The alleged assassination bid on Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff, followed by an audio clip of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claiming responsibility has once again brought attention to the notorious Bishnoi brothers, Lawrence and Anmol.
Lawrence, lodged in a Gujarat jail, has been behind bars for over a decade while his brother Anmol is in Tihar jail in New Delhi after he was extradited from the US this year. Both did not gain notoriety overnight. The criminal syndicate of Lawrence Bishoi has its tentacles spread across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi-NCR and has made significant inroads in its latest playground, Mumbai.
Listed as a terrorist entity by Canada last year, the Bishnoi gang is not only a headache for counter terror agencies abroad, but also for Indian state police forces who are facing a peculiar challenge of not only locating their associates who are on the run in India and abroad, but also gaining lawful access to the brothers in jail to be able to question them about their fresh attempts at assassinations, murders or extortions.
Interestingly, Lawrence is under tight security in Gujarat jail and cannot simply be taken to another state for questioning at the request of its police. Agencies such as Maharashtra and Punjab police need to follow the prescribed legal process, including obtaining court orders, to secure his custody or production for interrogation in cases registered in their jurisdictions.
Unless that is done, the wider network of the Bishnoi syndicate, the money trail, alleged channels of communication, weapons supplies and safe houses will remains a mystery to counter terror sleuths of different state police forces, who are thrown a fresh challenge by the gang every time.
Incidentally, the stringent legal processes came into force after Lawrence’s nefarious activities continued behind bars in Tihar jail and he was moved to Gujarat. Similarly, Anmol's associates continue to be linked to criminal operations abroad as he remains under tight security in jail.
According to counter terror officials, there is an urgent need to allow state police forces to question the Bishnoi brothers in a coordinated and swift manner as information obtained from one can help another police force trace associates wanted in separate cases.
The Bishnoi gang's playbook is heavily dependant on networks that are spread out far and wide, joining strength with local gang networks. What has complicated investigations is the alleged split between the Bishnoi gang and Lawrence's long-term associate Goldy Brar, who is wanted by global law enforcement agencies. Brar handled Punjab operations for Lawrence at one time but they parted two years ago, resulting in a spilt in criminal empires in India, the US and Canada. As a result, inter-gang rivalries spilled onto the streets and became a nuisance for the host countries who decided to crack down on them.
Today, while the FBI is chasing Brar and the Canadian Royal Mounted Police has declared the Bishnoi gang a terrorist entity, the gangsters are shifting focus back to India where their primary aim is to build their own brand of terror.
Punjab police officials who have interrogated Lawrence, recall his ambition to become the biggest don in the country. He harboured an ambition to take over the Mumbai underworld, said an investigator, explaining that the fading legacy of elusive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim provided a new playground. Therefore, for the Bishnoi gang, while crackdowns in Canada and the United States are continuing, the focus grows in Mumbai roping in foot soldiers, especially juveniles, to build its own brand quickly.
After the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique in 2024 and the shooting outside the residence of actor Salman Khan, the Tiger Shroff firing incident has once again given publicity to the Bishoi gang's claim of capturing the don image.
But capturing the space left vacant by Dawood might not be as easy as the Bishnoi gang believes. Investigators say the bigger challenge is not law enforcement agencies, but internecine rivalries in the underworld that did not even spare the D company. Will Mumbai be kind to the Bishnoi gang still remains to be seen.
