a resident of Budhlada in Bhatinda. The injured gangster was identified as Keshav, also of Bathinda.
“The inmates lodged in the jail in connection with the killing of Sidhu Moosewala clashed among each other,” said Iqbal Singh Brar, the superintendent of the Goindwal jail. “The attackers used thin pieces of metal during the clash.”
Late on Sunday night, police said two more inmates were hospitalised after receiving injuries in the clash. Arshad Khan of Rajasthan and Manpreet Singh alias Bhau of Faridkot were brought to the Tarn Taran civil hospital from where they were referred to Amritsar, officers said. A vehicle (Bolero) used in the murder of Moosewala belonged to Khan, while Bhau is accused of supplying weapons to the shooters.
Initial investigation indicated that the three victims belonged to the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang and they were attacked by some inmates, who are also accused in the Moosewala murder case but belong to the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang, said a senior police officer, requesting anonymity.
Bhagwanpuria and Bishnoi, along with Goldy Brar, have been named as the prime conspirators in the murder of Moosewala, who was shot dead in Mansa district on May 29 last year.
“There are 25 prisoners in the high-security zone of the prison, which is further divided into sub major cells. Most of them are accused in the Moosewala murder case. They have been isolated in the prison for avoiding clashes with other gangs of the jail,” said the officer. “Our investigation so far has indicated that the accused in this high security zone were divided into two groups—Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang and Lawrence Bishnoi gang. It seems the three victims, who are members of Bhagwanpuria gang, were attacked by the gang members of Lawrence Bishnoi.”
The officer added: “The attackers include Sachin Bhiwani and Manpreet Bhau, both members of Bishnoi gang, and their associates. We are trying to ascertain the name of other accused.”
Bhiwani is also accused of harbouring shooters of Moosewala.
Mandeep Tufan was said to be a close associate of notorious gangster Jaggu Bhagwan, who is facing over 30 criminal cases in Punjab, including of murder and attempt to murder. Tufan was accused of providing vehicles to shooters involved in Moosewala’s murder. He was also accused of providing shelter to the two shooters, who were killed in an encounter with Punjab Police in Amritsar in July last year.
Tufan was arrested in September last year in connection with the murder of gangster Ranbir Singh alias Rana Kandowalia in Amritsar. Besides facing several criminal cases, Mohna was also accused of conducting recce of Moosewala before his killing. Keshav was charged with supplying weapons to Moosewala’s killers and providing a vehicle used in the attack.
Soon after the incident, the victims were rushed to Tarn Taran’s civil hospital. Both Tufan and Mohna were declared brought dead by the doctors while Keshav was referred to Amritsar’s Guru Nanak Dev hospital citing his critical condition.
It was not immediately clear what triggered the clash, but police officers, who wished not to be named, said the clash broke out after an argument.
Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said their teams were investigating to ascertain the exact reason behind the clash.