Indian police are focusing on a Canada-based gangster who has claimed responsibility for killing a renowned Indian singer and rapper who attended Humber College.
The India-based Punjabi-language singer and rapper Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, better known by his stage name, Sidhu Moosewala, was shot dead while in his car in the northern Indian state of Punjab on Sunday.
Reputed gangster Goldy Brar, who allegedly belongs to the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang in India, said in a Facebook post the murder was to avenge the death of “our brother” Vicky Middukhera.
Middukhera was a student leader and Youth Akali Dal member who was shot dead in the Punjabi city of Mohali on May 4 last year.
Brar stated in the post that Moosewala’s name had come up in connection with the murder of Middukhehra.
Viresh Kumar Bhawra, the Director-General of Police in Punjab, said in a media conference that Moosewala was driving his car when the attack took place.
“His security was reduced from four to two…but he didn’t take the two commandos or his private bulletproof vehicle with him when he went out,” Bhawra said.
Twitter image of a message sent by Goldy Brar that claims "we are taking the responsibility" in the slaying of singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, also known as Sidhu Moosewala. Photo credit: Twitter
Security for the 28-year-old singer was reduced a few days ago by the Punjab government to boost the police presence for the anniversary of Operation Blue Star when the Indian military stormed a Sikh temple in 1984, the Punjab police said.
The former Humber College student earned his international musical fame after moving to Canada as an international student. He became one of India’s most popular and global hip-hop artists.
The artist has more than 11 million subscribers on YouTube, and almost nine million Instagram followers.
The rising artist’s untimely demise has come as a shocker to his fans who took to social media to acknowledge the loss of the 28-year-old singer-turned-politician with the official opposition party, the Indian National Congress.
Moosewala was planning an eight-city tour of Canada and was set to play Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum on July 23 as part of his Back 2 Business Tour. However, ticket sales for the Vancouver date were paused last week amid security concerns.
Moosewala’s debut album PBX 1 peaked at 66 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart while No Name peaked at 73.
Six of his tracks peaked on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 including the songs Game and 295.
His 2019’s song 47 peaked at 17 on The Official UK Singles Chart while five of his tracks were ranked on the Top Triller Global.
His last song The Last Ride, was a tribute to one of his biggest influences, Tupac Shakur who was also shot to death in his car in 1996 in the U.S.
The music video which garnered millions of views on YouTube featured a recreation of the scene where Shakur died.
Canadian comedian Lily Singh remembered Moosewala, calling his demise “absolutely heartbreaking.
“To my global audience that may not be familiar, today a young legend in the Punjabi music industry was killed,” Singh wrote on Instagram.
“If you see tribute images of him today, please don’t keep scrolling, but rather take a moment to stream the music of Sidhu Moosewala,” she said.
She called the late singer’s music revolutionary and said his soundtracks made people experience a perfect blend of hip hop, rap and folk music.
Canadian rapper Drake also paid tribute to Moosewala by posting a photo of the singer with the caption “RIP MOOSE” on his Instagram story.
Punjabi-language NBA commentator and community advocate Parminder Singh knew Moosewala from his time in Brampton.
He remembered Moosewala as a “humble” person who always “had a smile on his face” and called his death “a huge hit on the Punjabi music industry.
“He was a very quiet person…not what one would think would be a character of a rapper,” he said.
Parminder Singh said Moosewala was “in-tune with everything taking placed around him” and was “very real” with his music.
“[He] spoke about a lot of things…which were controversial…like the 1984 attack on the Golden Temple,” he said. “Moosewala was the only child of his parents and…taking a life never justifies anything. Now his [parents] will suffer for the rest of their lives.”
Soon after Moosewala’s murder, the internet was flooded with graphic photos and videos of his body.
Parminder Singh called the showing of the images dehumanizing and “horrible and utter disrespect” to anyone and their family.
“We need to have a moral filter and should not be sharing these forms of images. It’s very hurtful…we should think twice about the content that we circulate,” he said.