Getty ImagesBishnoi has been in jail since 2015 and is currently detained in Gujarat, far from his home state of Punjab.
On Monday, Canadian police made sensational claims.
They said in a press conference that Indian government operatives are using “organized criminal groups like Bishnoi groups” to target leaders of the pro-Khalistan movement, which calls for an independent homeland for Sikhs in India. he claimed.
This came hours after both countries expelled their top diplomats amid rising tensions over the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Canada last year. Delhi dismissed the allegations as “ridiculous” and accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of pandering to Canada’s large Sikh community for political gain.
Canadian police are referring to Lawrence Bishnoi, 31, a gangster from India who is currently back in the spotlight at home and abroad.
Indian police said his gang is suspected of being involved in the murder of a prominent politician in Mumbai over the weekend. Gunmen shot dead 66-year-old Baba Siddique near his son’s office. Three suspects are in custody. An alleged close aide of Bishnoi posted on social media that a gang was behind the murder.
Once India's most wanted man, Bishnoi has been in jail since 2015 and is currently being held in Gujarat, far from his home state of Punjab.
But police believe his fearless influence will last. Bishnoi is the main accused in the sensational murder case of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, who was shot dead near his village in October 2022.
In 2018, Bishnoi infamously threatened Bollywood star Salman Khan, accusing him of poaching two blackbuck antelopes revered by the Bishnoi community in Rajasthan, to which Lawrence belongs. increased.
When the verdict was handed down in a court in Jodhpur, he spoke openly to the waiting media. “Salman Khan will be killed here in Jodhpur… Then he will know our true identity.” Incidentally, the murdered politician Siddique was a close friend of the Bollywood star.
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Bishnoi is the main suspect in the murder of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala in October 2022
In March last year, a news channel aired two interviews with Bishnoi from inside a Punjab prison, and an enraged high court ordered an investigation. How high-security inmates managed phone interviews from prison remains a mystery.
Federal investigators say Bishnoi continues to control a 700-member gang across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, blackmailing celebrities, smuggling drugs and weapons, and targeting targets. It is presumed that he is involved in a targeted assassination. Police say his partner, Goldie Buller, was also an accomplice in Moose Walla’s murder and runs the gang remotely from Canada. Bishnoi is facing more than 30 cases, with 19 currently being heard in court.
“He runs his gang smoothly from prison without having to coordinate everything,” says Gurmeet Chauhan, a senior official with Punjab’s anti-gang task force. “Unlike other gangs that are localized, he thinks big.”
Bishnoi was born into a wealthy family. His family is one of the richest in the village of Punjab, living in a spacious bungalow surrounded by over 100 acres of land. His father is a former police officer who eventually quit his job to protect the family’s land, and his mother is a housewife. The couple raised two sons, Lawrence and Anmol, both of whom are now the main suspects in Moose Wala’s murder.
Ramesh Bishnoi, a relative, told Jupinderjit Singh, a reporter for the Tribune and author of “Who Killed Moose Wala”, that Lawrence’s name was at the prestigious Lawrence School in the hilly town of Sanawar. He said it was named after British military officer Henry Montgomery Lawrence, the founder of the company.
Lawrence Bishnoi himself attended a convent school and by the eighth grade was riding his own bicycle and wearing expensive shoes, an unheard of luxury for most people. Known for quietly helping local children in need, he was an introvert with an undeniable influence, Singh said.
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Indian police link Bishnoi gang to Baba Siddique’s (centre) murder. Salman Khan (left) has also been threatened.
After graduating from school in 2008, he moved to a university in Chandigarh and quickly immersed himself in student politics in the city. “He had the money, the style and the guts,” a Chandigarh police officer told Singh, explaining how Bishnoi easily gathered followers. He joined student organizations and ran for student elections, but lost. This was his own defeat.
Police records say this transition brought him closer to the world of violence and that he associated with several former student leaders turned criminals. Soon, police announced that Bishnoi’s name was linked to brawls, arson and shooting incidents on campus.
Bishnoi’s home state of Punjab is rife with gangs that fuel drug and arms smuggling, extortion and the local film and music industries. Many say a cash-driven economy fueled by the sale of drugs, real estate and illicit alcohol has fueled this rise, creating an ecosystem that blends crime and Punjabi pop culture.
According to Singh, gangsters in Punjab do not venture into the underworld solely for the sake of wealth. They are said to crave notoriety and have a deep-seated desire to “become someone.”
This distorted pursuit of fame is rooted in a feudal and patriarchal culture. Social media has amplified this, with many gangs publishing their lives online. They flaunt their lifestyle on social media. There, crime is often seen as a way to make quick money and gain glamor. This has drawn retired sportspersons and young recruits across Punjab to the dark side.
By September, police reported dismantling more than 500 gangs and arresting more than 1,400 gangsters since mid-2021. Sixteen gang members were killed and over 80 injured in clashes with police, three police officers lost their lives, and a further 26 others were injured. Police said Bishnoi has been convicted in four cases but has not yet been convicted of any serious crime such as murder.
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Canada claims India used ‘criminal organizations like the Bishnoi gang’ to target pro-Khalistan leaders
With a neatly trimmed beard, a hoodie and a watchful eye, Bishnoi often wears the casual attire of a young man. When the stakes are high, he shows shrewdness in managing his image. At one court appearance, he wore a T-shirt with a portrait of respected Indian revolutionary Bhagat Singh on it.
In a widely circulated video reportedly shot inside the prison, the bearded gangster declares: Let’s see how strong the enemy’s strength is. ” The exact meaning of his words remains vague.
The rise of Bishnois is unlike any other. “Despite being in prison, he appears to be running the gang. Who will provide him with logistics and media access? Such control would not be possible without powerful allies.” Shin says. It remains difficult to separate this man from mythology.
With additional reporting by Arvind Chhabra in Chandigarh
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