New Delhi: Anmol Bishnoi, a fugitive and brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, is in detention at the Pottawattamie County Jail, also known as ‘Squirrel Cage Jail’, in Council Bluffs, Big Lake Road, Iowa, US, official records accessed by ThePrint show.
Anmol is currently in custody of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being detained last week for using “forged documents” to stay in the country.
Bishnoi had fled to the US on a fake passport with the name “Bhanu Pratap, son of Rakesh”. Sources in the security establishment also said that they are in touch with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over the detention and have shared details of his fake passport with the authorities.
The source added that officials from the US Embassy also met Indian law enforcement officials to discuss Anmol’s case.
“We are in touch with the embassy officials on Anmol’s case. We have been told that he is in their custody. We are cooperating with the US counterparts by sharing whatever details we have on him, including details of the fake passport that he had used to flee the country,” the source said.
The US Embassy spokesperson also confirmed to ThePrint that embassy officials are in touch with Indian law enforcement.
“US Embassy officials met with Indian law enforcement partners to discuss this case and the Embassy remains in close contact with Indian officials. I cannot share further details on private diplomatic discussions, but I can confirm that Embassy officials are in close contact with Indian law enforcement partners on the case,” the spokesperson said.
There is no clarity yet on whether Bishnoi will be deported to India or not.
Allegedly involved in three high-profile cases—the killing of Sidhu Moosewala, the firing outside Salman Khan’s house, and the killing of politician Baba Siddique—Anmol became prominent over the past three years. He is widely known as Lawrence’s proxy in the Bishnoi-Brar-Godara crime syndicate.
“The US authorities have also conveyed that Anmol is a wanted gangster in India with involvement in high profile cases and has been running his gang from the US,” the source added.
Mumbai police is in the process of moving for Anmol’s extradition. Last month, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) declared a reward of Rs 10 lakh for any information that might lead to his arrest.
Anmol has over 18 cases against him, including under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), for allegedly raising funds and recruiting youths to carry out terror activities.
According to sources, Anmol fled to the US on a fake passport in 2022 after Moosewala’s killing and since then has been running operations for his brother’s gang from there. He is wanted in other cases registered by local police in India, including one in Rajasthan for an alleged attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy in a case that saw him arrested and jailed in 2017.
In July, a Mumbai court also issued a non-bailable warrant against Anmol.
“Whether it is delivery of arms or recruiting new boys to carry out crimes, like what we saw in the Salman Khan shooting case, for which he directed the shooters on how to execute the operation, Anmol has been running operations sitting in the US,” the source said to ThePrint.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)