Sandeep Bishnoi, a Haryana-based gangster was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Rajasthan's Nagaur city on Monday, 19 September. The police said that four others were also injured in the same incident, reported Hindustan Times.
An unverified social media account attributed to Davinder Bambiha gang claimed responsibility of the killing. However, the same is yet to be confirmed.
'No Link With the Killing of Singer Sidhu Moose Wala': Punjab Police
Meanwhile, Punjab Police has said that Sandeep Bishnoi had "no link with the killing of Punjab Singer Sidhu Moose Wala."
"He has been in and out of the gang. He is not Lawrence's relative. He is not wanted in any case in Punjab and has no link with Punjab Singer Sidhu Moose Wala’s killing. We are in touch with Rajasthan police to ascertain if there is involvement of any Punjab gangster or as claimed by Bambiha gang in the killing of Sandeep. There is a possibility that he was killed by local Rajasthani Gangs,” a police official said as quoted by The Tribune.
Sandeep Bishnoi aka Sethi (33) was a resident of Hisar district in Haryana, who was involved in multiple crimes, Additional DGP (law and order), VK Singh said, reported Hindustan Times.
He further added that Sandeep was released on bail from Nagaur jail on 12 September in connection with a murder case in 2020 in which he was the co-accused.
The attack on Sandeep, by at least six assailants on motorcycles, took place around 1:30 pm on Monday, outside the court after he had appeared for a hearing, Singh said.
Inspector General of Police, Ajmer Range, Rupinder Singh said that Sandeep was involved in five criminal cases in Rajasthan, including two murder cases.
'Rajasthan Will Be Known for Crimes': BJP
In view of the incident, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Satish Poonia attacked Congress government in Rajasthan.
"Gang war in Nagaur, that too absolutely fearless. Gehlot ji, for whose safety is your government working? The state has become the first choice of criminals and now the day is not far when Rajasthan will be known for crimes. Now change is the solution," Poonia tweeted.
However, state Cabinet minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said that it is "unfortunate that the BJP is politicising the incident."
“A person got killed, which is unfortunate but he was a sharp shooter of Haryana. People from outside the state are coming and committing crime but police is taking strict action. It is unfortunate that the BJP is politicising and playing with the incident, instead of facing the challenges,” he said.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times and The Tribune.)