India’s most notorious gangster wanted by Canada named in multiple cases in India

NEW DELHI: Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi may be notorious but he has charm. Unfortunately for some Indian online marketplaces and e-commerce platforms, gangster-themed products with his image being sold for as little as 200 rupees (US$2.37) each have left them in a tight spot.

The Maharashtra cyber police said on November 7 that they had registered a case against sellers and online marketplaces such as Flipkart and Etsy for selling T-shirts with images of Bishnoi and gangster Dawood Ibrahim, India’s most wanted criminal.

Police say the product glamorizes a life of crime in young and impressionable minds.

“Such products that idolize criminals pose a significant risk to society by promoting a distorted image that can negatively impact young minds,” the Maharashtra cyber department said in a press release dated November 7.

“This idolization of criminal elements not only erodes social values, but also trivializes the serious crimes associated with these individuals.”

Flipkart and Etsy did not respond to a request for comment.

Even though Bishnoi has been in prison for the last 10 years, there has been an increase in interest. He gained international notoriety in mid-October when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canadian police named his criminal organization as a hired gun in an alleged plot by the Indian government to intimidate and kill Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.

Bishnoi’s crime syndicate has also been linked to high-profile cases in India, including persistent death threats against Bollywood star Salman Khan and the murder of an Indian politician in Mumbai in October.

Those who follow the 31-year-old gangster, currently jailed in the western state of Gujarat for drug trafficking, said Canada’s allegations had elevated him to new levels of notoriety.

Founding member and general manager of the Conflict Management Institute, Dr. “It’s big and it’s getting bigger,” Ajai Sahni said.

From prison, Bishnoi is believed to have run a network stretching from India to Canada, the US and the UK.

“In fact, his dramatic rise began after he was imprisoned in 2014. As for criminal organizations operating from prison, this is not something Lawrence Bishnoi invented and it is not unique to India. This happens all over the world. It is the safest way of working. Organized criminal will not seek to challenge the authority of the state and will use intimidation and bribery and will essentially be allowed to operate,” Dr. Sahni said.

Bishnoi, who was born in Punjab, said he opposed the creation of an independent Sikh state, although the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a federal counter-terrorism law enforcement agency, linked him to Sikh separatist groups.

Sikh separatists want the creation of a separate Khalistan state from Punjab.

Bishnoi voiced his dissent in a TV interview from prison in 2023, during which six Punjab police officers were suspended in October.

According to Indian legal news website Bar and Bench, the Punjab and Haryana High Court noted that officers provided a studio-like facility to facilitate the meeting.

In Canada, investigations began following the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a Vancouver suburb in June 2023.

On October 16, Trudeau accused Indian diplomats of collecting information about Sikh separatists in Canada and passing it to the “highest levels” within the Indian government. The information was passed on to criminal organizations such as the Bishnoi gang, which had links to countries with significant numbers of Punjabis.

India has repeatedly rejected Canada’s claims, resulting in bilateral relations souring.

Instead, he says, Canada has ongoing extradition requests for gang members, including Bishnoi’s, to be handed over to stand trial on terrorism charges.

Bishnoi was born into a wealthy family that owned several properties and large tracts of land in Punjab, and was reportedly named after British educator and officer Henry Lawrence.

While in college in the city of Chandigarh, he became involved in student politics and was arrested more than once for violence. From there he is believed to have come into contact with criminal elements, which facilitated his turn to organized crime.

“Lawrence Bishnoi’s rise is a little different from others. This man was educated in Punjab and is not short of money; He owns land and property. He is not one of those guys who come from the slums and compare it to the Bombay underworld,” said Yashovardhan Azad, former special director of the Indian Intelligence Bureau. Many gangsters in Mumbai’s underworld came from impoverished backgrounds.

Now in decline, Mumbai’s gangland was controlled by the most notorious criminals, including Dawood Ibrahim, who faced multiple terrorism charges and is believed to have fled to Pakistan. Dawood was declared a global terrorist by the USA in 2003.

Crime experts said Bishnoi could step in to fill the void left by Dawood, whose network has weakened following his disappearance.

Bisjnoi’s union was likely behind the murder of 66-year-old Indian politician Baba Siddique, who was shot dead near his son’s office in Mumbai on October 13. Twenty-three people have been arrested so far in connection with the case.

“The aim of his raid on Mumbai with Siddique’s murder appears to be to dislodge what is left of the Dawood Ibrahim gang. “If he does that, he will be No. 1,” said Dr. Sahni.

Bishnoi himself gained national attention in 2018 for threatening Bollywood star Salman Khan, who was accused of poaching two blackbucks, an Indian antelope revered by the Bishnoi community to which the gangster belongs. The Bishnois, a Hindu religious sect, believe that black deers are the manifestation of their founder, Guru Maharaj Jambaji.

Threats have continued for years. Suspected members of Bishnoi’s gang opened fire in front of the Bollywood star’s house at the beginning of this year, and Bishnoi’s brother Anmol took responsibility.

Mumbai police are reportedly planning to initiate extradition requests from the US for Anmol Bishnoi, who was last seen at a wedding in April 2023. In October, Indian authorities announced a reward of one million rupees ($15,900) for his arrest.

Lawrence Bishnoi is also accused of masterminding the murder of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, who was shot dead near his village in May 2022, as police suspected personal rivalry.

For years, Indian federal and state investigators have been investigating Bishnoi and his gang, which the NIA estimates number 700 strong, for their cross-border links with terrorist organizations and drug smuggling cartels.

In 2023, the NIA filed a chargesheet against 14 persons, including Lawrence and Anmol Bishnoi, for criminal conspiracy to carry out terrorist attacks or target killings of prominent social and religious leaders, film stars, singers and businessmen.

“Apart from their links with the conspirators in Pakistan, the accused were also in touch with pro-Khalistan elements in Canada, Nepal and other countries,” the NIA charge sheet stated.

Yet Bishnoi’s lawyer denied all allegations against his client, while also denying his connection to terrorists.

“Nowadays, even when an ant receives a threat, Lawrence’s name comes up. There are many FIRs. Nothing has been proven,” India Today quoted Rajni Khatri, identified as Bishnoi’s lawyer, as saying in an October article. FIR is the first information report filed by the police when a case is registered.

Admitting that Bishnoi’s reputation sometimes precedes him, Azad commented: “When you are the king of the jungle, every pursuit or fear is attributed to the king of the jungle. This is happening right now.” – Straits Times/ANN