The Canadian government on Tuesday named Satinder Singh Brar, nicknamed Goldy Brar, the alleged mastermind in the killing of famous singer-politician Sidhu Moosewala, among the country's top 25 wanted criminals.
The Punjab-origin affiliate of Lawrence Bishnoi's gang is wanted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after India obtained an Interpol Red Notice for Brar in June 2022, the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi said in a statement.
Brar's life-sized cutout among all 25 fugitives has been displayed at Toronto's Yonge-Dundas Square, according to the ‘Bolo (Be On the Lookout) Programme' list issued.
The 29-year-old is accused of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and illegal arms trafficking in India.
However, there is no reward for Goldy Brar, who features on the 15th number in the list.
Brar, who reached Canada on a student visa in 2017, allegedly claimed responsibility for the murder of Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala, who was shot dead in Punjab's Mansa district on May 29, 2022.
Brar is accused of committing these crimes while being in Canada and is currently under investigation, but is not charged with any criminal offences in Canada, the statement said.
Goldy Brar, who belongs to Punjab's Muktsar, has been on the run since then.
Interpol notices are international requests for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-related information. In the case of Red Notices, the persons concerned are wanted by national jurisdictions for prosecution or to serve a sentence based on an arrest warrant or court decision.
In Canada, an Interpol Red Notice does not provide police the authority to arrest a person. An individual may only be arrested if reasonable probable grounds exist that the individual has committed a crime in Canada, or if a Canadian arrest warrant has been issued.
The offences Brar allegedly committed in India are very serious in nature and merit the interest of the police in Canada, the statement said, adding that "Brar is believed to be in Canada and represents a risk to public safety".
The Punjab Police have blamed Goldy Brar and gangster Lawrence Bishnoi for the killing of Moosewala.
Bishnoi, who continues to remain in jail after his arrest in 2015, has been operating his terror-crime syndicate from prisons in different states, along with Canada-based Goldy Brar, who is also an accused in the killing of 'Dera Sacha Sauda' follower Pradeep Kumar at Faridkot (Punjab) in November 2022.
Goldy Brar has been named in the 1,850-page police charge sheet filed in the Mansa court on August 26 last year.
Jailed gangsters Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria have also been named in the chargesheet alongside a dozen others.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Anti-Gangster Task Force chief Pramod Ban is probing the killing of Moosewala.
Ban has said Bishnoi, the main conspirator, confessed that the execution planning was hatched in August 2021 to avenge the murder of Akali youth leader Middukhera.
