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Incarcerated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, 31, alias Balkaran Barar was all of five when the infamous blackbuck poaching case involving Bollywood star Salman Khan took place in 1998 during the filming of Hum Saath-Saath Hain in Rajasthan, irking the Bishnoi community which revers the animal.
Twenty-six years down the line, the notorious gangster's deep resentment against Salman even while in prison continues to make headlines, especially after the gunning down of former Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique, 66, known to be close to the Bollywood actor, by three assailants in Mumbai last week.
The Mumbai Police suspects Siddique was killed at the behest of Bishnoi after a purported Facebook post surfaced claiming 'Jo Salman Khan aur Dawood gang ki help karega apna hisab-kitab laga ke rakhna (whoever helps Salman Khan and the Dawood gang, keep your accounts in order)'.
The comments were posted by one Shubuu Lonkar, whom the police suspect to be Bishnoi gang aide Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar.
A senior Delhi Police officer told PTI that the intent of the Bishnoi gang has now gone beyond taking revenge against Salman.
"The gang is now trying to penetrate Bollywood, an area once ruled by Dawood Ibrahim, and set up its own D-Company," the officer said.
Despite being lodged in prison, Bishnoi has allegedly managed to execute murders of many high-profile people, including Punjabi singer Siddhu Moosewala in 2022, Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi in 2023, besides orchestrating firing outside the residences of singers A P Dhillon and Gippy Garewal in Canada, the officer said.
In September 2023, the gang claimed responsibility for the killing of Khalistani sympathiser Sukha Duneke.
The terror-crime-extortion syndicate was also responsible for the RPG attack on Punjab State Intelligence headquarters in Mohali in May 2023, allegedly on the directions of Harwinder Singh alias Rinda, a member of the Pakistan-based pro-Khalistan terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).
According to the police, the animosity between Bishnoi and Salman first became public in 2018 when Bishnoi said during a court appearance in Jodhpur, "We will kill Salman Khan. Everyone will know once we take action. I have not done anything as of now, they are accusing me of crimes for no reason."
Since then, the popular actor has received multiple threats to his life, with the matter reaching a tipping point in April this year when gunshots were fired outside Salman's Bandra residence by two shooters reportedly belonging to the Bishnoi gang who were later arrested.
As per Delhi Police records, Bishnoi himself never killed anyone yet he has become one of the most dreaded gangsters, running the gang with 'impunity' from a Gujarat prison with a modus operandi similar to that of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.
According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Bishnoi now enjoys a 700-member strong gang spread across the country, including sharpshooters, with the help of other notorious gangsters such as Goldy Brar, Sachin Thapan, Anmol Bishnoi, Vikramjit Singh, Kala Jatheri, and Kala Rana.
"Most of the sharpshooters are young people who usually get influenced by his gang through social media," an official said.
According to police records, Bishnoi is a native of Punjab's Fazlika district who graduated in law from the Panjab University in Chandigarh.
Son of a farmer, Bishnoi reportedly owns about 100-acre of land in Punjab, the records show.
He has a tattoo of Lord Hanuman imprinted on his right arm and is known for his driving and shooting skills.
Bishnoi's younger brother Anmol, who used to study in a college in Rajasthan, is now believed to have joined his gang, operating from outside the country.
Bishnoi forayed into the world of crime during his Panjab University days in 2010 when he opened fire at a rival contestant during the student body polls for which he spent three months in jail.
He also contested the varsity polls and became the students' union president while doing his graduation.
Convicted in four criminal cases in Punjab, including on charges of extortion, murder, attempt to murder, and offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Bishnoi mostly operated in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi before setting his sights on Maharashtra.
The NIA had earlier filed a chargesheet against Bishnoi in a case involving the seizure of around 39 kg heroin by the Gujarat Police in September 2022.
The agency had also attached four properties owned by members of the Bishnoi syndicate. The properties, of which three were immovable and one movable, were attached in a coordinated swoop by NIA teams in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh under the provisions of UAPA.