The North News
Chandigarh, July 12
A key accused in the Sidhu Moosewala murder conspiracy, Shahbaz Ansari, has absconded again after being released on interim bail for the second time. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the wider arms supply chain behind the killing, confirmed that Ansari failed to return to court despite repeated notices.
Ansari, arrested in December 2022 from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, is accused of providing weapons and ammunition to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s network. He first evaded authorities in February 2023 after being granted temporary bail on humanitarian grounds. This pattern repeated last month when Ansari cited his wife’s surgery to secure another release — and promptly vanished.
The NIA told the court it was unable to trace him, with his mobile switched off and his registered address found vacant. One phone number he used was found to be registered under someone else’s name in Assam. His lawyer claimed no knowledge of his whereabouts.
Ansari allegedly made large sums through hawala routes and repeatedly supplied weapons to the Bishnoi gang. Arms were recovered during his 2022 arrest, and investigators claim that even his bail surety was arranged through financial inducement.
The murder of Sidhu Moosewala, who was gunned down in Punjab in May 2022, is seen as part of a transnational criminal web involving Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar and local networks loyal to Bishnoi.
A non-bailable warrant is now in process as security agencies widen the manhunt.
