Lawrence Bishnoi’s resentment towards Salman Khan first came to light when, during a court appearance in Jodhpur in 2018, the gangster threatened that his men would “kill Salman Khan”
Incarcerated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi (31), alias Balkaran Barar, was all of five when the infamous blackbuck poaching case involving Bollywood star Salman Khan took place in 1998 during the filming of Hum Saath-Saath Hain in Rajasthan, irking the Bishnoi community which revers the animal.
Twenty-six years down the line, the notorious gangster’s deep resentment against Salman even while in prison continues to make headlines, especially after the gunning down of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique (66), known to be close to the Bollywood actor, by three assailants in Mumbai last week.
Mumbai Police suspect Siddique was killed at the behest of Bishnoi after a purported Facebook post surfaced claiming “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)”.
Lawrence Bishnoi’s resentment towards Salman Khan first came to light when, during a court appearance in Jodhpur in 2018, the gangster threatened that his men would “kill Salman Khan”. Since then, Khan has received multiple death threats, including a notable incident in April this year when two Lawrence Bishnoi gang members fired shots outside his residence in Bandra.
The roots of Lawrence Bishnoi’s animosity towards the actor can ostensibly be traced back to the 1998 blackbuck hunting case.
News agency PTI quoted a senior Delhi Police officer as saying that the intent of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has now gone beyond taking 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 said.
Despite being lodged in prison, Lawrence Bishnoi has allegedly managed to execute murders of many high-profile people, including Punjabi singer Siddhu Moosewala in 2022, Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi in 2023, besides orchestrating firing outside the residences of singers AP Dhillon and Gippy Garewal in Canada, the officer said. In September 2023, the gang claimed responsibility for the killing of Khalistani sympathiser Sukha Duneke.
According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Lawrence Bishnoi now enjoys a 700-member strong gang spread across the country, including sharpshooters, with the help of other notorious gangsters like Goldy Brar, Sachin Thapan, Anmol Bishnoi, Vikramjit Singh, Kala Jatheri, and Kala Rana. “Most of the sharpshooters are young people who usually get influenced by his gang through social media,” an official said.
