Famous Punjabi-language rapper Sidhu Moose Wala shot dead in India

Punjabi-language rapper and music producer Sidhu Moose Wala has been shot dead in India, according to officials. He was 28.

Moose Wala was born in Moosa, a village in the Mansa district of Punjab, India, in 1993. He moved to Brampton, Ont., in after he received an electrical engineering degree in 2016.

He was famous worldwide, especially in the Punjabi diaspora, for his charged rap performances and slick music videos.

Police say Moose Wala had left his home at about 4:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, driving in a jeep vehicle along with two other people.

At about 5:30 p.m., police say the occupants of three vehicles — one behind Moose Wala’s vehicle and two alongside — fired into the vehicle when they were in the Jawaharke village, within Mansa district.

Moose Wala suffered injuries and was declared dead after he was brought to hospital, police say, adding it was likely the slaying was the result of an “inter-gang rivalry.” Police say an associate of Lawrence Bishnoi, a Canadian resident, claimed responsibility.

The rapper, who also had an acting career, had joined the Indian National Congress party last year.

He had contested the Punjab state elections in 2021, losing to Dr. Vijay Singla of the Aam Aadmi Party, which is the ruling party in the state of Punjab and in Delhi.

Punjab State Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann tweeted his condolences to Moose Wala, with a statement from the Congress party saying that his death “has come as a terrible shock to the Congress party & the entire nation.”

More to come