The gang stir: Rise of Lawrence Bishnoi and other gangsters

When Lawrence Bishnoi’s parents, living in Abohar’s Dutranwali village in the backwaters of Punjab, sent him to Chandigarh for studies in 2007, they envisaged a promising future for the teenager, taking up law perhaps. Lawrence traded the halls of academia for the dark corridors of jails instead, keeping company with hardened criminals. Now 33, he has etched his name in infamy as a cold-blooded killer — the gangster don.

“The pain of his parents becomes unbearable at times,” says a senior police officer who has visited Lawrence’s house several times. “They remain quiet,” he shares. “His father, Lavinder Bishnoi, sits on a sofa with his eyes glued to his feet. Mother Sunita Bishnoi sobs in a low voice and doesn’t look up. It’s a sad and pitiful sight.”

The family never had any dearth of money; it owns about 110 acres in the village. Prosperity ensured that Lawrence would ride to school on a motorcycle and kept a Bolero when he went to Chandigarh.

“Hundreds of students from across the region flock to Chandigarh for a brighter future. For some, especially those with a landlord status back home, the transition to a bigger city can lead them astray. Faced with career-oriented, English-speaking classmates, youths like Lawrence often struggle to find their identity. The landlord mentality of having people at their beck and call morphs into forming groups of sidekicks and cruising around in SUVs or open jeeps, asserting their dominance. For them, participating in student elections is the next step,” says one of Lawrence’s teachers, not willing to be named.

His name itself gave Lawrence a distinct identity. It was an unusual choice for a Bishnoi (Hindu) community member. Inspired from Henry Lawrence, a British officer who founded Lawrence school at Sanawar, his mother named him because of his “exceptionally fair skin, like that of Europeans”. Sunita, a graduate, weaved dreams of higher education for her son. Father Lavinder Bishnoi, a landlord, had studied only up to Class 8.

Bishnoi combines two Marwari words — ‘bis’ meaning 20 and ‘noi’ meaning 9. These 29 niyamas (tenets) form the origin of the Bishnoi community and govern their lifestyle. These dictate how a Bishnoi will follow personal hygiene, social behaviour, worship, preserve biodiversity and protect animals. The Bishnois were even directed to check if they had not killed an insect in the firewood they used for cooking food.

The community was founded by Guru Jambeshwar (Guru Jambho Ji) in the early 15th century in Rajasthan. The community members are known as the first eco-warriors. As many as 363 Bishnois sacrificed their life in 1730 while protecting Khejri trees from being axed in Khejarli village in Rajasthan. The Maharaja of Jodhpur, Abhai Singh, needed the wood to build a new palace. A Bishnoi woman, Amrita Devi, hugged a tree to protect it. Besides trees, the community also worships the blackbuck.

It is difficult to make sense of why Lawrence, coming from a community known for its non-violent ways, took to violence in the extreme form — threatening to kill Bollywood star Salman Khan for shooting two blackbucks.

“There have been instances of violence, including murders, whenever someone challenges our self-respect and pride. Bishnois have killed people to save the family name, just like other communities in Punjab, Rajasthan or anywhere for that matter,” says Ramesh Bishnoi, an uncle of Lawrence.

Lawrence was fond of the good life, even in school. The lavish lifestyle continued in Chandigarh. In 2007, Lawrence took admission in DAV Model School in the city. In 2009, while studying in Class XII, he met Vicky Middukhera — a student leader who formed alliances with gangsters and later joined politics — at a sports event. Lawrence used to take part in 1500m race and often went for practice to Panjab University. Middukhera, from the same Abohar-Muktsar belt, was contesting elections under SOPU (Student Organisation of Panjab University). Lawrence became a member.

In April 2010, when he was 18, the first FIR was registered against Lawrence in connection with a brawl with Middukhera’s rival student leaders.

As per the police dossiers, Lawrence and his friend Sampat Nehra (another notorious gangster now), who studied at Khalsa College in Chandigarh, formed a group and supported Robin Brar for the post of president of the DAV college union. The main rival group was PUSU (Panjab University Students Union). In a brawl, they opened fire at the rival candidate, Udday, and set a car on fire.

Lawrence was sent to Burail Jail, where he came in contact with arms smuggler Ranjit Duplan and gangster Rocky Fazilka. It was a transformative period for him, culminating in setting up what is now perhaps the country’s biggest crime syndicate.

Widening the network

Led by Lawrence Bishnoi, Punjab gangsters have gained notoriety at the global level. From extortion from businessmen and Punjabi film and music stars to indulging in gang wars, they have made inroads into the Mumbai underworld and even carried out strikes in other countries like Canada.

Lawrence has been openly threatening Bollywood and Pollywood stakeholders and running a network from inside different jails.

His group claimed responsibility for the murder of realtor-politician Baba Siddique in Mumbai last week. Around the same time, the Canadian government dropped a bombshell, alleging the role of Lawrence’s gang in the June 18, 2023, killing of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey. India had in 2012 and 2014 issued Red Corner Notices against Nijjar, calling him a leader of the banned terrorist organisation, Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF).

This expansion in the Punjab gangs’ area of operation is a far cry from the days of notorious gangster Dimpy Chandbhan (mid-1990s to his murder in 2006) and his successor Rocky Fazilka (2006-2016). They carried out kidnappings and extortions in Uttar Pradesh and even in Pune, besides partnering with the liquor mafia in Punjab. Both had political affiliations and aspirations. Their network was mainly centred in Punjab with one or two strikes outside the state, but only in partnership with the network of Mukhtar Ansari. A foothold in the Mumbai underworld was nowhere on their radar. Lawrence’s network, on the other hand, is spread not just in Mumbai, but in Canada and other countries too.

700 Gang members

Investigations carried out by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Punjab Police and the Special Cell of the Delhi Police reveal that Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang has 700 members, 300 of them in Punjab, besides active cells in various parts of the country and in Canada, UK, USA, Europe, Middle-East, Thailand, Dubai, the Philippines, Pakistan, Germany and Italy.

The NIA, which booked Lawrence under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA in November 2022, has compared his rise to that of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim. It says there are 84 cases registered against him in various places. As per Punjab Police, there are about 2,500 known hideouts of the gang in Punjab.

Lawrence now practically heads the syndicate he had formed along with the Boxer-Gogi gang, Kala Jatheri (Delhi-NCR), Jaggu Bhagwanpuria (Punjab) and Rohit Godara (Rajasthan). He has an active association with Pakistan-based Khalistani terrorist Harwinder Sandhu alias Rinda and Canada-based Lakhwinder Singh alias Landa.

Their biggest rival is the group of Punjab gangsters Lucky Patial and Sukhpreet Budda. The duo is part of the crime syndicate of Bawana, Kaushal Chowdhary and Bali, which operates in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab. A major gang war between the two syndicates from 2015 onwards has resulted in the killing of nearly 20 members of both the gangs.

These gangs have also killed well- known figures like kabaddi player Sandeep Nangal Ambian, singer Sidhu Moosewala and Vicky Middukhera.

As per the Punjab Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), 505 gangster/criminal modules have been busted in Punjab since the formation of the task force in May 2022. These have over 2,000 gang members, of whom nearly 1,400 have been nabbed.

These 505 modules are governed by 10 main or ‘mother’ gangs led by Lawrence Bishnoi; Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Sukhpreet Kahlwan; Harwinder Rinda; Jaipal; Sunny Khwajke and Arshdeep Dala; Devinder Bambiha; Dilpreet Baba and Landa Harike; Gurpreet Sekhon; Harry Chatha, Gopi Ghanshampuria and Aman Jaito; Sukhpreet Budda and Lucky Patial.

Sixteen gangsters were killed while 81 suffered bullet injuries in more than 100 police encounters during this period.

In 2014, there were 57 gangs/criminal modules with 300 members. The rise of the gangs and the members coincides with the increase in drug smuggling since 2013-14. This was the period when Punjab came under the lens for registering the highest number of drug smuggling FIRs, seizures and arrests. This was also when the Punjabi film and music industry witnessed a boom.

Why the proliferation

The NIA, in its various charge sheets, has compared the rise and exploits of these gangs with the Mumbai underworld of the 1990s. It states that the growth of Punjab gangs and their syndicates in Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan mirrors the pattern of the Mumbai underworld. “Initially, these gangs or the main leaders operated individually. They indulged in murders, extortion and kidnapping and slowly expanded their influence and operations in other states,” the NIA said in a charge sheet.

The investigating agency said its findings about Punjab gangsters and their associates had parallels with the growth and operations of the Mumbai mafia mentioned in an extensive report of a committee headed by NN Vohra (former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and former principal secretary to Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral). The committee was formed after the 1993 Mumbai blasts.

The report said the underworld targets the real estate sector and liquor trade, and thereafter establishes contact with politicians and government officials. The underworld’s network was exploited by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Similarly, the NIA said, Punjab gangs and associates have thrived because of their activities in the real estate sector and other businesses, and by co-opting kabaddi players, politicians and government officials. They have expanded their base and joined hands with Pakistan-based terrorist groups and the ISI.

“These gangsters sought sophisticated weapons from the Khalistani groups and in exchange provided them with network and logistic support for target killings, drugs and weapons smuggling,” the NIA said.

Punjab Additional Inspector General of Police Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, however, feels it is too early to say that Lawrence is expanding his network to take on the Mumbai underworld or is involved in offshore crime. “There are no direct claims by Lawrence. These are only conjectures. We have controlled the expansion and activities of gangsters in Punjab,” he adds.

Misplaced sense of fame

We have effectively controlled the activities of the gangsters on our soil. These youngsters are a small number of misplaced youths who fall into the trap of gun culture and a misplaced sense of fame. Many are lured into the world of crime in their impressionable age. These get support from foreign lands by anti-India elements. —Gaurav Yadav, DGP, Punjab

As per the Punjab Anti-Gangster Task Force, 505 gangster/criminal modules have been busted in Punjab since May 2022, when

the task force was formed. Nearly 1,400 of the over 2,000 gang members of these modules

have been nabbed, it claims