Sidhu Moosewala’s native village Musa turned into fortress, over 1K cops deployed

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Mansa, June 3

Singer Sidhu Moosewala’s native village Musa was turned into a fortress ahead of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s visit today.

Ahead of visit, aap MLA faces protest

Hours before CM Mann’s slated visit to Musa village, locals prevented AAP’s Sardulgarh MLA Gurpreet Singh Banawali from entering the village. Protesting the sealing of village entry and exit points by the police, villagers raised slogans and decided not to allow political leaders into the village. However, officials intervened and prevailed over the protesters.

To keep protesters at bay, more than 1,000 policemen were deployed in and around the village as cops made human chains on both sides of the road to ensure a smooth passage to the Chief Minister’s convoy.

Ahead of the visit, police personnel were deployed in large numbers in the area. Roads leading to the village were barricaded, forcing people to take alternative routes from other villages.

Relatives of the late singer also faced inconvenience as they questioned the rationale behind sealing off the village. They instead accused the government of “incompetence”, which had led to the singer’s killing.

A relative argued when two Cabinet ministers and a Union minister had visited the family yesterday, the locals were not stopped from visiting the residence. Now, when the Chief Minister was to visit the family, the village had been turned into a cantonment. “Does the CM feel unsafe? If so, why is he coming?” he said.

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal, through a social media post, too, questioned CM Mann for blocking access to the village.

A police official, however, said: “Heavy police deployment was made as per the Chief Minister’s security protocol. A few villagers had staged a protest in the morning. To avoid any untoward incident, additional security was deployed.”