Anti-hero Bollywood movies trying to avenge an ancestral wrong is a hit Bollywood plot, tried and tested on the box offices time and again. But this time the reel has turned real with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi‘s determination to retribute a poaching case involving Salman Khan that angered the Bishnoi community in 1998.
However, a senior officer from the Delhi Police informed that the Bishnoi gang’s intentions have now expanded beyond seeking revenge against Salman Khan.
“The gang is now trying to penetrate Bollywood, an area once ruled by Dawood Ibrahim, and set up its own D-Company,” the officer told PTI.
Also known as Balkaran Barar, the gangster found himself at the center of the storm again after Mumbai Police said that it was investigating any angle involving Bishnoi and Salman Khan in the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique.
A day after Siddique’s murder, a Facebook post came to light which threatened all those who “helped” Salman Khan and Dawood Ibrahim. “Jo Salman Khan aur Dawood gang ki help karega apna hisab-kitab laga ke rakhna (whoever helps Salman Khan and the Dawood gang, keep your accounts in order),” it said.
Modus operandi similar to Dawood
According to Delhi Police records, while Bishnoi has never personally killed anyone, he has risen to become one of the most feared gangsters, allegedly operating his gang with “impunity” from a Gujarat prison and employing methods reminiscent of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.
Bishnoi himself entered the criminal world during his time at Panjab University in 2010, when he opened fire at a rival during student body elections, resulting in a three-month jail sentence. Despite this setback, he went on to win the student union presidency while completing his graduation.
Convicted in four criminal cases in Punjab, Bishnoi faces charges of extortion, murder, attempt to murder, and violations of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He initially operated primarily in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi, before expanding his activities into Maharashtra.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) reports that Bishnoi commands a gang of around 700 members nationwide, including sharpshooters, and collaborates with other infamous gangsters such as Goldy Brar, Sachin Thapan, Anmol Bishnoi, Vikramjit Singh, Kala Jatheri, and Kala Rana.