Chandigarh, Feb 4: Punjab Police have arrested Mandeep Singh alias Chotta Mani, a close associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, in connection with his alleged involvement in the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala and the escape of gangster Deepak Tinu in 2017.
The arrest was made on Saturday based on reliable information about Chotta Mani’s presence in the Zirakpur area. Teams of the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) tracked his location and apprehended him along with his accomplice Jatinder Singh.
“Following reliable inputs about presence of Chotta Mani in the area of Zirakpur, teams of AGTF… managed to track the location of the accused and arrested him along with his accomplice,” said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav.
Police also recovered two .32 caliber pistols and 12 live cartridges from their possession. Both accused have a history of criminal activity, including attempts to murder, extortion, robbery, and arms violations.
“Preliminary investigation has also revealed that the arrested accused were tasked to carry out target killings of rival gangsters by their foreign-based handlers,” DGP Yadav added.
Further investigation revealed that Chotta Mani, along with other associates, was directed by foreign handlers in 2022 to commit “sensational crimes” on instructions from an Ayodhya-based politician, Vikas Singh, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in November 2023.
Lawrence Bishnoi reportedly attempted to help Chotta Mani settle abroad by sending him to Dubai on three occasions to facilitate his entry into Europe. However, these attempts were unsuccessful, forcing Chotta Mani to return to India.
The arrest of Chotta Mani is a significant development in the ongoing investigation into the Sidhu Moosewala murder case and exposes the wider network supporting organized crime in the region.
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