New Delhi: A staggering criminal trail, with over 40 cases in Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana alone, and charges such as murder, attempted murder, extortion, and violations of the Arms Act. Anmol Bishnoi, who fled India in 2022, landed in the country Wednesday and is now in NIA custody for his involvement in his brother Lawrence Bishnoi’s terror-syndicate.
This development comes after Anmol’s deportation from the United States.
The 27-year-old Anmol Bishnoi was detained last year by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for allegedly forging his identity documents. He had fled India on a passport under a fake name—Bhanu Pratap, son of Rakesh—after the 2022 murder of Congress leader and Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.
Anmol was charge-sheeted by the NIA in March 2023 after investigations in the case showed that he actively aided designated individual terrorist Goldy Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi in the commission of various acts of terrorism in India from 2020 to 2023.
An Interpol ‘Red Corner’ notice was slapped against him in December 2022.
A native of Dutaranwali village in Punjab’s Fazilka district, the younger Bishnoi’s brush with the law began sometime in 2015. According to his dossier, Lawrence sent Anmol to Jodhpur for studies in 2016. During that period, three cases of assault and illegal arms were registered against him.
According to investigators, Anmol was part of the Bishnoi gang and extorted many businessmen of Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana by threatening them with dire consequences.
Moreover, he is an accused in several high-profile cases, such as the murder of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddiqui last year. The case of firing outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s residence in Bandra also names him as an accused.
Investigations have revealed that Anmol continued to execute terrorist acts from the United States by using operatives on the ground in India. Anmol arranged for accommodation and provided logistics support for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang’s shooters and ground operatives in India. He was also engaged in extortion cases from foreign soil.
Lawrence’s global ‘proxy’
With the elder brother lodged in jail since 2015, Anmol gradually learned the ins and outs of the criminal nexus connected to his elder brother. He began to work closely with fugitive gangsters, Goldy Brar and Rohit Godara, who had partnered with Lawrence.
“He stepped in to fill Lawrence’s vacuum outside. Goldy Brar and Lawrence were constantly in touch with him, and he was groomed to conduct the operations. He works as a proxy for Lawrence,” a senior police officer said.
Anmol’s dossier mentions that he runs a criminal network with members in several countries, including Portugal, Italy, the US, Bulgaria, Turkey, and the UAE, among others.
These members have different designated roles. These include maintaining hideouts for absconders, supplying illegal high-grade arms, ammunition, and drugs, identifying, nurturing and training new sharpshooters, laundering the illegal crime money, forging fake identity documents, and luring local juvenile delinquents, among others. They also ensure that international mobile numbers for WhatsApp, Signal, and VPN accounts are available for the gang members.
According to investigators, eighteen of Anmol Bishnoi’s known associates are currently abroad. They are Goldy Brar in California, US, and nine others who recently fled India, assuming fake identities using fake passports.
Before he rose to prominence in the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, Anmol was arrested at least eight times in Punjab and Rajasthan for attempted murder and criminal conspiracy, among other charges. He is wanted in cases, lodged not only by police across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Maharashtra, but also by the National Investigation Agency. The NIA had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for him in 2024.
A ‘Red Notice’ was issued by Interpol in December 2022, and it was updated post his ICE detention in the US last year.
According to investigators, the brothers were behind the murder of Jodhpur businessman Vasudev in 2017 after the victim did not pay them a ransom. Anmol gave shelter to the shooters in this murder case.
Anmol made extortion calls to wealthy businessmen through WhatsApp/Signal VOIP (VPN) calls, his dossier mentions. In cases where ransom wasn’t paid, he, along with his associates, allegedly sent gang members for shootouts at victims’ homes or business places, and killed them.
Not only extortion, the gang threatened people they assumed were allies of rival gangs, investigations have revealed. They were involved in the firing outside comedian Kapil Sharma’s Canada-based restaurant. Later, in social media posts and audio notes, they claimed responsibility. They attributed the firing to jokes on the comedian’s show, as well as his association with Salman Khan.
The nexus uses sophisticated firearms, such as the Zigana pistol, manufactured in Turkey and China. Moreover, in several instances, live videos of these crimes are circulated on various media platforms. On social media, Goldy Brar, Anmol Bishnoi, and other gang members also openly claimed responsibility for their crimes.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: Who is Lakhwinder Singh, Lawrence Bishnoi aide deported from US with 50 Haryana youths