Punjabi Singer Sidhu Moose Wala shot dead, day after security withdrawn
Chandigarh, May 29: Famous Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Punjab's Mansa district, a day after the state government withdrew his security cover.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Mansa) Gobinder Singh told PTI that several bullets hit Moosewala, 27, who was travelling along with his two friends in a jeep when he was attacked at village Jawahar Ke.
Mansa civil surgeon Ranjeet Rai told reporters that Moosewala was brought dead at the civil hospital. He said that the two others who also sustained bullet injuries have been referred to another hospital.
He had fought on the Congress ticket from Mansa assembly seat in the recent assembly election and was defeated by AAP's Vijay Singla.
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known as Sidhu Moosewala, was among the 424 people whose security was withdrawn by the Punjab Police on Saturday.
Leaders of the Congress and other political parties expressed shock and anger over the killing of Moosewala and attacked the AAP government for withdrawing his security cover.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said no one involved in the gruesome murder will be spared and appealed for calm.
I am shocked and deeply saddened by the gruesome murder of Siddhu Moosewala. Nobody involved will be spared. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and his fans across the world. I appeal everyone to stay calm, said Mann in a tweet.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, who played a major role in bringing Moosewala into the Congress fold, said he was "shocked beyond belief and expression" and demanded dismissal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
''He was showered with bullets in Mansa just 2 days after @BhagwantMann govt withdrew his security. @AAPPunjab govt has lost moral authority. It must be dismissed, said Warring in a tweet.
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who had earlier questioned the state government after the names of the people whose security was withdrawn became public, too demanded action against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.
"We have been warning Punjab Govt to pay attention to Punjab's situation. I demand an FIR against Bhagwant Mann for negligence of his Chief Ministerial duties which has cost the life of #sidhumoosewala. Bhagwant Mann along with @ArvindKejriwal should be booked u/s 302,'' he said.
Former chief minister Amarinder Singh alleged that law and order has completely collapsed in Punjab.
''Criminals have no fear of law. AAP Punjab government has miserably failed. Nobody is safe in Punjab!
The others whose security has been removed included former MLAs, two Jathedars of Takht Damdama Sahib and Takht Kesgarh Sahib, heads of Deras and serving and retired policemen.
Moosewala had joined the Congress last year ahead of the Punjab assembly polls.
The singer had faced criticism from several quarters for promoting gun culture in his songs. He had also been booked for allegedly promoting violence through his song ''Sanju''.
He was booked under the Arms Act and the Disaster Management Act in Barnala after photographs showing him firing an AK-47 rifle at a firing range during the COVID-19 lockdown appeared on social media.
Shocking to hear about death of #sidhumoosewala in a shootout-not sharing the videos received via WhatsApp due to sensitivity but shot at many times
— Jaiveer Shergill (@JaiveerShergill) May 29, 2022
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Slain Australia beach shooting suspect native of Hyderabad: T'gana police
Hyderabad/Melbourne (PTI): Sajid Akram, the 50-year-old slain suspect in a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia, was an Indian citizen hailing from Hyderabad, Telangana Police revealed on Tuesday.
While he had migrated to Australia 27 years ago, Akram carried an Indian passport. Akram, along with his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, recently travelled to the Philippines on an Indian passport.
Akram, one of the two suspects in the mass shooting that has left 15 people dead and dozens injured, migrated to Australia in 1998 and had limited contact with his family here since then, the Telangana DGP's office said in a statement.
"Sajid Akram (50) is originally from Hyderabad, India. He completed his B.Com degree in Hyderabad and migrated to Australia in search of employment, approximately 27 years ago, in November 1998," it said.
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He married a European-origin woman before settling permanently in Australia. The couple have one son, Naveed (the second suspect who is in custody at a hospital in Australia) and one daughter, it said.
Naveed and Akram's daughter were born in Australia and are citizens of that country, the statement said.
On Tuesday, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett described the mass shooting as "a terrorist attack inspired by the Islamic State."
According to Australian authorities, the suspects were a father and son, aged 50 and 24. The older man, who was identified as Sajid Akram, was shot dead.
The Telangana police said Akram visited India on six occasions after migrating to Australia, primarily for family-related reasons such as property matters and to meet his elderly parents.
It is understood that he did not travel to India even at the time of his father's demise, the statement said.
The family members have further expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation, police said.
"The factors that led to the radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed, appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana," Telangana police said.
Telangana Police further said it has no adverse record against Akram during his stay in India before his departure in 1998.
The state police said it remains committed to cooperating with central agencies and other counterparts, as and when required, and urged the public and media to avoid speculation or attribution without verified facts.
Quoting security sources, Australia's ABC News reported that Akram and Naveed travelled to the Philippines to receive "military-style training".
"Investigators are now examining the Akrams' ties to an international jihadist network, after discovering the pair travelled to Manila in early November," it said, quoting officials briefed on the investigation.
The Philippines Bureau of Immigration confirmed the pair arrived in the Philippines from Australia on November 1, declaring the southern city of Davao - a hotbed for Islamic militants since the 1990s - as their destination, it said.
"They left the country on November 28, 2025, on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination," ABC News quoted the Philippines' Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval as saying.
Sandoval said Akram entered the country on an Indian passport, while his son, Naveed, entered on an Australian passport.
In the Philippines, Undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Office and Press Officer for Malacanang Palace Claire Castro said that the National Security Council (NSC) is currently looking into reports that the father and son duo travelled to the country a month before the attack.
