Lawrence Bishnoi: Building a crime syndicate

Hours after Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique, 66, was shot dead by three men in Mumbai’s Nirmal Nagar area on October 12, Shubuu Lonkar alias Shubham Lonkar claimed responsibility on Facebook. Sources claimed Lonkar was a close associate of lawyer-turned gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently lodged in Sabarmati central jail.

Investigations revealed that Instagram and Snapchat were used for communication. Multiple reconnaissance were conducted in cars and bikes to track Siddique’s movements in Bandra. The operation was led by Mohammad Zeeshan Akhtar, who directed the team — a typical Bishnoi gang tactic where handlers issue orders while Bishnoi manages the operations.

Exactly two-and-a-half years ago, popular Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala was killed by the Bishnoi gang. At least 24 shots were pumped into his body in Mansa district of Punjab. He was closely being watched by Goldy Brar, one of Bishnoi’s oldest friends and associates who operates from Canada.

This crime syndicate built by Bishnoi runs deep in India and beyond.

In Fazilka, Bishnoi’s village, where he’s remembered as a “well-behaved boy who never picked fights”. He came from a well-to-do family of zamindars. The Villagers say he fell into the criminal world after he left the village. He was enrolled in Assumption Convent School, a Christian boarding school in Abohar, where he studied till class X. His parents then enrolled him at DAV School in Chandigarh, where he stayed in a hostel and developed an interest in athletics, particularly the 1,500-metre race.

It was in 2008 when Robin Brar, one of Bishnoi’s friends stood for student council elections, and to threaten the rival candidate, Bishnoi fired at him, using a friend’s revolver. He was sent to jail for on an attempted murder, which launched his career into the crime world. In 2012, after graduating from college, he had both friends and enemies, and a gang.

Satinderjit Singh, alias Satwinder or Goldy Brar, left India to run a syndicate and seek sophisticated weapons. He was linked to Harvinder Singh Sandhu, alias Rinda, through Lakhbir Singh, alias Landa — both connected to Babbar Khalsa International, a banned Khalistani militant organisation. This group infamously bombed Air India Flight 182 from Montreal to New Delhi, using an IED that destroyed the aircraft in Irish airspace, killing 329 passengers.

NIA sources claim the Bishnoi syndicate subsequently got associated with pro-Khalistani elements due to their wide base across States, availability of shooters and an easy availability of funds.

Foot soldiers

The NIA draws parallels between the Bishnoi gang and Dawood Ibrahim, the kingpin of D-Company and a wanted terrorist involved in organized crime. Dawood started with petty crimes like fraud and robbery in the 1980s and became notorious for terrorism, extortion, targeted killings, and trafficking. By the 1990s, he had 5,000 henchmen generating crores. Within 10-15 years, he gained infamy, with the U.S. designating him a global terrorist in 2003 after the Bombay bombings in 1993.

Bishnoi, too, in connivance with Brar, built a syndicate in north India. Later, Sachin Thapan, Anmol Bishnoi, Vikramjit Singh, Kala Jatheri, and Kala Rana created a network of 700 associates and members in 10 years.

While being active in Delhi, M.P., Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and U.P., on ground, young men with a weak socio-economic background, hit by unemployment or drug addiction, usually in the age group of 18 to 25, are lured by the handlers for easy money. They are lured with a ticket to Canada or the U.S. or to live a lavish lifestyle like a gangster.

Publicity and fame

Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are extensively used to promote the criminal activities. “From the photos taken from court visits while he’s in custody, to the social media posts, there’s an entire wave of Bishnoi’s followers, who chant slogans such as ‘Jai Balkari Ji’, and upload videos and regularly engage with his content. “The more visibility a post gets, the more henchmen you meet,” a source said. Even print and TV news have fulfilled Bishnoi’s hunger for publicity.

Only a few photos of Bishnoi are spotted on the internet — all in police custody. They are still popular on internet and Instagram reels. Despite being jailed, Bishnoi has also given interviews to journalists and has made video calls. One can spot more than 50 Instagram accounts with Bishnoi’s name — the account holders claim they are “fans.”

But for police, the footsoldiers are seen as expendables. They are tasked to carry out contract killings, shootouts, extortion, protection money rackets, gun running, highway and bank robberies, and land grabbing.

Bishnoi instructed his gang to work anonymously, where shooters and killers who are recruited are neither known in the area nor are they aware of the background of the targets. This modus operandi comes in handy, as the same henchmen can also be used to commit similar crimes in other states. Expendables.

A shooter only knows who’s above him in the hierarchy. They don’t know who their co-shooters are. “If they don’t know each other, and one gets arrested, the other one will remain safe,” an NIA official said.

From inside the jail

Currently lodged inside the Sabarmati central jail, located in Ahmedabad, Bishnoi, who has more than 80 criminal cases in his dossier, continues to remain active.

He is adept at operating from inside the jail. He has not even applied for bail in any case for many years. A considerable part of the money generated through these extortion activities is sent to Canada, the U.S., Dubai, Thailand and Australia for the use of their abroad-based associates and family members and to fund pro-Khalistan extremists, the NIA said.

Even Moosewala’s murder was planned in different jails — Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria in Tihar jail, Manpreet in Ferozpur jail, Saraj Singh in Special jail in Bhatinda and Manmohan Singh in Mansa jail. All were in touch with Goldy Brar. Police say Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls, which the gangsters are believed to have used for communication, are hard to trace.