Sidhu Moose Wala: Late singer’s political song removed from YouTube after ‘legal complaint’

Since its release, Moose Wala’s track garnered over 27 million views

Popular Indian rapper and songwriter Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead last month (Twitter/@iSidhuMooseWala)

A popular posthumous music video from Indian singer and rapper Sidhu Moose Wala, who was shot dead last month, has been removed from YouTube due to “a legal complaint from the government”.

The song, named “SYL” refers to the disputed Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal, a contentious infrastructure project involving a 214km-long canal under constructon in the area around India’s Punjab and Haryana states to connect the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers.

The dispute can be traced back to the decades-old Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan, allowing the former “free and unrestricted use” of the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers.

In 1966, the creation of Haryana from the old and undivided Punjab presented the problem of giving Haryana its share of river waters.

Moose Wala’s new song, which has been taken off YouTube, is based on Punjab’s talks about the SYL project, which has been a point of controversy between the states for a long time.

The singer reportedly composed the song before his death on 29 May.

Users trying to watch the music video were greeted with the message, “This content is not available on this country domain due to a legal complaint from the government”.

Since its release, Moose Wala’s new track had garnered over 27 million views.

The Independent has contacted the late singer’s representatives for comment.

India’s federal government is yet to issue a statement about the “legal complaint” cited by it.

Moose Wala was shot dead in Punjab last month after his security was scaled down by the state’s two-month-old Aam Aadmi Party government as part of a crackdown on “VIP culture”.

In a press conference, Punjab’s top police official Viresh Kumar Bhawra said Sidhu’s SUV was shot at while he was driving in Jhawahar Ke village in Mansa district with two others.

“Moose Wala left his house in Moosa village at 4.30pm. Around 5.30pm, he was driving his jeep, accompanied by two persons, when two vehicles that had been following him intercepted his vehicle and fired at him,” Mr Bhawra said.

His car was sprayed with bullets and Sidhu was found slumped on his seat. He was rushed to Mansa Civil Hospital but doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Police believe the murder to be the result of inter-gang rivalry.