Sidhu Moosewala murder: Lawrence Bishnoi moves Punjab and Haryana HC, says ‘falsely named in FIR’

In his petition filed before the high court, Bishnoi through his counsels Sangram Saron and Shubreet Kaur has sought that the Punjab Police be directed for dispensing with his physical presence and production in the FIR no – 103, registered at PS City – I, Mansa, and other FIRs registered against him, as there is serious threat and apprehension to his life and well-being.

Further, Bishnoi has sought that in connection with the FIR registered in Mansa, the Punjab Police be directed to question him through online mode or video conferencing facility or within the precincts of Tihar Jail in New Delhi.

The petition says, “…the petitioner has been named in the FIR no-103 dated May 29, 2022, only to cover up the inadequacies in the investigation. Moreover, the petitioner is being made a scapegoat and is being erroneously held responsible. In fact, even before the FIR was registered, the top most police official of Punjab Police had virtually declared the petitioner responsible for the gruesome murder…the petitioner has been falsely and erroneously named in the FIR without any tangible evidence, based on unreliable claims made on social media platforms. Moreover, the petitioner does not have access to social media platforms or communication devices.”

Bishnoi further submitted that he has serious threat to life and a possibility that upon being produced or while being brought from custody in connection with the investigation being conducted in FIR registered for murder of Shubhdeep Singh, “he (Bishnoi) can be put to harm, or liquidated by adopting extrajudicial means”.

It has been mentioned in the petition that Bishnoi was in custody “since March 15, 2015 in Bharatpur, Central Jail, Rajasthan and thereafter shifted to Tihar Jail, New Delhi and there is no proof, complaint or other material to suggest that the petitioner has been involved in the allegations on the basis of which FIR has been registered at Mansa.” Thus, Bishnoi sought that his interrogation be audio or video recorded in consonance with the directions issued by the Supreme Court.

Earlier, on Wednesday, Bishnoi’s counsel withdrew his plea from the Delhi High Court and had said that he will approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court.