Sharpshooters Rupa, Manu involved in killing of Moose Wala shot dead

In a major police crackdown on Wednesday, two sharpshooters -- Jagroop Rupa and Manpreet Manu -- involved in the killing of famed Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala were shot dead by Punjab Police on the outskirts of Amritsar close to the India-Pakistan border.

They were holed up inside a farmhouse and were eliminated in a five hours of exchange of fire. One AK-47 rifle and one pistol were recovered from the encounter site.

Moose Wala was gunned down on May 29 close to his native village near Mansa in Punjab.

The operation was carried out by the Anti-Gangster Task Force at Bhakna village close to the Attari border, where Manpreet Singh, a.k.a. Manu, and Jagroop Singh, a.k.a. Rupa, were holed up.

Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav was present at the encounter spot.

Anti-Gangster Task Force chief Pramod Ban confirmed the killing of Manpreet, a henchman of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, along with Rupa. They, among others, had fired at Moose Wala on May 29 which led to the singer's death on the spot.

Last month, Ban told the media that jailed gangster Bishnoi, the main conspirator, had confessed that the plan to kill Moose Wala was hatched in August last year to avenge the murder of Vicky Middukhera.

Ban had said 13 people have been arrested in the case so far after the first arrest was made on May 30, a day after the murder of Moose Wala.

Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, who is a member of the Bishnoi gang, had claimed responsibility for Moose Wala's murder.

Ban had said that the shooters had reached Mansa on May 25, the scene of the crime close to Moosa village. "Some of the weapons were provided to them on reaching Punjab. AK series assault rifles were used to gun down Moose Wala," he had said.