Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala has been booked by police for promoting gun culture and violence in his new song 'Sanju', which was released last week on his official YouTube channel and has got more than 19 million views.
Moose Wala had got anticipatory bail from the Punjab and Haryana high court after he was booked under the Arms Act in May 2020, when photographs of him shooting an AK-47 rifle at a firing range were shared on social media.
In the song ‘Sanju’, Moose Wala has referred to this case, drawing a parallel with Hindi film actor Sanjay Dutt, who was arrested by the crime branch of the Mumbai police after the serial bomb blasts of 1993 for being in possession of an AK-47 rifle and ammunition. Dutt was later convicted under the Arms Act and sentenced to six years in jail.
The black-and-white video begins with news of Moose Wala being booked under the Arms Act and moves to Dutt being booked under the same law. The video also features clips and news clippings of Dutt’s conviction.
The lyrics are far from being apologetic as the singer repeatedly shows images of himself in possession of a firearm and makes light of the fact that he has been booked under the Arms Act.
In fact, at the end of the video, he sings that such cases are slapped on ‘real men’.
According to the Hindustan Times newspaper, additional director general of police Arpit Shukla, head of the Punjab Bureau of Investigation, said the singer was booked in Mohali on the basis of information received that the song blatantly glorifies the use of arms and boasts about the FIRs, including the one under the Arms Act, registered against him.
The PBI chief said the police would be filing a petition for cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to Sidhu Moose Wala by the Punjab and Haryana high court.
The newspaper also reported that Shukla said the lyrics of the song, 'Gabru de naal santali (47) jud gayi, ghato ghat saja paanj saal vat de, gabru utte case jehra Sanjay Dutt te, jatt utte case jehra Sanjay Dutt te…; awa tawa bolde vakil sohniye, sari duniya da oh judge sunida, jithe saadi chaldi appeal sohniye', not only promote the use of illegal firearms but also undermine the judiciary, the police and advocates.