‘Your turn may come in 2 to 6 months’: Sidhu Moosewala’s father to Bathinda shopkeepers protesting colleague’s murder

Balkaur Singh made the remarks as he participated in the dharna the shopkeepers are staging to demand the arrest of the perpetrators and justice for Johal.

“We all have to come together. There are gangsters in every village and city. They have marked their areas and are extorting shopkeepers and traders. Nobody is safe among you. Your turn may come in two to six months. The Punjab government has not taken a single action against gangsters,” said Balkaur Singh.

Singh also talked about gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is an accused in the murder case of Sidhu Moosewala. Moosewala was shot dead in Mansa last year.

“Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi is doing business of Rs. 5 crore per month from jails. It is what the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said in its probe available on the website. How can someone run such a big nexus from jail?” he asked.

“I have been asking the Chief Minister about how the interview of Lawrence Bishnoi was conducted from jail. What was his motive? Did he want to threaten the traders that he has such a big network that can be run from jail? The government is not ready to take note of it,” he added.

He said, “One of today’s reports said that 42 per cent of prisoners in jails are drug addicts. How can drugs reach jails after crossing three security layers? First, they are turned into addicts and then are used for executing crimes. I have been saying from the very first day that these killings of common people can be stopped when such murderers are punished on the road. Only then can some justice be delivered.”

According to Gulneet Singh Khurana, Senior Superintendent of Police, Bathinda, Johal, who had played an important role during the recent agitation against the new parking rules in the city market, had received no threats or extortion calls.

Khurana said they are scanning CCTV cameras near the crime scene to identify the accused and find reasons behind the attack.

The six bullets, according to the police, which were found at the crime scene are believed to have been fired from a 9mm pistol. They say these pistols are mostly used by gangsters due to their rapid firing capability.