Captain Amarinder Singh said the Bhagwant Mann government has "miserably failed"
Law and order have collapsed in Punjab and criminals no longer fear law, former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said today, targeting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government after singer Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead.
Terming the incident "shocking", Mr Singh said the Bhagwant Mann government has "miserably failed" and "nobody is safe in Punjab".
"Brutal murder of Sidhu Moosewala is shocking. My profound condolences to the bereaved family. Law and order has completely collapsed in Punjab. Criminals have no fear of law. @AAPPunjab government has miserably failed. Nobody is safe in Punjab!," the former Chief Minister tweeted.
Amarinder Singh was forced to resign as Punjab Chief Minister last year amid Congress infighting. He later resigned from the party and found his own outfit, Punjab Lok Congress, which contested the polls in alliance with BJP but failed to taste success.
Moose Wala was shot dead this evening while he was on his way to meet his friends in his village. The incident took place a day after his security cover was scaled down in the Bhagwant Mann government's latest exercise to downsize the protection to VIPs.
He was earlier protected by four armed personnel; the cover was scaled down to two armed guards.
The SUV in which the 28-year-old was travelling was sprayed with bullets and he was found slumped on his seat and bleeding heavily. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead.
The singer had joined Congress in December last year. In the Punjab Assembly elections this year, Sidhu Moose Wala had contested from Mansa on a Congress ticket. He was defeated by AAP's Dr Vijay Singla.
The Bhagwant Mann government has come under fire for publicising its decision to withdraw the security cover of VIPs. Opposition leaders have argued that making such confidential information on VIPs' security cover public made them vulnerable.