CHANDIGARH: From taking to crime less than two decades ago following his cousin's murder to being named by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for contract offences at the alleged behest of the Indian government, jailbird Lawrence Bishnoi has attained global notoriety on a scale he wouldn’t have expected in a short span.
Whether or not there is any grain of truth in the charges echoed by Trudeau after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police first claimed he was a hired gun of the Indian state actors, Bishnoi wouldn't possibly mind as it amplified his standing in the underworld many times over. His rise is already spawning global curiosity, including from sections of the filmdom.
By design or otherwise, the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad that houses him is perhaps the safest place for Bishnoi now, as he does have extremely powerful enemies itching to knock him down from his high horse. The government has invoked the rarely used Section 268(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure to bar his exit from that prison. Nine years ago, he had slipped from police custody while being taken for a court hearing from the Bharatpur jail in Rajasthan to Ropar in Punjab.
According to Section 268(1) of the CrPC, the state government may at any time, by general or special order, direct that a person shall not be removed from prison he/she is confined in till the order is in force. No order made under Section 267 (prisoner transit warrant) before or after the Section 268(1) order shall have effect on such an individual.
If that passes the smell test of a state asset, consider the fact that almost all law enforcement agencies—from the police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA)—are probing multiple cases of murder and extortion against his gang.
Government deniability appears to be written all over it. For example, the government said it had unsuccessfully pressed Canada to extradite known associates of Bishnoi in its rebuttal to Trudeau naming the gangster.
Despite being in prison, Bishnoi appears to have the tools of communication through which he accepts assignments and channels them to his gang, whose footprint is already widespread in North India, Canada, the US, the UAE and elsewhere, and has made him the country's most powerful don at present. Far from being correctional centres, jails seem to be incubators, as he uses them to forge new bonds with fellow felons and expand his stomping ground.
Nijjar peace-loving Canadian or terrorist?
If Trudeau gave legitimacy to Khalistani radical Hardeep Singh Nijjar—gunned down outside a Gurdwara on Canadian soil last year—and damaged relations with India, opposition leader Maxime Bernier called him out and said Nijjar was actually a foreign terrorist.
“One myth should be dispelled though: That the central figure in this controversy, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Khalistani militant who was murdered last year, was a Canadian. He was actually a foreign terrorist who used fraudulent documents to claim asylum in Canada several times starting in 1997. His claims were rejected, but he was nevertheless allowed to stay in this country and was somehow granted citizenship in 2007,” Bernier wrote on X.
Bernier went on to state that if the allegations of Indian diplomats participating in criminal activities in Canada are true, they should be dealt with appropriately.
The Milky way
Called 'Milky’ by friends during his childhood because of his fair complexion, Bishnoi now has more than three dozen cases of murder, attempted murder, and extortion registered against him in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan.
Shortly before Trudeau brought up his name, his gang claimed responsibility for the mafia-style assassination of NCP leader Baba Siddique on a Mumbai street through a purported Facebook post. For context, the NCP is part of the ruling alliance cobbled together by the BJP in Maharashtra and the state will go to polls in exactly a month from now.
Siddique was known for his deep connections with the Hindi film industry. He famously facilitated the most popular Khans in the industry, Salman and Shah Rukh, break ice in 2013. "We do not have any enmity with anyone. But whoever helps Salman Khan...keep your accounts in order,” a Facebook post by an alleged associate of Bishnoi warned.
Just when people thought Bishnoi had positioned himself for the famous Satya cult movie dialogue, “Mumbai ka king kaun?” Trudeau raised the bar to the stratosphere.
A couple of years ago, Bishnoi's gang had terrorised Salman and later his father, Salim Khan. His gang also took ownership for the murder of Punjabi hip-hop singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, alias Sidhu Moosewala, and the gunfire outside the houses of musician AP Dhillon and vocalist Gippy Grewal in Canada.
Well-behaved child
A well-behaved child with a flair for making friends, Bishnoi’s parents somehow had a fascination for Western names. His father Lavinder Bishnoi and mother Sunita decided to name him after educationist and administrator Henry Lawrence, a member of the first board of administration in Punjab, hence the first name of Lawrence. His name has nothing to do with religion.
Lawrence hails from an affluent family, with Lavinder owning land in the remote Duttaranwali village in Abohar of Punjab, about 50 km from the India-Pakistan International Border. This village with a population of 3,000 is dominated by the Vishnavite Bishnoi sect that is widely populated in the Thar desert of Rajasthan and elsewhere. The Bishnois revere blackbucks, which is why Lawrence painted a target on Salman's back because of his alleged involvement in their poaching during a recreational hunting trip in Rajasthan in 1998. Both his parents still live in the village and let their land out on lease for farming.
Born in 1992, Lawrence began schooling in Abohar before his parents got him admitted to the DAV School in Sector 15 of Chandigarh in 2006. A couple of years later, he joined DAV College in Chandigarh's Sector 10 and then took a course in law. That is when he developed a keen interest in athletics, especially the 1,500-metre race, and student politics. He got acquainted with fellow sportsperson Sampat Nehra of Khalsa College, who would visit the university grounds for training. Over the years, Nehra became one of his close aides in the world of crime.
Lawrence also became active in a student organisation in Panjab University. Around that time, he also met Vikramjit Singh Middukhera alias Vicky and Satinderjit Singh alias Goldy Brar. It was while practicing athletics on the campus that he befriended Brar in 2010, as per his dossier with the Punjab Police.
History sheet
Bishnoi’s history sheet begins with an attempt to murder charge in 2010 as he shot at Goldy Brar’s rival during the Panjab University student body elections, as per the first information report. He was arrested and got bail two months later. During his time in captivity, he struck friendship with other inmates like Jaipal Bhullar, Jaswinder Singh alias Rocky (killed in 2016) and Shera Khuban, who all later became gangsters. Another friendship in jail was with Ranjit Dupla, an arms dealer believed to be based in the US now, who gave him access to sophisticated weapons, said sources.
While at the university, Bishnoi actively involved himself in student politics, helping Vicky Middukhera become president of the Students' Organisation of Panjab University. When Bishnoi lost the student body elections of the university in 2010 by a narrow margin, he allegedly assaulted the winning candidate, surrendered before the police after 10 days and secured bail within a fortnight. Three years later, he joined another outfit, the Students Organisation of India, said police sources. Bishnoi was declared a proclaimed offender in an attempt to murder case of 2012.
Entry point
A few years ago, he revealed he took to crime to avenge the murder of his cousin Amandeep alias Sonu, who hailed from the Chatuala village in Haryana. Sonu was a liquor dealer in whose business Bishnoi was an investor. But Haryana gangster Chotu Ram Bhat got Sonu killed through Vicky Gounder, who ran a gang in Punjab. Bishnoi took to crime with a vengeance and put both Bhat and Gounder on his crosshairs. Gounder was killed in an encounter with Punjab Police in 2018.
In 2014, Bishnoi, along with Goldy Brar, allegedly shot dead a rival of his cousin’s friend who was contesting in the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation elections. The same year, he was involved in an encounter with the Rajasthan Police and was lodged in Bharatpur Jail, where he expanded his criminal network further. In 2015, he escaped from police custody with the help of associates as he was being taken for a court hearing to Ropar. Months later, Bishnoi fell into the Punjab Police's net for alleged possession of weapons of foreign origin. He then started making extortion calls from jail, demanding protection money from Punjabi singers.
In 2017, members of the Bishnoi gang shot dead gangster Lavi Deora, 25, at a fair in Kotkapura in Faridkot. Goldie Brar played an active role in the plot. And in 2020, Goldie Brar's brother Gurlal (26), former state president of the Students’ Organization of Panjab University, was gunned down in his Toyota Fortuner outside the Playboy Nightclub at the City Emporium Mall in Chandigarh by members of the Davinder Bambiha gang to avenge Deora’s killing. By then Middukhera had joined politics and become a Youth Akali Dal leader. He was shot dead in 2021.
While in Bharatpur jail in 2019, Bishnoi communicated through mobile phones to run his crime syndicate with the alleged connivance of the prison staff. He used voice-over IP calls to coordinate with his associates in the UK, Canada and Armenia since it would be difficult for Indian agencies to trace servers abroad, said sources. Apparently, incarceration couldn't contain his growing appetite for crime and influence.
In 2021, Bishnoi was transferred to Tihar Jail in Delhi in connection with a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act case. While in Punjab, he was lodged at the Bathinda, Kapurthala, Patiala and Nabha jails. His gang has allegedly been involved in several murders and extortion cases in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.
Moosewala's murder
In 2021, Sidhu Moosewala became a Congress neta and unsuccessfully contested on a party ticket from Mansa for the 2022 assembly polls. When the popular rapper was dramatically shot dead in his car at Mansa on May 29 that year, Goldy Brar took responsibility for the crime, adding it was done in collaboration with Bishnoi, who was then in Tihar Jail. Brar is now based in Canada.
Moosewala, his friend and cousin were travelling in a jeep to Jawahar Ke village in Mansa when six shooters attacked his vehicle and fired 30 rounds. In a Facebook post, Brar claimed that Moosewala's murder was to avenge the killings of Gurlal in 2020 and Vikky Middukhera in 2021.
Following Moosewala's cold-blooded murder, when the Delhi Police obtained custody of Bishnoi for investigation, he expressed fear for his life, filing a plea with the Delhi High Court for protection, but later withdrew it. As per the Punjab Police dossier, Bishnoi also connected with Pakistan-based gangster Harwinder Rinda, who helped source weapons to liquidate Moosewala.
In May this year, a court in Mansa framed charges against Bishnoi and 26 others in the Moosewala murder case. According to the chargesheet, Goldy Brar was the mastermind. Brar had known links with Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, Sachin Bhiwani, Anmol Bishnoi, Sachin Thapan, Monu Dagar, Pawan Bishnoi and the shooters, and prepared the plan to kill Moosewala, the chargesheet said. However, charges against Brar are yet to be framed in the case.
Brar was designated a terrorist by the government under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in January this year. He belongs to Muktsar in Punjab and has an Interpol red corner notice against him since June 2022. He is believed to be based in Brampton's Greater Toronto Area of Canada. Brar is on India's list of 25 most wanted persons in Canada. Besides, Brar is on the wanted list of Canada as well.
A senior police officer on condition of anonymity said, "Bishnoi cultivates people through contacts while sitting in jails and gives youngsters drawn by his infamy specific assignments.’’
Former Punjab DGP Anil Kaushik says, "The issue of jail inmates using mobile phones is a serious problem. Obviously it needs thorough checking but that may not be enough. Jammers need to be installed at select jails where dreaded criminals are housed. Besides, a large number of drug addicts get arrested each year and some of them eventually get into gangs and bigger crimes. So, additional campaigns are needed to run jails effectively.’’
Targeting Salman Khan
It was in 2018 that Sampath Nehra did a reconnaissance of filmstar Salman Khan for Bishnoi. Nehra had then claimed he was assigned the job due to the actor’s alleged involvement in the blackbuck hunting case. During a court appearance in Jodhpur, Bishnoi publicly threatened the star, stating, "Salman will be killed here in Jodhpur.”
Last year, two men on a motorcycle sprayed bullets outside Salman's Bandra residence. A rerun of the same episode happened in April this year. The Mumbai Police blamed it on the shooters hired by Bishnoi.
His fingerprint was also seen in the firings outside the houses of Punjabi musician AP Dhillon in September this year and singer Gippy Grewal's house in November last year, both in Canada.
Besides, his gang took responsibility for the killing of gangster Sukha Duneke in September last year in Canada. And the killers of Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena president Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, who gunned him down in December last year in Jaipur, were linked to the Bishnoi gang.
The gang's hired goons also fired shots outside the house of former Punjab MLA and liquor baron Deep Malhotra in Delhi in December last year, as they did in 2022 outside the residence of businessman Pradeep Jain in Shahdara in the national capital. "These are scare tactics for protection money,’’ said a police officer.
Controversial interview
In September 2022, a TV channel pulled off a sensational interview of Bishnoi while in custody. It was aired in two parts on March 14 and March 17 last year. In the interview, the gangster claimed he was not involved in the murder of Moosewala but underscored his animosity for Salman.
The Punjab government last month told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that show cause notices had been issued to the then senior superintendent of police of SAS Nagar and three other police officers regarding the interview.
The court gave the police a piece of its mind following reports that the latter had sought dropping of most charges in the interview FIR and for not fully appraising the bench on the progress in the probe.
The shocking interview took centrestage in the Punjab assembly, with the Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa last month demanding a thorough investigation in the matter. Bajwa called for an all-party panel of MLAs to probe the role of police officers in facilitating the interview.
Brother Anmol
At present, Bishnoi’s younger brother Anmol alias Bhanu, wanted in connection with the murder of Moosewala and a slew of other crimes, is a fugitive on a fake passport in the United States. He was spotted last year in videos with Punjabi singers Karan Aujla and Sherry Mann at a wedding in Bakersfield, California. Both Aujla and Mann had then issued disclaimers stating they were not aware of Anmol's presence at the event. Anyway, the statements at least confirmed the authenticity of the videos.
Anmol, against whom the NIA, too, has filed a chargesheet, has been included in the latest list of notorious gangsters living abroad, compiled by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Punjab Police, which had investigated the Moosewala murder case, had then said Anmol was a co-conspirator who fled India using a fake passport a few months before the killing.
The SIT chargesheet alleged that he was part of the plot from its inception and managed the logistics before fleeing. Rohit Godara, another close aide of Bishnoi, is in the US/ Canada with Anmol.
NIA attaches properties
The NIA attached four properties owned by the alleged associates of the Bishnoi gang this year - three immovable and one movable. One of them is a flat in Gomti Nagar in Lucknow, which belongs to Vikas Singh; two other assets are owned by one Dalip Kumar in Fazilka, Punjab while the movable property is a Fortuner of Joginder Singh in Yamunanagar, Haryana.
Vikas Singh, the agency claimed, is an associate of Lawrence Bishnoi. He harboured various terrorists in his property, including the accused involved in the RPG attack on the Punjab Police Headquarters on May 9, 2022.
Joginder Singh is the father of gangster Kala Rana, another associate of Bishnoi. Singh let the gang members use his Fortuner for transporting arms and ammunition for promoting terrorist acts, the NIA statement added.
The property belonging to Dalip Kumar was being used as a shelter and warehouse for storage and concealment of weapons, and also for harbouring terrorists. The agency has been probing the organised crime syndicate of Lawrence Bishnoi and his associates since August 2022.