Chandigarh, Feb 3 (PTI) Punjab Police on Saturday said it has arrested a close aide of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi who arranged hideouts for the killers of singer Sidhu Moosewala.

Mandeep Singh alias Chotta Mani was arrested along with an accomplice, Jatinder Singh of Gobindpura Mohalla in Manimajra. Two pistols along with 12 live cartridges were also recovered from them, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said here.

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Following reliable inputs about the presence of Chotta Mani in the Zirakpur area, teams of Punjab Police's Anti-Gangster Task Force traced him and arrested him along with an associate, he said.

Both the accused were actively working for Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar gangs and have a criminal history. Cases of attempt to murder, extortion, robbery and those under the Arms Act are registered against them in Chandigarh and Haryana, he said.

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Yadav said Chotta Mani arranged hideouts for the killers of Moosewala, who was shot dead in May 2022.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were tasked with carrying out targeted killings of rival gangsters by their handlers based abroad, the DGP said.

Assistant Inspector General Sandeep Goel said Bishnoi wanted to help Chotta Mani settle abroad and sent him to Dubai thrice to facilitate his safe entry into Europe. However, Chotta Mani failed to get entry into Europe and had to return to India, the officer said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)