It was a killing that shocked India: Punjabi hip-hop legend Sidhu Moose Wala shot dead through the windscreen of his car by hired gunmen in the pay of gangsters.
Three years after this brutal murder, a new documentary from BBC Eye Investigations and a new season of the BBC’s World of Secrets podcast investigates how one of India’s biggest music stars found himself on the wrong side of the country’s most feared gang — and challenges the fugitive gangster who says he ordered the hit.
On 29 May 2022, Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala was murdered by men who ambushed his car, shot him through the windscreen, and left him to die. As news of the killing spread across India and around the world, a gangster named Goldy Brar claimed responsibility for the hit. But three years later, no-one has been convicted of this murder, the motives remain murky, and Goldy Brar is still on the run.
BBC Eye Investigations, for the documentary and podcast, has been talking to some of the people closest to Sidhu Moose Wala, tracing his rise from obscurity to stardom, finding out how he crossed paths with gangsters, and asking why they wanted him dead.
It’s a story that takes us from the villages of rural India to the hip-hop scene of eastern Canada, from the turbulent history of Punjab to the contested politics of modern India, and from the shadowy world of organised crime to a chilling phone call with the fugitive gangster who claimed responsibility for this murder.
The Killing Call – Sidhu Moose Wala and the Murder that Shocked India from BBC Eye Investigations is available as a feature-length documentary film on the BBC World Service YouTube channel and on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
The podcast World of Secrets, Season 8: The Killing Call is five episodes and is presented by investigative reporter Ishleen Kaur and DJ Bobby Friction. All episodes are available now wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
Radio: Episodes of the new season of World of Secrets will be broadcast weekly on the BBC World Service from Wednesday 18 June.
Sidhu Moose Wala Gangster claims responsibility in new BBC investigation
Three years after the murder of Punjabi hiphop icon Sidhu Moose Wala, BBC Eye Investigations questions the gangster who says he ordered the killing.
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