Seven shooters, having connections with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, were arrested in an operation that was undertaken for the last two days in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi. The crackdown comes after gunshots were fired outside Bollywood star Salman Khan’s residence and the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddiqui.
Recoveries included six semi-automatic weapons and ammunition after the arrests made by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell. The suspects are presently being grilled regarding Siddiqui’s murder and multiple operations linked to the Bishnoi gang. The latter has been accused by Canadian federal police of being linked to “agents” of the Indian government due to involvement in homicide and extortion.
Sources close to these shooters said that this hit list included one unnamed target in Haryana and one more in Rajasthan, whose killing orders were reportedly given by the key member Arzoo Bishnoi.
The arrests were part of the bigger probe into the criminal network, which Lawrence Bishnoi was orchestrating from his prison cell in Gujarat’s Sabarmati Jail. The notoriety of the gang led to a bounty of ₹1.11 lakh by the Kshatriya Karni Sena against the encounter death of Bishnoi for the murder of Rajput strongman Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi last December.
More than a dozen members of the Bishnoi gang have been arrested in connection with Siddiqui’s murder, while the prime shooter, Shivkumar Gautam, is still absconding. According to reports, two of the shooters incapacitated the police officer providing security to Siddiqui using chili powder before committing the crime.
Another Bishnoi shooter, Sukha, was arrested by Navi Mumbai Police last Thursday from Panipat in Haryana. The notorious Bishnoi gang is known for its all sorts of criminal activities like extortion, arms trafficking, and, lately, high-profile targets by employing professional shooters to do hits that intimidate the targets.
These activities of the gang are coordinated through a network of deputies, with the brother of Bishnoi, Anmol, being a wanted suspect for a shooting that took place outside Salman Khan’s house. There is a ₹10 lakh bounty on the head of Anmol issued by NIA. The Bishnoi gang is potent, with its sprawling network engaging in logistics and legal matters and intelligence gathering against rivals and targets.
