Sidhu Moosewala shot dead: Rahul Gandhi 'deeply shocked', pays condolences to family

Leader of the Indian National Congress (INC), Rahul Gandhi, has expressed his sadness on the death of his party member Sidhu Moosewala who was shot dead in Punjab's Mansa district on Sunday. Taking to Twitter, the Wayanad Member of Parliament said that he is "shocked and saddened" over the singer-turned-politician's murder and paid his condolences to the latter's family, friends and fans.

"Deeply shocked and saddened by the murder of promising Congress leader and talented artist, Sidhu Moosewala. My heartfelt condolences to his loved ones and fans from across the world", Rahul Gandhi wrote in his tweet.

Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi also paid her condolences to Moosewala's family and friends and called the incident 'shocking' and 'painful'. "The news of the murder of the talented singer, youth icon, and Congress leader Sidhu Musewala ji is very painful. This incident surprised us all. My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones".

Moosewala killed a day after the removal of his security cover

The Punjabi actor-singer-rapper, who rose to fame with his blockbuster songs, was attacked by unknown assailants in the Jawaharke village in Mansa. According to sources, the miscreants arrived in two cars and fired 30 rounds of bullets with automatic rifles to kill the Congress leader. Moosewala was among two others who sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital in critical condition. Tragically, Moosewala had died before he arrived at the hospital whereas the two others have been sent to intensive care for better treatment. The artiste had contested the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls from Mansa but lost to Aam Aadmi Party's Dr. Vijay Singla by a margin of 63,323 votes.

Notably, the attack on the singer-politician was carried out just a day after the Punjab government withdrew the security of about 424 VVIPs. The Chief Minister of Punjab, Bhagwant Mann also expressed his sadness over the tragic incident and assured that, "No culprit will be spared". Further in his tweet, he wrote, "My heartfelt sympathies and prayers are with his family and his fans all over the world.. I appeal to all to remain calm..."

Meanwhile, the blame game between political parties has begun as Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa attacked Mann's Aam Aadmi Party, accusing it of playing "dirty politics". He also lambasted the officials for allegedly leaking the list of names of politicians whose securities were rolled back. "I demand strict action against those who leaked a confidential list of people whose security was withdrawn by Govt of Punjab. First, you withdrew security & then you make them vulnerable by leaking their names!", he said in a tweeted video.