How dreaded gangster Lawrence Bishnoi has been evading law
Out of the 36 cases registered against him across the region, gangster Lawrence Bishnoi was acquitted in nine, including four of murder bid, due to lack of evidence or witnesses turning hostile
The brutal murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala at the behest of “key conspirator” Lawrence Bishnoi has again put a question mark on the law enforcement and criminal justice system in the country. A dreaded gangster, who has at least three dozen cases of murder, attempt to murder and extortion registered against him, has been running the operations from behind the bars while benefiting from his “fear” among the people to evade the law in multiple cases, shows a perusal of records of court proceedings and ongoing investigations against him.
After shifting to Chandigarh from a sleepy border village of Fazilka for higher education more than a decade ago, Bishnoi got into student politics. The first case was registered against him for attempt to murder in 2010, when he was just 19 years old. Initial cases registered in Chandigarh and Mohali were the outcome of student politics, but it laid the foundation for his entry into the world of crime.
Out of the 36 cases registered against him in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, New Delhi and Chandigarh, Bishnoi was acquitted in nine, including four of attempt to murder, due to lack of evidence or witnesses turning hostile. While 15 cases, including four of murder, are under investigation, trial is pending in five cases, including in cases registered in 2010 and 2011.
‘Lack of evidence’
The judgment orders on granting acquittal to Bishnoi state that the “prosecution failed to prove its case” and the benefit of doubt is granted to the gangster due to “lack of evidence”. In a case of an attempt to murder, a Fazilka court had stated that the eyewitness has not supported the case of the prosecution and did not identify the accused in the court.
In six cases in which Bishnoi has been convicted, he was found guilty of attempt to murder in two only because cops were the witnesses. Both the cases were registered in Rajasthan for opening fire on police in 2014 and he was sentenced to five-year imprisonment in 2019. In another case registered in Chandigarh in 2012, court had dropped the attempt to murder charges, claiming the prosecution failed to prove it, while convicted the gangster under less severe sections. In another case, he was convicted under the NDPS Act and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. In two cases registered under the Arms Act and for trespass, he was convicted in 2017 but released by court as he had already undergone “sufficient imprisonment”.
A lawyer, who has earlier appeared against Bishnoi, said on the condition of anonymity that independent witnesses do not come forward and even the eyewitnesses who record their statements to police turn hostile in court after getting threats.
Rise of a gangster
In 2011, Youth Akali Dal leader Vicky Middukhera (now deceased) announced Bishnoi’s name as the president of Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU). After the murder of Sidhu Moose Wala, the Bishnoi gang took the responsibility and termed it an act of revenge for the killing of Middukhera in Mohali last year. According to the Bishnoi gang, Moose Wala was involved in that murder, though police probe has not pointed to the singer’s role.
Bishnoi got into the world of organised crime in 2013 and started the activity in border areas of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. It was in 2018 when he hit the national headlines with his threat to kill actor Salman Khan for blackbuck hunting. The Bishnoi community considers blackbuck sacred.
Now his gang has a pan-India presence, which is running extortion rackets and contract killings. As per the dossier of criminal cases prepared by police, Bishnoi has been operating the gang from behind the bars in Delhi’s Tihar jail, dividing areas among his close aides.
“His close aide Sampat Nehra oversees operations in Haryana, while Goldy Brar is operating the gang activity in Punjab and other areas from abroad. Deepak Kumar, alias Tinu, Ravinder, alias Kali Rajput, and Sandeep, alias Kala Jatheri, are other close aides of Bishnoi. Except Brar, all are lodged in jails,” said a senior police officer. As per intelligence sources in the Faridkot district alone, there are more than 30 active members of the Bishnoi gang. Overall, there are around 700 men working for the gangster via his close aides, states the dossier cited above.
Lawrence’s younger brother Anmol has also followed in his footsteps. Presently out on bail, he has gone into hiding since Moose Wala’s murder. Last year, the Moga police had named Anmol as an accused in the murder of gangster Harjit Singh Penta, who was allegedly killed on Bishnoi’s directions. Three other accused in Penta’s murder have also been arrested in Moose Wala’s case, while Anmol’s suspected involvement is also being investigated, said a special investigation team (SIT) member.