Sidhu Moosewala murder case: Preparation begins to arrest mastermind Sachin Bishnoi

The Union government has dispatched a team to Azerbaijan to apprehend dreaded gangster Sachin Bishnoi who is accused of the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala. A team of Delhi Police’s Special Cell was sent to Azerbaijan and it is expected to return tomorrow bringing Sachin Bishnoi back to India who forged documents to flee from the country.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, which cites officials who are aware of the matter said that the special team landed in Azerbaijan on Sunday and were in the process of completing the legal formalities

A Central Bureau of Investigation official said to Hindustan Times “He fled to Dubai on a fake passport issued in the name of Tilak Raj Tuteja, a resident of Sangam Vihar in southeast Delhi. Later, he took a flight to Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, where he was detained,” said the officer, asking not to be named.

The officer said Sachin Bishnoi moved an appeal before a higher appellate authority in Azerbaijan to avoid his extradition. “When it was rejected there earlier this month [July], we apprised the development to the [Union] ministry of home affairs (MHA), which asked the Delhi Police to go ahead to bring the gangster back,” he added.

An officer of the Special Cell, which is dedicated to preventing, detecting, and investigating cases related to terrorism, and organised crimes, said after the completion of formalities, Sachin Bishnoi will be brought back to India. “He was [also] wanted in an extortion case in the Mohan Garden area here [Delhi], besides two similar offences in Punjab. Red corner notice was also issued in all these three cases,” he said, asking not to be named.

Meanwhile last week, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested Vikramjeet Singh alias Vikram Brar, a key aide of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, following his deportation from the UAE to India.

In a statement, NIA said a team from the NIA had gone to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to facilitate this deportation and bring him back to India.

Brar was involved in the killing of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, besides targeted killings of innocent people and businessmen, the NIA said.

He was also involved in cases of smuggling of weapons and extortion in India with the help of dreaded gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and others.

"Absconding since 2020, Brar was wanted in at least 11 cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion under various sections of IPC as well as the Arms Act. Eleven look out notices had been issued against him by competent authority on request by various State Police, including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi," it said.

The arrest was made on Tuesday in a terror-gangster conspiracy case that the federal agency is investigating. The agency described it as "a major catch" in the terror-gangster-smuggler nexus case.

*With agency inputs