NIA declares Rs 10 lakh bounty on Bishnoi’s brother, adds him to most wanted gangsters list

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information leading to the arrest of Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, officials said on Friday.

Anmol Bishnoi, who is under the NIA radar for his alleged involvement in a firing incident outside actor Salman Khan’s Mumbai residence in April, has also been put on the anti-terror agency’s most wanted list, they said.

The bounty on Anmol Bishnoi alias Bhanu—believed to be living in Canada and making regular travels to the US—was announced last month, the officials said.

Bhanu is also allegedly said to be behind the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique on October 12 in Mumbai’s Bandra, they said.

A Mumbai court recently denied bail to one of the two accused involved in the firing incident outside Khan’s residence, saying they did so with the “intention or knowledge” to kill Khan on Bhanu’s instigation.

Both Bhanu and Lawrence Bishnoi, who hail from Fazilka in Punjab, have been shown as wanted accused in the case.

Lawrence Bishnoi is currently lodged in a jail in Sabarmati in Gujarat.

A lookout circular was also issued in April against Bhanu, who had claimed responsibility for the firing incident outside Khan’s residence.

An FIR was also registered by the NIA against nine accused, including both the Bishnoi brothers, in August 2022 for being part of a conspiracy to “raise funds, recruit youth to carry out terrorist acts in the Union Territory of Delhi and other parts of the country” besides “targeted killings of prominent persons”.