Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday sought support from the Canada government "for nabbing gangsters operating from Canadian soil". This comes days after the murder of singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moose Wala allegedly on directions of a gangster in Canada.
The government press release on Mr Mann's meeting with Canadian High Commissioner Cameron Mackay, however, did not say if the specific case was discussed.
Gangster Satinderjit Singh alias Goldy Brar, who purportedly took responsibility for Sidhu Moose Wala's May 29 murder in a Facebook post, is believed to be in Canada after migrating on a student visa in 2017.
As the Canada envoy met Mr Mann at his residence in Chandigarh, the Chief Minister sought joint police operations between Canada and Punjab, arguing that "it is the only way which can free both these lands from gangsters". Mr Mann later tweeted photos from the meeting and said the envoy assured him of a "solution".
Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice against Goldy Brar in two older cases registered against him in Faridkot. On this matter, too, Mr Mann's government is facing questions about not being pro-active in acting against Brar and others like him.
The Punjab Police said it had already sought the notice against Goldy Brar 10 days before the murder of Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu alias Sidhu Moose Wala, in connection with older cases. But the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India's liaison agency with Interpol, said the state police sought the notice only on May 30, a day after Moose Wala's murder.
Born in Punjab's Sri Muktsar Sahib district, Goldy Brar, 28, is an active member of the gang of Lawrence Bishnoi, police said. Lawrence Bishnoi, who is in jail in Delhi, has been named as a mastermind in the murder case.
So far, one of the eight men alleged to have shot Sidhu Moose Wala has been arrested, police said on Friday. Harkamal Ranu, a resident of Bathinda, was handed over to the police, his family members claimed. This was the tenth arrest in the case.
Meanwhile, praising the police in his meeting with the Canada envoy, Mr Mann said, "Punjab Police has a glorious tradition of upholding law and order even in hostile situations. If advanced police force like Canada cooperates with Punjab Police, then these gangs can be weeded out."
Sidhu Moose Wala's murder took place just a day after Punjab's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government curtailed security of over 400 persons, including him, in a publicised move "against VIP culture". The singer still had two policemen allotted to him but had not taken them along that evening.
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