Anmol Bishnoi lodged at US county prison: Officials

ICE is mandated to apprehend foreign fugitives wanted for crimes committed abroad and who are at large in the US.

Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother Anmol Bishnoi was arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is currently lodged at Pottawattamie County Jail in Iowa, according to the information gathered by HT. It isn’t clear if he has applied for asylum, but Indian agencies have sought to have him deported.

Anmol Bishnoi

ICE is mandated to apprehend foreign fugitives wanted for crimes committed abroad and who are at large in the US. It also manages deportation of individuals who are undocumented or have violated immigration laws of the US.

Anmol Bishnoi, aged around 26, was taken into custody last week as his Indian passport was found to be made on an assumed identity, Bhanu Pratap, an anomaly that has already been confirmed by Indian officials to their US counterparts. ICE used his real name, Anmol Bishnoi, in its official records.

The ICE detainee’s information seen by HT states that Anmol Bishnoi, an Indian national, is lodged in Pottawattamie County jail — also known as “Squirrel Cage Jail” — at 1400, Big Lake Road, Council Bluffs, IA 51501 (postal code in Iowa). It is not known if he was caught in Iowa itself because earlier reports suggested that he was taken into custody in California.

His last location before the capture, according to Indian officials, was in Fresno, California. “There is a possibility that he was trying to flee from California. All these details are being verified,” said an officer, who asked not to be named.

In response to a query by HT, Ross Tweten, Public Affairs Officer of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in an email response — “Yes, according to the ICE website, Anmol Bishnoi is currently detained at the Pottawattamie County Jail in Iowa.”

“Beyond that, the agency does not have anything to share at this time,” Tweten said.

The Indian officials said Indian agencies are exploring if Bishnoi can be deported “directly” to India instead of going through a tedious process of extradition, which involves court proceedings and appeals even though an extradition request for him was sent by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) “sometime back”.

A second officer said NIA is regularly in touch with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to coordinate charges and evidence against Anmol after his detention by ICE.

Agencies in New Delhi are also trying to verify if Bishnoi has applied for asylum in the US to avoid being deported.

A US embassy spokesperson in Delhi confirmed on Tuesday that “U.S. Embassy officials met with Indian law enforcement partners to discuss this case and the Embassy remains in close contact with Indian officials”.

NIA has claimed Anmol Bishnoi, along with Goldy Brar — who is also suspected to be located somewhere in the US — was raising funds to carry out terror or criminal activities through smuggling of drugs, weapons, widespread extortion and targeted killings of well-known social and religious leaders, movie stars, singers, businessmen.

The duo is also believed to be in constant touch with pro-Khalistan elements based in Canada, US, Nepal, Pakistan and other countries.

Bishnoi is named as accused along with his brother in NIA’s March 24, 2023, charge sheet, which deals with the activities of their gang and larger involvement with pro-Khalistan groups. The charge sheet states that he along with Darmanjot Kahlon alias Darman Singh “handles from the USA, the gang’s finance deals and logistics”.

Bishnoi is wanted in around 18-20 cases, a large number of which were probed by anti-gangster task force of Punjab police, Mumbai police, NIA and Delhi Police.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) too is probing the gang’s activities under prevention of money laundering act (PMLA). Lawrence Bishnoi, 31, is currently in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail.