‘Our hands are tied,’ says Mumbai police on lack of access to Bishnoi brothers

Police say they cannot unravel the motives behind attacks and threats targeting Bollywood figures without custodial interrogation of Lawrence and Anmol Bishnoi.

Lack of access to jailed gangsters Lawrence and Anmol Bishnoi for custodial interrogation has left the Mumbai police unable to unravel the motives and larger conspiracies behind the repeated attacks and threatening messages being received by Bollywood personalities.

In August 2023, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order referencing Lawrence Bishnoi, restricting him from being taken out of jail for any purpose. (HT ARCHIVE)

The incarcerated brothers – Lawrence is in the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad and Anmol in Tihar Jail, Delhi – are accused along with their aides in at least four recent firing incidents aimed at creating terror in Bollywood, other than Sunday’s firing at actor Tiger Shroff in Juhu. These are the firing incidents at actor Salman Khan’s Bandra home and filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s Juhu residence; threats to actor Ranveer Singh; and the murder of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique.

“And yet we are unable to get custody of the Bishnoi brothers,” said a police officer, who added that the reason was an order issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs preventing their removal from the jails where they are lodged. “The foot soldiers we are questioning or have arrested have barely any information about the gang leaders or the motive for which the crimes being ordered,” said the officer.

“We have arrested more than 15 people in each case, to send out a strong message; we have applied stringent sections of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) so that they don’t come out of jail easily,” added the officer.

Facing the heat

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, Priyanka Chaturvedi, has been vocal in her criticism of the Mumbai police. In a post on X, she said, “Why is it that Mumbai Police hasn’t been able to question the gangster in jail since the first attempted shootout outside Salman Khan residence? Who and why is there no active cooperation in addressing this issue?... How is it that while India has managed to nearly end Naxalism, it is unable to control this gang? Thereby hangs a tale.”

Police, however, say that they can question the Boshnois in jail but it is not the same as custodial interrogation. “It’s simple – if we don’t get custody, they don’t talk. There are several limitations to questioning in a jail,” said the police officer.

In August 2023, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order referencing Lawrence Bishnoi, restricting him from being taken out of jail for any purpose. This was under section 268 (empowers the state government to restrict certain prisoners from being removed from jail, overriding Section 267 (attendance in court of the CrPC). The order is still in place, said the police officer. The same order has been issued for Anmol Bishnoi, who was deported from the US to India in November 2025. “The crime branch is yet to question both of them,” said the officer.

Shehzeen Siddique, 57, widow of Baba Siddique, had told the Bombay High Court that the Mumbai police had failed to nab the real culprits in her husband’s murder. In July, 2026, the family had urged the court to direct the police to take custody of Anmol Bishnoi, named as a crucial accused in the case. The family accused the Crime Branch of “evasion” and “lethargy”, alleging that there was pressure on the police to shield the real masterminds.

The Special MCOCA court even issued a show cause notice against the investigating officer, asking why he had not obtained police custody of the man they claimed was the prime accused in the case. However, in their reply, the police said, “The MHA order has created an express legal embargo against obtaining physical custody of the accused. The physical custody of the accused is very much essential for carrying out an effective investigation and without it, the investigating agency will be handicapped in carrying out further investigation.”