From behind bars gangster Lawrence Bishnoi controls 700 gunmen, manages vast global network

The gruesome murder of veteran Mumbai political leader and former minister Baba Siddique allegedly by the gang led by dreaded gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in highly fortified Bandra East — one of Mumbai's posh localities, which flaunts residences of some top Bollywood stars — has once again put the spotlight on the deadly operations of Lawrence Bishnoi despite being in jail.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently claimed that 31-year-old Bishnoi is operating from prison by using his powerful ties and alliances globally, including pro-Khalistan organizations.

The probe agency also said that the gang led by him has over 700 gunmen operating in five states — Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh and has connections abroad and at least 300 shooters that hail from Punjab alone.

The gang members have claimed responsibility for the killing of 66-year-old Siddique — a three-time Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and popular leader of Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Siddique was shot dead outside his MLA son's office in Bandra East on Oct 12 late evening by three attackers of the gang, according to police. The assailants belonging to the Bishnoi gang — two of whom are in police custody — Gurmail Singh (23) of Haryana and Dharamraj Kashyap (19) of Uttar Pradesh have confessed to the crime.

Bishnoi remains incarcerated in Gujarat's Sabarmati jail since August last year and the investigators believe that the murder was committed on his command from jail. On Oct 13 evening, Mumbai police also arrested the alleged key conspirator— Pravin Lonkar from Pune, who is the brother of Shubham Lonkar — the man behind the now-deleted social media post, which established the jailed gangster Bishnoi’s involvement in the killing of Siddique.

In the latest incident involving the Bishnoi gang, a gym owner was shot dead in the heart of south Delhi on Sep 12. The shooter was allegedly linked to the gang. Notably, in 2022, the murder of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala in Punjab's Mansa district brought notorious gangster Bishnoi to attention globally.

The killing of Siddique, part of a deadly cycle of violence involving the gang, has demonstrated the tremendous capability of Bishnoi to organize and execute crimes from inside the jail.

Life threats to Salman Khan

Bishnoi's threats to Bollywood star Salman Khan began in 2018 when the gangster was arrested and brought to court. While in police custody, Bishnoi was quoted as saying, "Salman Khan will be killed here in Jodhpur... Then, he will come to know about our real identity."

At the time, the threats by gangsters seemed like bravado from a criminal seeking attention.

However, the threats became real in 2022, when Khan's father, Salim Khan, discovered a threatening letter while on his morning walk near the actor's Mumbai home. The note left on a bench where Salim Khan regularly rested, warned that both the father and son would be killed.

The letter read, "Tumhara Moose Wala kar denge (You will be killed like Moose Wala)."

It did not stop there. In March 2023, an email threatening Khan and his family was received by one of his team members, leading to a case being registered at the Bandra police station. On April 14 this year, the feud took a violent turn when gunshots were fired outside Khan's home in Bandra, Mumbai.

Two individuals on a motorcycle fired several rounds at the balcony of Khan's first-floor apartment before fleeing. Khan, who was awakened by the sound initially mistook it for firecrackers and later stated that he believed the attack was orchestrated by the Bishnoi gang to kill him and his family.

The gang's actions have not been limited to India. Warning shots were allegedly fired by gang members outside the Canada home of Punjabi singer AP Dhillon in September this year, soon after he filmed a music video with Salman Khan.

A few days later, Salim Khan, the actor's father, received a fresh threat. Sources were quoted saying that when Salim Khan was out for a morning walk near his Bandra home, a man and a burqa-clad approached him on a scooter and threatened his life citing jailed gangster Bishnoi's name.

"Should I call Lawrence Bishnoi?" the burqa-clad woman was quoted as saying to Salim Khan when he was sitting on a bench.

Bishnoi uses Signal and Telegram to communicate

Bishnoi was jailed for the first time in Bathinda Punjab in 2012 and then shifted to Tihar Jail after being charged with the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). He killed a rival candidate in the 2013 Ludhiana Municipal Corporation elections as well as the victor of the Government College elections in Muktsar.

Be it Gujarat's Sabarmati jail or Delhi's Tihar jail, Bishnoi allegedly uses mobile phones to communicate. He reportedly uses apps like Signal and Telegram to communicate with his associates in India and abroad. The mobile phones reportedly belonging to other inmates are often fitted with high-end Virtual Private Network (VPN) networks to mask the IP addresses and locations of people they communicate with.

The gangster, over the years, has been shifted from one prison to another and is kept in solitary confinement. A video clip that went viral on social media allegedly showed Bishnoi's conversation with Pakistan-based gangster Shahzad Bhatti earlier this year.
Since the Bishnoi gang's tentacles are spread to several countries, especially in North America, he is often in communication with his brother Anmol and associates Goldy Brar and Rohit Godara.

The gang shares close ties with Khalistani terrorists and Khalistani separatist groups based in North America.
Bishnoi was shifted to Sabarmati Central Jail from Delhi's Tihar jail in August 2023 in connection with a case of cross-border smuggling of drugs.

The dreaded gangster has dozens of cases registered against him. He had also claimed responsibility for the fatal attack on Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala.

Bishnoi's vast and intricate operations

With global operations spanning across continents, the Bishnoi gang is no small-time syndicate. Their operations are vast and intricate, extending through several Indian states. The gang has ties abroad, especially in Canada, where Goldy Brar, a key figure within the crime syndicate, is based.

Their influence and network are so vast that even when Bishnoi is locked behind bars, the gang's operations continue to thrive.
The involvement of the gang in extortion, murder, and arms trafficking has steadily gone up over the years.

The group primarily extorts money from high-profile targets, including celebrities like Punjabi singers, the liquor mafia, and other prominent businessmen, employing professional shooters to carry out hits and intimidate victims into submission.

Bishnoi hails from Dhattaranwali village near Punjab's Abohar. His father was a Haryana police constable. Despite his humble beginnings, Bishnoi's ambitions led him to a criminal path. It was during his Panjab University days in Chandigarh that he was first introduced to the world of organized crime, meeting the future gang leader Goldy Brar, who would later become his close associate.

Gang’s modus operandi

In India, the gang reportedly maintains a roster of around 700 shooters. The gang gets in touch with local gangsters, sources were quoted as saying. These local groups then hire shooters who get arms training and are paid handsomely for any contract killing or political assassination that the gang orders.

The new recruits are often poor, minor boys looking for a quick buck. The potential shooters are not even aware of who they are working for. They just focus on one thing: a target to kill.

The gang functions like a corporate company, much like how Dawood Ibrahim's D-Company operates. The Bishnoi gang, besides their massive arsenal of sharpshooters, also has separate divisions and personnel who look after logistics, legal, and information gathering.

Despite being in jail, Bishnoi is believed to have maintained full control over the gang's operations.

Jail authorities have long suspected that he, like many other gang leaders incarcerated within India's maximum-security facilities, runs his criminal empire from within the prison, using smuggled mobile phones and loyal associates who carry out his orders on the outside.

He was found to be using a mobile phone inside Bharatpur jail in 2014 to continue orchestrating hits and extortion attempts. He was jailed after an armed encounter with the Rajasthan police.

One of Bishnoi's most audacious plots was the plan to assassinate Salman Khan in connection to the Blackbuck hunting case. The blackbuck is considered sacred by the Bishnoi community.