Three Bishnoi gang operatives held with Chinese pistols, 45 live bullets

According to police, the arrested accused have been identified as Jashan Preet Mangal Singh, 24, and Sukhvinder Chandrapal, 24, both residents of Patiala in Punjab, and Arbaaz Anwar Choudhary, 34, a resident of Zalawad in Rajasthan

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested three alleged operatives linked to the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang and seized three sophisticated “Made in China” pistols along with 45 live cartridges from their possession, officials said on Saturday. Investigators are now probing why the accused had brought the weapons to Mumbai and whether the city was being prepared for another high-profile gang operation.

Three Bishnoi gang operatives held with Chinese pistols, 45 live bullets

The arrests were made by the Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of the Mumbai Crime Branch near St George’s Hospital on P D’Mello Road in South Mumbai after police received specific intelligence inputs about armed gang members entering the city.

According to police, the arrested accused have been identified as Jashan Preet Mangal Singh, 24, and Sukhvinder Chandrapal, 24, both residents of Patiala in Punjab, and Arbaaz Anwar Choudhary, 34, a resident of Zalawad in Rajasthan.

Police said the two accused from Punjab already have four criminal cases registered against them, including a serious offence of murder, while Choudhary from Rajasthan has as many as 19 cases against him.

The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has repeatedly figured in high-profile criminal conspiracies targeting Bollywood personalities and political figures. Bishnoi, who is currently lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat, is accused of continuing to run extortion, contract killing and organised crime networks across India and abroad from behind bars.

In recent years, the gang has targeted actor Salman Khan, been linked to the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique, fired shots outside filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s residence, and allegedly issued threats to actor Ranveer Singh and comedian Kapil Sharma. “We have arrested three people, Jashan Preet Mangal Singh, 24, Sukhvinder Chandrapal, 24, both residents of Patiala, Punjab. We have also arrested Arbaaz Anwar Choudhary, 34, a resident of Zalawad in Rajasthan,” a police officer said.

Investigators said the pistols recovered from the accused are highly sophisticated Chinese-made firearms that were allegedly smuggled into India through Nepal before being brought to Mumbai.

“We have produced them before a holiday court and have got police custody till Monday. We are trying to find what was the aim of the accused to bring the weapon. It is a very sophisticated weapon,” the officer added.

Police sources said the accused travelled to Mumbai using a combination of road and railway routes and had been staying at a lodging facility in the city before their arrest. Officials have seized the mobile phones of the accused and are now analysing chats, contacts and digital communication to identify who they were in touch with and whether they were acting on instructions from senior gang handlers.

The Crime Branch is also investigating whether the accused had come to sell the weapons in Mumbai or deliver them to other gang members allegedly assigned specific targets.

Officials said the interrogation is also focusing on possible links to past threats issued to Bollywood celebrities by the Bishnoi gang. The gang has previously used sophisticated foreign-made weapons including Turkey-made semi-automatic Zigana pistols, Austrian-made Glock pistols and AK-47 rifles in its operations, police said.