Implicated in the recent murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, currently incarcerated in Gujarat’s Sabarmati Jail, is rapidly becoming synonymous with high-profile crimes.
The gangster’s alleged involvement in the 2022 murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala and the 2023 assassination of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada has placed him firmly in the international spotlight.
This string of violent crimes has sparked widespread curiosity whether the man behind the headlines has a guru and if he is a mere pawn in a larger criminal enterprise.
According to a report published in Hindustan Times, unlike many gangsters who pledge allegiance to a criminal mentor, Lawrence Bishnoi considers himself his own hero. The report quotes officials, who interrogated him as saying that Lawrence Bishnoi has no guru in the world of crime.
An SSP-rank officer who interrogated Lawrence Bishnoi on multiple occasions shared that the gangster’s time spent in various prisons, including Burail, Bathinda, Patiala, Tihar, and jails in Rajasthan and Gujarat, provided ample opportunity to network with fellow criminals. The officer, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that Lawrence Bishnoi recognized the potential of young Indians settled abroad and found ways to leverage them for his operations.
“He (Lawrence Bishnoi) can do any work in any country where the youth of India are settled,” the report quoted an official as saying.
Senior Punjab Police officials have identified key figures within Lawrence Bishnoi’s network, including Sampat Nehra, who oversees operations in Haryana, and the US-based Goldie Brar, who manages activities outside India and in Punjab. Other close associates include Deepak Kumar alias Tinu, Ravinder alias Kali Rajput, and Sandeep alias Kala Jatheri, all currently imprisoned except for Brar.
While the motives behind the murders of Siddique and Nijjar remain under investigation, Moose Wala’s killing is believed to be an act of revenge for the death of one of Lawrence Bishnoi’s associates in 2021.
Lawrence Bishnoi’s journey from a student leader to an alleged criminal mastermind began in Chandigarh, where he arrived from the border village of Fazilka at the age of 19 to pursue higher education. His early brushes with the law stemmed from his involvement in student politics, culminating in an attempted murder charge in his first year.
By 2011, Lawrence Bishnoi’s growing influence within student circles led to his appointment as president of the Students’ Organisation of Punjab University (SOPU). By 2013, he had established himself in the world of organized crime, engaging in protection rackets, extortion, and targeted killings. However, his criminal activities landed him behind bars in 2014, marking the beginning of a decade-long stint in various prisons across India.
Despite his incarceration, Lawrence Bishnoi’s notoriety continued to grow. In 2018, he made headlines by threatening Bollywood superstar Salman Khan over the alleged poaching of blackbuck, an animal considered sacred by the Bishnoi community.
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