LAWRENCE BISHNOI HAS a disciplined routine. He fasts every Tuesday, enjoys simple meals like bajre ki roti and gur, and practises certain rituals to strengthen his focus on an austere life. None of these practices, however, will help him set foot outside the Sabarmati jail in Gujarat.
The 31-year-old is the gangster with the maximum number of cases in India―he has been named in 84 FIRs in states including Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi and Haryana. Interestingly, a lot of these charges have come during his nine years in jail. The son of a constable in the Haryana Police, Lawrence picked up the gun at 17. He dreamt of becoming a dreaded gangster―which he did―but little did he think that he would trigger a diplomatic row between two countries. As Canada investigates the Bishnoi gang’s alleged links to “Indian agents”, officials who have interrogated him feel he has bitten off more than he can chew. “If a fair investigation is undertaken by Canada and the US, it will require the questioning of Bishnoi’s associates on their soil,” said a senior security officer.
On top of the list is his brother Anmol, wanted in nearly a dozen cases for crimes including murder, looting and extortion. When Anmol was in jail in Rajasthan, Lawrence prepared the ground for his brother to flee the country. Investigators revealed that he ensured Anmol stayed in jail until his fake passport, which would take him to the US via Africa, was ready.
In 2022, Anmol reached the US; friends such as Goldy Brar were living comfortably next door in Canada. Indian agencies have shared with the Canadian government details of the flight Brar took to Canada in 2017.
Likewise, many vulnerable youth from Punjab―aided by criminal gangs including that of Hardeep Singh Nijjar―found their way to Canada on fake passports. Once there, personal ambitions and competition to be the bigger gang resulted in the drawing of guns.
The criminal networks soon became a terror nexus with Nijjar heading the node of Khalistani extremism. His foot soldiers started challenging the Bishnoi gang. Nijjar had links to Lakhbir Singh Rode, who was running the banned Khalistan Liberation Force in Pakistan. According to investigators, Nijjar’s liaison with criminal gangs lent firepower to the pro-Khalistan movement, which was fast losing support in Punjab. Lawrence’s own empire―which has 700 operatives, of which 300 are from his home state of Punjab―also lent muscle to the pro-Khalistan cause.
“In the 1970s or 1980s, pro-Khalistan supporters would reject criminal elements,” says Gurmeet Chauhan, assistant inspector general, anti-gangster task force, Punjab Police. “But the fast-growing drug nexus, and the land, mining and real estate mafia not only increased gangsterism in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, but also made for a lucrative network for the pro-Khalistan movement.”
The collaboration of the crime and terror networks coincided with the proliferation of technology. Soon, Lawrence realised that jail was no obstacle to his empire-building exercise. He has managed to use mobile phones in at least five jails in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Gujarat. Collusion with jail authorities apart, the populated surroundings of the jails made it easy for phones to be smuggled in using other inmates and local help, who would throw the phones over the boundary walls. According to authorities, when he was in Tihar Jail, Lawrence used voice over IP calls―which use the internet―to communicate with his associates outside.
In less than a decade, the criminal networks, flush with crores of rupees, set up “control centres” in several countries in South America, Spain, Canada and Australia, where they started routing calls for extortion, exchange of information, hatching conspiracies and issuing threats. The National Investigation Agency found that these foreign lands gave them secrecy, immunity from the Indian law and escape from surveillance. Unsurprisingly, Lawrence’s network came in contact with pro-Khalistan terror groups being run from Pakistan, Canada and Europe, which were looking for support. “The overlap was natural,” said an investigator. “Soon, we found that the pro-Khalistan threats, terror attacks and targeted killings were carried out using the same control centres.” This became the basis on which the NIA booked criminals like Lawrence, Brar and others under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
“The NIA found that Bishnoi’s gang operated in collaboration with Khalistani extremists based in India and abroad,” said Atul Kulkarni, former NIA special director general. “He was charge-sheeted along with his associates in India and outside.” It is these charge-sheets―running into thousands of pages and involving cases registered in small police stations across towns―which Canadian authorities need to scan through patiently to understand the real story of Nijjar, the Bishnoi gang and the India connect.
WANTED BY INDIA
Khalistani operatives against whom Indian agencies have established evidence of involvement in terrorist activities. Dossiers shared with Canada
SANDEEP SINGH SIDHU
Affiliation: International Sikh Youth Federation
Superintendent in Canada Border Service Agency
Linked to ISI and accused of murder
ARSHDEEP SINGH GILL
Affiliation: Khalistan Tiger Force
Alias Arsh Dalla; involved in murders (has taken credit for at least one) and extortion
Designated terrorist; expert in radicalising youth
SATINDERJIT SINGH
Affiliation: Lawrence Bishnoi gang
Alias Goldy Brar; involved in murder, extortion and weapons and logistics support
Has taken credit for at least three murders
CHARANJIT SINGH
Affiliation: Khalistan Tiger Force
Alias Rinku Randhawa; 25+ cases, including murder
Involved in forming a group of radicals in Punjab and helping criminals flee India
RAMANDEEP SINGH
Affiliation: Jaipal Bhullar gang
Alias Raman Judge;10 cases, including murder
Involved in radicalising youth and sending them to kill people
LAKHBIR SINGH
Affiliation: Associate of Pak-based Harwinder Singh alias Rinda (Babbar Khalsa International)
Alias Landa; 30+ cases, including murder. Has taken credit for at least two murders
Instrumental in two RPG attacks on Punjab Police
GURPINDER SINGH
Affiliation: Khalistan Tiger Force
Alias Baba Dalla; 8 cases, including murder
Threatened to kill a person accused of sacrilege, who was later killed
TEXT: NAMRATA BIJI AHUJA