Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's kin elusive; village in Fazilka district rues sullied image

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Fazilka, June 10

Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s family has shut itself from the outer world, spending most of its time at home in Dottaranwali village of Fazilka district ever since his name has surfaced in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case.

Parents don’t talk to outsiders: Villagers

Villagers shy away from giving the location of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s house

Bishnoi’s parents don’t talk to outsiders, say villagers; the main gate is locked from outside

Dottaranwali residents remember Lawrence as a ‘well-behaved boy’ from a well-to-do family of zamindars

The family owns 120 acres in Dottaranwali, and has ancestral properties in Abohar, Bikaner and Jaipur

Villagers shy away from giving the location of Lawrence’s house. Ask them about the gangster and their faces turn tense.

Lawrence belongs to remote Dottaranwali village located near Abohar, just 50 km from the India-Pakistan border. The village dominated by the Bishnoi community is home to more than 3,000 people.

Lawrence’s father Lavinder Bishnoi and mother Sunita Bishnoi lives in the village house. They don’t talk to outsiders, say villagers when a team of The Tribune went to their house. The main gate was locked from outside.

Lawrence’s younger brother Anmol, who is out on bail, is in hiding since Moosewala’s murder.

Villagers say Delhi and Punjab cops visited Dottaranwali after Moosewala’s murder. Many youths have gone into hiding since the murder, fearing harassment at the hands of the cops.

Whenever any incident involving Lawrence takes place, the police detain youths from the village unnecessarily, they say. Villagers rue that Dottaranwali’s name has been defamed because of Lawrence’s criminal activities.

Recalling old memories, villager Mohinder Thapa says convent-educated Lawrence was a bright student and fond of horses, cricket and volleyball during school days.

“He never got involved in any fight. I don’t know what happened when he went to Chandigarh,” he says.

Lawrence completed his LLB from Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh. In 2009, while studying in college, he joined a student organisation in the PU and got into the world of crime.

Dottaranwali residents remember Lawrence as a “well-behaved boy” from a well-to-do family of zamindars. Bishnoi’s parents are known for their good conduct, says Surinder Bagria, village sarpanch.

Praveen Bagria, another villager, notes, “The Lawrence family is affluent and it owns 120 acres. It has ancestral properties in Abohar, Bikaner and Jaipur. He belongs to a good and reputed family, but we don’t know what went wrong with Lawrence.”

“Lawrence was fond of wearing branded clothes and shoes. When he was staying here, he used to wear a Rs 10,000 jacket and expensive shoes,” he adds.