- Sidhu Moose Wala was shot and killed in May 2022 while driving near his village in Punjab.
- Goldy Brar, the main accused, claims Mr Moose Wala's actions warranted his killing.
- Brar operates from Canada and is designated a terrorist under India's UAPA law.
On a late May afternoon in 2022, Sidhu Moose Wala, the popular Punjabi musician, was driving his black Mahindra Thar SUV near his native village in Punjab's Mansa district when two vehicles began to tail him. Within minutes, one of the vehicles cut sharply across the road and blocked Mr Moose Wala's path. Moments later, gunfire erupted. His SUV was peppered with over 100 bullets.
More than two years after the murder, the main accused in the killing, Satinderjit Singh or Goldy Brar as he is better known, in an exclusive interview with the BBC, spoke about why he and his associates killed Mr Moose Wala.
"In his arrogance, he [Moose Wala] made some mistakes that could not be forgiven," Brar told the BBC. "We had no option but to kill him. He had to face the consequences of his actions. It was either him or us. As simple as that."
Goldy Brar, a native of Punjab's Sri Muktsar Sahib, is a close aide of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Operating from Canada, Brar is officially designated a terrorist under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice against him and there is an outstanding non-bailable warrant for his arrest.
The Home Ministry in a notification had said that Brar is part of a network involved in the smuggling of high-grade weapons and explosives across the India-Pakistan border via drones. The ministry stated Brar's association with the banned group Babbar Khalsa International and accuses him of conspiring to disrupt peace and law and order in Punjab through targeted killings, recruitment of terror modules, and other anti-national activities.
Brar continues to operate his criminal enterprise from North America,
"Lawrence [Bishnoi] was in touch with Sidhu [Moose Wala]. I don't know who introduced them, and I never asked. But they did speak," Brar told the BBC. "Sidhu used to send 'good morning' and 'good night' messages in an effort to flatter Lawrence."
Brar claimed that the tension began over a kabaddi tournament in Punjab.
"That's a village our rivals come from. He was promoting our rivals. That's when Lawrence and others were upset with him. They threatened Sidhu and said they wouldn't spare him," Brar claimed.
According to the BBC report, tensions were defused through the intervention of Vicky Middukhera, an associate of Bishnoi's and an intermediary. But Middukhera was gunned down in Mohali in August 2021.
"Everyone knew Sidhu's role, the police investigating knew, even the journalists who were investigating knew," Brar said. "Sidhu mixed with politicians and people in power. He was using political power, money, and his resources to help our rivals. We wanted him to face punishment for what he'd done. He should have been booked. He should have been jailed. But nobody listened to our plea. So we took it upon ourselves. When decency falls on deaf ears, it's the gunshot that gets heard."
When pressed Brar on whether this constituted justice or vigilantism, he was dismissive of India's legal system.
"Law. Justice. There's no such thing," Brar told the BBC. "Only the powerful can... [obtain] justice, not ordinary people like us. I did what I had to do for my brother. I have no remorse whatsoever."
