New Delhi: Gangster Goldy Brar, allegedly the mastermind behind Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala's murder in May, has been detained in the US, sources have told NDTV. A member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, Goldy Brar had recently moved to the US from Canada, where he was based since 2017.
The gangster was detained in California around November 20, the sources said, adding that the Indian government is yet to receive any official statement from California.
Brar, who owned Moose Wala's murder in a Facebook post, moved to the US reportedly under pressure. He had been living in Fresno city and had cities like Sacramento, Frizow, and Salt Lake as his safe house.
India's spy agency Research And Analysis Wing (R&AW), the intelligence wing of Delhi Police, and their counterparts in Punjab are learned to have received inputs that Goldy Brar's arrest has caused a big stir in California.
The news was confirmed by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during a press conference in Gujarat, where he is campaigning for his party AAP for the assembly polls. "There is a confirmed piece of news this morning. Being the head of the state I tell you that a big gangster sitting in Canada, Goldy Brar has been detained in America," he said, according to news agency ANI.
Recently, Sidhu Moose Wala's father demanded that the government announce a reward of ₹ 2 crores for any information on Goldy Brar.
Speaking at an event in Amritsar, Balkaur Singh said he was even ready to pay the reward from his pocket if the government was unable to give out the high amount.
A native of Sri Muktsar Sahib in Punjab, Goldy Brar had gone to Canada on a student visa in 2017. He is also a key conspirator in a Dera Sacha Sauda follower's murder last month, police said.
28-year-old Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moose Wala, was shot dead in his SUV near his village in Punjab's Mansa district on May 29 -- a day after his security cover was cut down by the Punjab government.
Goldy Brar had claimed the responsibility for the murder, saying in a Facebook post that it was in retaliation to the murder of youth Akali leader Vicky Middukhera, which took place last year.