Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi is the mastermind behind the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, Delhi Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) HS Dhaliwal said on Wednesday, PTI reported. Bishnoi is already in the custody of the Delhi Police in an arms smuggling case.

Bishnoi, however, has denied that he is connected to the crime, claiming that only his gang members were involved and they had planned and executed the murder, according to NDTV. He is reportedly associated with Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, who had claimed responsibility for the singer’s murder.

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Moose Wala, who fought the Punjab Assembly polls on a Congress ticket, was shot dead in Mansa district on May 29. Two others were injured after the assailants opened fire at a jeep Moose Wala was travelling in.

On Wednesday, the Delhi Police said that they have arrested Siddhesh Hiraman Kamle, alias Mahakal, from Pune. He is a close aide of the main shooter in the case.

Dhaliwal said that the police have also identified five more suspects in connection with the murder.

On Tuesday, the Punjab Police had said they have arrested eight persons for offering logistical support, conducting recce and harbouring the singer’s killers.

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One of the arrested men, Sandeep Singh tracked the singer’s movements by impersonating himself as his fan on the directions of Brar and Sachin Thapan, who claims to be Bishnoi’s nephew, according to the police.

On May 30, Moose Wala’s father, Balkar Singh Sidhu, had demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the National Investigation Agency into the murder.

Later in the day, the Punjab government had announced that it would set up an inquiry commission under a sitting High Court judge to look into the killing of the singer.