The shocking murder of Baba Siddiqui has sent tremors across the city of Mumbai. The 66-year-old Baba Siddique was a former MLA and minister in the state, with incredible connections in politics, business and the entertainment industry. On the 12th of October, Siddiqui was gunned down by armed assailants at Kher Nagar in Mumbai’s Bandra area, outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office. The notorious Bishnoi gang have so far taken responsibility of the attack.
Two people, identified as Gurmail Baljit Singh (23) from Haryana and Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19) from Uttar Pradesh have been arrested for the murder. The Mumbai police had verified a social media post, attributed to a purported member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, owning up to the murder.
The Lawrence Bishnoi Gang
The gang in question is the infamous Bishnoi gang headed by the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi. Born in 1993 in the remote Dotaranwali village in the Firozpur district of Punjab Lawrence spent his early life in Abohar. During his college days, Bishnoi got associated with Goldy Brar, the duo became heavily involved in student politics and started gaining notoriety for a number of crimes.
Around 2013, Bishnoi’s gang engaged in liquor dealing and arms smuggling. He also sheltered murderers within his gang and provided them with protection and resources. In 2014, Bishnoi was involved in an armed encounter with the Rajasthan Police. He was later arrested after a high-speed chase.
Lodged in the Ahmedabad jail, the gangster used his position to strategise and build a more organised and widespread criminal network. Bishnoi’s first stay in prison was in January 2015 after he was accused in cases related to rape, murder and car snatching. Despite being in jail, Bishnoi is successfully executing murders and extortion around the world. There are over 700 shooters of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang spread across the country.
Operations and attacks on Celebrities
For years, the Bishnoi gang has been involved in a wide range of criminal activities, including extortion, smuggling, and contract killings. While Lawrence Bishnoi conducts the operations from prison, his partner Goldy Brar reportedly operates from overseas.
The gang is known for using violent tactics to eliminate rivals or intimidate targets. Many of its operations are designed to send a message, as seen by its targeting of celebrities. The group’s reputation for ruthlessness has made it one of the most feared in northern India, especially in states like Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. The gang gained considerable ill repute after the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, who was shot dead in 2022.
Apart from the murders of Baba Siddiqui and Siddhu Moosewala, the group has also targeted celebrities like Gippy Grewal and Salman Khan. Salman Khan has remained on the shortlist for the Bishnoi gang for his black buck killing case in 1998. The black buck is considered a sacred animal by the Bishnoi community. The Bishnoi gang has issued a number of death threats to the actor for the black buck killing.
Other Notorious Gangs
Aside from the Bishnoi gang there are a number of dangerous gangs based in different states and across India, with their nexus in almost every sphere, being involved in drugs, extortion, murders and every other criminal activity. Many of their heads have been neutralized or have been put been put behind bars, yet the gangs continue to operate with new leaders and operative heads based in foreign locations.
The Kala Jathedi gang: In 2020, Sandeep alias Kala Jathedi, after fleeing from the hands of Haryana Police, joined hands with gansters Lawrence Bishnoi, Sube Gujjar and Anandpal Singh. With Lawrence Bishnoi in custody, Kala Jathedi was managing ground operations with the assistance of wanted criminals like Kala Rana, Goldy Brar and Monty. Kala Jathedi was arrested by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell and is now in jail.
The Gogi Gang: Jitender Gogi, who was killed in the Rohini court shootout, was one of the most dreaded gangsters, with his long-term partners Fazza and Moi being the most desperate gangsters in their own might. Fazza, who escaped from the custody of police in March 2021, and was killed in an encounter by Special Cell, Delhi. Currently, the gang is being run by Rohit alias Moi and Deepak alias Boxer, who are both in custody.
The Neeraj Bawana gang: Neeraj Bawana expanded his gang when rival gang head Neetu Daboda was killed in 2013 in an encounter by Delhi Police, Neeraj Bawana used the opportunity to expand his dominance. He befriended, waylaid and killed many gangsters and local criminals in the process. He was arrested by the Special Cell Delhi in 2015 after a long chase and is in a high security ward. The gang have a strong social presence with millions of followers.
The Tillu Tajpuria gang: Jitender Gogi of the Gogi gang and Tillu Tajpuria used to be friends until conflict of interest. Both in business of extortion and hooliganism had a conflict of interest during the student union elections in 2013 which turned into enmity. These two arch rivals had clashed on various occasions over dominance. Both Tillu Tajpuria and Jitender Gogi were eliminated in a gang rivalry.
The Davinder Bambiha Gang: The Bambiha gang who run their extortion racket mainly in (Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula), are arch rivals of Lawrence Bishnoi and Sampat Nehra gang. After Bambiha’s encounter in 2016, Dilpreet, Gaurav Patial alias Lucky, was heading the gang from Armenia. The rivalry between the Bishnoi and Bambiha gangs began after the Bishnoi gang started extorting businessmen, from whom the Bambiha group collected protection money. The murder of Sidhu Moosewala was a part of this gang war.