Chandigarh/New Delhi (IANS): Gangster Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar, the alleged mastermind behind the killing of famed Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, has been detained in California, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann confirmed on Friday.

Brar, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, had moved to the US from Canada, where he had been based since 2017.

He claimed responsibility for the brutal murder of Moose Wala on May 29 on behalf of the gang.

Addressing the media in Gujarat, Mann said: “It is confirmed news, and I say this being the head of the state [Punjab], that Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, who was indulging in anti-social activities and was involved in funding such activities, has been detained in the US.”

Punjab Police had recently got a Red Corner Notice (RCN) issued against him after taking up the matter with the Union Home Ministry, he added.

A day earlier, on Thursday, Moose Wala’s father, Balkaur Singh, had appealed to the Punjab government to announce a reward of at least Rs 2 crore [Rs 20 million] for any information that would lead to the arrest of Brar.

“Recently, a Punjabi man fled from Australia after murdering a woman. The Australian government announced a reward of 1 million dollars for giving information about him. As a result, he was arrested in six days. I pay Rs 2 crore in a year as tax to the government. Still, if the government is not able to pay such an amount as a reward, I am ready to pay it from my pocket, even if I have to sell my land for it. I just want the reward to be announced by the government,” he said.

Brar, a native of Sri Muktsar Sahib, had gone to Canada on a student visa in 2017.

He was also a key conspirator in the Dera Sacha Sauda follower murder last month.

The killing of Moose Wala was executed by six sharpshooters and four of them were arrested and two shot dead in a police encounter.