Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui receives threats from Lawrence Bishnoi gang; provided security cover

Comic Munawar Faruqui received threats from Lawrence Bishnoi's gang, prompting Mumbai police to provide him security amid ongoing investigations

Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui allegedly received threats from the criminal syndicate led by incarcerated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, which is currently under Mumbai police’s scanner for its suspected role in orchestrating the murder of former state minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddique on Saturday. Faruqui has been provided security by the Mumbai police in view of the threat from the Bishnoi syndicate, said police.

Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui receives threats from Lawrence Bishnoi gang; provided security cover

A police officer said the department had received intelligence inputs about a potential threat to the comedian from the gang. The reason behind the threat is unclear yet, he said, adding, the department is trying to uncover the same.

Incidentally, over the past few years, Faruqui has faced allegations from Hindu groups about hurting their sentiments in one of his shows, which he has strongly denied.

The disclosure about another celebrity being under the scanner of the Bishnoi syndicate, comes in the wake of the city police nabbing three alleged members of the Bishnoi gang since Saturday night when three assailants shot thrice at Siddique in Bandra (east). On Saturday, Delhi police had arrested a shooter allegedly involved in the murder of a gym owner in south Delhi last month who had been targeted by the Bishnoi gang and an allied gang.

The syndicate came under Mumbai police’s radar on April 14, when two shooters had fired five rounds outside actor Salman Khan’s Galaxy Apartments in Bandra in the early hours. In June, the Navi Mumbai police had arrested four of its alleged members who were planning to target Khan’s car in Panvel, Raigad.

Earlier, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had registered a case against the syndicate and Bishnoi’s associates under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in August 2022. The agency’s investigations revealed that the gang had allegedly spread its “mafia- style criminal networks” in several states of the country. These networks were allegedly involved in many high-profile crimes, such as the murder of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala (May 2022), besides engaging in large-scale extortions from businessmen and professionals. NIA’s investigations further revealed that many of the syndicate’s conspiracies were allegedly masterminded from abroad, including Canada, or by leaders of organised terror syndicates operating from prisons across India.