Indian singer and politician Sidhu Moosewala was killed on Sunday by unknown assailants in Jawaharke village in Indian Punjab’s Mansa district, The Wire reported.

The report said the incident occurred a day after the local police curtailed the security of 424 VIPs, which also included Moose Wala.

The Hindustan Times reported that he, along with two others, was four kilometres away from his home in Moosa village when unidentified individuals opened fire at his vehicle.

The report quoted the police as saying that Moosewala was hit by multiple bullets and taken to Mansa civil hospital where he died. The condition of the other two was critical.

Indian media reported that he had joined the Congress party in December 2021 for the Punjab assembly elections. He had contested from his hometown of Mansa but suffered a defeat to the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Vijay Singla.

Meanwhile, The Wire reported that his fan-following was in the "millions", extending all the way to countries such as the US, UK, Canada and Australia. "He was famous for his rap songs with hard-hitting, sarcastic content which asked questions of society, politicians, religious leaders, rival singers and spoke of the country’s problems," the report added.

Indian politicians condemned the news and extended their condolences at the tragedy.

"I am shocked and deeply saddened by the gruesome murder of Siddhu Moosewala. Nobody involved will be spared," said Indian Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

"We stand united & undeterred, at this time of extreme grief," the Congress party said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he was "deeply shocked and saddened" by the murder.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa slammed the provincial AAP government, saying the law and order situation in the province was "totally out of control".