Absconding suspected killers of Sidhu Moose Wala update their social media accounts

Ludhiana: Mandeep Singh Toofan and Manpreet Singh alias Mani Rayya, suspected shooters of Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moose Wala and wanted in the murder case, have updated their social media accounts recently throwing an open challenge to the police for not being able to track and nab them.

The two suspected shooters were allegedly part of a 'Plan B' in the murder plot of Sidhu Moose Wala.

After shooting the singer to death on the periphery of Jawaharke village in Punjab’s Mansa on May 29, they were reportedly dropped to Bathinda along with the weapons by an Amritsar resident in his Toyota Fortuner SUV on June 19. The SUV owner was later arrested by the Ludhiana police on June 30, reported TOI.

Both Manni Rayya and Mandeep Singh Toofan updated their Facebook accounts on Saturday.

Mani on his FB handle uploaded a picture of him with a caption, "Not all battles are fought for winning it; however, some are fought to show your existence."

Similarly, Toofan shared a news clip and refuted the allegations of being involved in drug smuggling, as reported by TOI.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigation) Varinder Singh Brar said that during the investigation of Sidhu Moose Wala's case, police learned that a Fortuner SUV was captured with suspicious people. “While tracing the movement of the SUV, Ludhiana police on June 30 arrested the vehicle’s owner Satbir Singh who belongs to Amritsar with an illegal weapon. During the interrogation, he admitted that he had dropped Toofan and Mani along with another unidentified man to Bathinda, and in the midway, they had picked weapons from two different locations. Toofan and Mani are wanted in the murder case now," said DCP Brar.

So far, the probe indicates that Toofan, Mani, and their unidentified accomplice who were dropped to Bathinda were involved in the Plan B of killing Sidhu Moose Wala. However, this would be ascertained only after their arrest, added Brar.

Ludhiana police have also arrested Sandeep Kahlon, nephew of senior Akali leader Nirmal Kahlon, who had asked Satbir to drop the suspected shooters to Bathinda, reported TOI.

Earlier in connection with the Moose Wala murder case, Delhi Police had arrested three shooters, including Priyavrat Fauji, Ankit Sirsa, and Kashish while two other shooters - Jagroop Rupa and Manpreet Manu were killed in an encounter with Punjab Police in Amritsar district on July 20. Three other shooters-- Deepak Mundi, Toofan, and Mani are still absconding.

It may be noted that a couple of hours after the broad daylight shooting of Moose Wala, Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar had also posted a status on his Facebook account taking the responsibility for the killing of the singer. Despite this, the police have failed in keeping track of the social media accounts of the accused, reported TOI.

Inspector general of police (cybercrime) R K Jaiswal when asked about it, told TOI that the cybercrime cell does not directly work on these criminal elements as there is the anti-gangster task force (AGTF) for this purpose. “The cybercrime cell provides all the required assistance when any request is made from the counter intelligence or anti-gangster task force for blocking any social media account or for tracking them,” added Jaiswal.