The easy money trail | Kabaddi, music, hawala: What connects gangsters and extortion in Punjab

Rana Balachauria was shot dead in a brazen daylight attack when two to three assailants on a motorcycle approached him under the pretext of taking a selfie before firing multiple shots at point-blank range.

Hours after the killing, a rival gang including operatives like Doni Bal, Shaganpreet, and others claimed responsibility on social media.

The post alleged that Rana was linked to rival gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, and had provided shelter to individuals involved in the 2022 murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, framing the attack as revenge.

However, Mohali SSP Harmandeep Singh Hans stated that the primary motive appears to be gang rivalry over control and dominance in organizing lucrative kabaddi tournaments in Punjab, rather than a direct link to the Moose Wala case. Police have identified some shooters and are investigating it as a planned murder tied to underworld turf wars in the kabaddi circuit.

“It are all for easy money. It is all related to finances. Kabaddi is also a shortcut to make easy money through advertising, match fixing, betting etc. It is also a fact that the gang leaders are involved in sensational crime for appreciating their brand value in order to get popular and create fear among their targets,” says a senior Punjab Police officer working with Anti Gangster Task Force.

Punjab Police officials say the entry of gangsters into fields of a sport like Kabaddi was preceded by their ‘interest’ in Punjabi music industry. “The gangsters’ interest in music industry is not related to extortion alone. That is their last resort. They also try to get legitimate money through it. They float a company and take the rights of a song from the popular singer. If it is a hit then it gets them perpetual income,” says a DIG ranked officer probing gangsters commercial links. The influence of gangsters even extends to the choice of male and female artists which figure in the music videos. “These artists are promoted and are the used by these gangsters to increase their influence among youngsters. Mooh nu khoon lag gaya hai (they have tasted blood). Liquor trade, bookies, hawala traders, donkey route travel agents, kabootarbaz travel agents (those who send youth abroad on some legitimate Visa but then the youth vanish in the country) all get a call to cough up a hefty sum. Most cannot even complain to the police because they are involved in illicit trade,” says the DIG.

The phone calls of these gangsters based abroad can often not be traced because they use VPN and encrypted apps. “They think they are safe in a third country. For execution of their tasks they get their local associated in Punjab to recruit youngsters in jails by giving allurements like settling them in a foreign country. These gangsters have become role Models and the gullible youth fall for that,” the officer says. Even when those executing a killing are caught it becomes difficult for the police to trace them back to gangsters abroad because ‘cut out modules’ (where one group does not come into contact with another group) and ‘dead letter drops’ (leaving weapon etc at some place and informing the recipient about location later without physical meeting) are used.

“In Kabaddi, the promoters or so-called organisers are instructed by these gangsters on which celebrity is to be invited as chief guest and what prize money has to be offered. Lawrence Bishnoi is said to warned singer Sidhu Moosewala over a kabaddi tournament in Kharar where he was invited as chief guest. He did not want him to go because the backers were from Lucky Patial gang. Lawrence felt that if Sidhu goes to the tournament then the rival gang’s popularity will increase,” a police officer said.

Police said promoters of Kabaddi matches get a “licence to legally collect money from industrialists, real estate developers etc as advertisements, promotion through backdrops etc. Senior police officers say this chain of gangsters based abroad and extortion related killings in Punjab can only he stopped if there is real time sharing of information with countries where they are holed up. “International. coordinated effort is required to fight this menace jointly,” says the DIG.