Singer Sidhu Moose Wala was cremated in Punjab’s Mansa district on Tuesday, two days after he was shot dead.
Thousands turned up in Jahawarke, the native village of the singer, to pay their last respects.
Earlier in the day, Moose Wala’s body was brought to his home from the Mansa Civil Hospital amid tight security. An anti-riot squad has been deployed by the Punjab Police to ensure that the ceremony remained peaceful.
Moose Wala’s supporters shouted slogans against the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government and sought death sentence for his killers, The Indian Express reported.
Moose Wala, who fought the Punjab Assembly polls on a Congress ticket, was murdered a day after his security cover was trimmed by the state government. Opposition leaders have asked why the singer’s security cover was scaled back.
Twenty-four bullets hit him, The Indian Express reported, citing the autopsy report. Five persons have been detained in connection with the murder.
“We want justice for Sidhu Moose Wala,” a supporter identified as Randeep Singh at the funeral told the newspaper before the cremation. “Punjab Police officials responsible for the negligence should also be booked and sent to jail.”
Another supporter named Ravinder held the Punjab government responsible for the singer’s death.
“Moose Wala’s father had also written a letter yesterday in which he clearly blamed the Punjab government,” Ravinder said. “It was a planned murder.”
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has ordered an inquiry led by a High Court judge into the killing amid massive outrage.
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