Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: Despite his gang’s involvement in recent high-profile crimes, including the firing outside Salman Khan’s residence and the killing of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, Mumbai Police have been unable to take custody of notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Bishnoi, currently jailed in Gujarat, is under a Home Ministry order that restricts his transfer for a year, a move aimed at maintaining law and order.
Sources revealed that after the April 2023 firing outside Salman Khan’s Bandra residence, Mumbai Police made multiple requests for Bishnoi’s custody. However, these requests have been denied due to an order issued under Section 268 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The order, first enacted in August 2023 when Bishnoi was transferred from Delhi’s Tihar Jail to Gujarat’s Sabarmati Jail, restricts any agency or state from seeking his custody for a year. The order has now been extended for another year, further delaying Mumbai Police’s attempts to question Bishnoi in connection with the recent violent incidents.
Bishnoi’s Criminal Network and Threats to Salman Khan
Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang came into the national spotlight after claiming responsibility for the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala in 2022. The gang has since openly taken credit for a number of other criminal acts, including the firing outside Salman Khan’s residence, Galaxy Apartments, in April.
Bishnoi’s gang is reportedly run by his brother, Anmol Bishnoi, along with notorious gangsters Goldy Brar and Rohit Godara. Their longstanding vendetta against Salman Khan stems from the actor’s alleged involvement in the killing of blackbucks in 1998 during the filming of Hum Saath Saath Hain near Jodhpur. The Bishnoi community, which considers blackbucks sacred, was outraged by the incident, and Lawrence Bishnoi had openly declared his intent to kill Khan as retribution. “We will kill Salman Khan in Jodhpur. Everyone will know once we take action,” Bishnoi had said during a court appearance in 2018.
Baba Siddique’s Murder and Ongoing Investigations
The murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique last week has been linked to the Bishnoi gang, with a member of the group in custody claiming responsibility for the killing. The gang alleged that Siddique was targeted due to his connections with India’s most wanted criminal, Dawood Ibrahim, and his close association with Salman Khan.
Police are currently verifying the authenticity of the gang’s claims, as well as investigating possible motives behind the murder, including the death of Anuj Thapan, one of the suspects in the shooting outside Salman Khan’s house, who died in police custody.
As the investigation into Siddique’s murder continues, Mumbai Police remain unable to directly question Bishnoi due to the Home Ministry’s restriction, complicating efforts to uncover further details about the gang’s operations and its involvement in recent violent incidents.
