700 shooters on roll: Bishnoi calling shots from prison

New Delhi : Incarcerated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi (31) alias Balkaran Barar was all of five when the infamous blackbuck poaching case involving Bollywood star Salman Khan took place in 1998 during the filming of "Hum Saath-Saath Hain" in Rajasthan, irking the Bishnoi community .

According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Bishnoi now enjoys a 700-member strong gang spread across the country, including sharpshooters, with the help of other notorious gangsters such as Goldy Brar, Sachin Thapan, Anmol Bishnoi, Vikramjit Singh, Kala Jatheri, and Kala Rana.

Twenty-six years down the line, the notorious gangster's deep resentment against Salman even while in prison continues to make headlines, especially after the gunning down of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique (66), known to be close to the Bollywood actor, by three assailants in Mumbai last week. The Mumbai Police suspects Siddique was killed at the behest of Bishnoi after a purported Facebook post surfaced claiming "Jo Salman Khan aur Dawood gang ki help karega apna hisab-kitab laga ke rakhna (whoever helps Salman Khan and the Dawood gang, keep your accounts in order)". The comments were posted by one Shubuu Lonkar, whom the police suspect to be Bishnoi gang aide Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar. A senior Delhi Police officer told PTI that the intent of the Bishnoi gang has now gone beyond taking revenge against Salman.

"The gang is now trying to penetrate Bollywood, an area once ruled by Dawood Ibrahim, and set up its own D-Company," the officer said. Despite being lodged in prison, Bishnoi has allegedly managed to execute murders of many high-profile people, including Punjabi singer Siddhu Moosewala in 2022, Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi in 2023, besides orchestrating firing outside the residences of singers A P Dhillon and Gippy Garewal in Canada, the officer said. The gang also claimed responsibility for the killing of Khalistani sympathiser Sukha Duneke in September 2023. According to the police, the animosity between Bishnoi and Salman first became public in 2018 when Bishnoi said during a court appearance in Jodhpur, "We will kill Salman Khan. Everyone will know once we take action. I have not done anything as of now, they are accusing me of crimes for no reason." Since then, the popular actor has received multiple threats to his life, with the matter reaching a tipping point in April this year when gunshots were fired outside Salman's Bandra residence by two shooters reportedly belonging to the Bishnoi gang who were later arrested.