A gangster who claims to have ordered the hit of popular Indian musician Sidhu Moose Wala has revealed why he did it.
Sidhu Moose Wala, 28, was shot 24 times in his car by unidentified attackers in the northern state of Punjab in June 2022.
A Punjabi gangster known as Goldy Brar, who is based in Canada, claimed responsibility on Facebook hours after the attack.
Despite the murder taking place three years ago, no one has faced trial, and the location of Goldy Brar is unknown.
However, in the latest turn of events, BBC Eye managed to contact the gangster to ask him about the death of Moose Wala.
Brar told BBC World Service that the rapper’s ‘arrogance’ and ‘mistakes’ led to his untimely death.
‘In his arrogance, he [Moose Wala] made some mistakes that could not be forgiven,’ Brar said.
‘We had no option but to kill him. He had to face the consequences of his actions. It was either him or us. As simple as that.’
A day before the attack, the Punjab government had scaled back on security cover for more than 400 individuals, including Moose Wala, in a bid to clamp down on VIP culture, local media reports said at the time.
Hindustan Times said that Moose Wala still had access to two armed guards, downgraded from the four he had before, but had chosen to travel without them on the evening of his death.
The rapper’s mother, Charan Kaur, revealed just weeks before her son was slain, that he was set to get married that November to Amandeep Kaur, a former assistant with whom he fell deeply in love.
‘Just a little more time he will not be a bachelor anymore. We are preparing for his wedding, which will take place this year after the elections,’ Charan Kaur had previously told reporters.
Thousands of people descended on the village of Jawaharke days after Moose Wala’s death to pay their respects as his body was cremated.
According to health officials with access to the singer’s autopsy report, Moose Wala – whose real name is Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu – was hit with bullets 24 times, BBC Punjabi reports.
Thousands lined the roads as his body was taken for cremation on a trolley decorated with flowers and pulled by a tractor – reportedly the singer’s favourite vehicle.
Moose Wala’s murder shocked fans at home and in Punjabi communities from Canada to Britain.
The artist was shot while driving his car in Mansa. He was rushed to the hospital and declared dead.
A video circulated on social media at the time showed what is understood to be the aftermath of the attack, featuring a bullet-battered black vehicle with smashed windows.
The seats could also be seen covered in blood, Hindustan Times reported.
Moose Wala hit the music scene in 2017 and quickly rose to fame with songs that attacked rival rappers and politicians.
Prevalent themes explored in his songs included community pride and gunning down enemies.
His work also led him to politics, and in 2021, the rapper joined India’s Congress Party, unsuccessfully running in the state’s assembly elections.
At the time, Punjab’s chief minister Bhagwant Mann said ‘no culprit will be spared’ and that he was deeply shocked and saddened by the killing.
Rahul Gandhi, a senior Congress leader, took to Twitter to express his condolences over the killing.
‘Deeply shocked and saddened by the murder of promising Congress leader and talented artist,’ he said.
Moose Wala was a star not just in India but also abroad, particularly in Canada and the UK – both home to large Punjabi-origin communities.
Bollywood actors and Indian politicians paid tribute, as did hip hop star Drake, who posted a photo of Moose Wala and his mother with the message ‘RIP Moose’.
In Canada, rapper Gursewak Dhillon said Moose Wala had ‘revolutionised Punjabi music’ in the country.
He told The Globe and Mail newspaper: ‘Before Sidhu, people used to look to India and the UK for the freshest Punjabi music. After his rise, Canada became the centre of the industry.’
‘There are many young kids in Canada for whom he is a trailblazer.’
Moose Wala was also a controversial figure and was often criticised for promoting gun culture through his music videos, in which he regularly posed with firearms.
He had police cases registered against him for his songs titled ‘Panj Golian’ (‘Five bullets’) and ‘Sanju’, The Hindustan Times reported.
‘Sanju’ was inspired by Bollywood bad-boy superstar Sanjay Dutt, who was jailed for the illegal possession of an assault rifle.
Moose Wala’s final song, ‘The Last Ride’, included the line ‘the glow on the man’s face tells you that he’ll die young’ – in a homage to American rapper Tupac Shakur, who was shot dead in his car in 1996, aged just 25.
Moose Wala’s murder also put the spotlight on the dark underbelly of Punjab, a major transit route for drugs entering India from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Many observers link the narcotics trade – mostly heroin and opium – to an uptick in gang-related violence and the use of illegal arms in the state.
According to media reports, some of the dozens of gangs active in Punjab have been demanding protection money from rappers and even buying into music companies.
