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In what is perhaps the first instance of its kind, a Special Judge (NIA) held a hearing inside the headquarters of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday, rather than a regular court, in connection with gangster Anmol Bishnoi’s case.
Anmol, who is the brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, is currently in NIA custody after he was deported from the US. He had filed a plea seeking protection for his life, citing an “apprehension of being targeted and killed” by Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti, allegedly due to Bhatti’s recent posts on social media.
Considering Anmol’s plea and the inconveniences that will be caused due to heavy security, and taking safety of court staff into account, Special Judge (NIA) Prashant Sharma decided to use his power under Section 12 (place of sitting) of the NIA Act 2008 to hold the hearing at the NIA HQ.
Section 12 of the Act reads : “A Special Court may, on its own motion, or on an application made by the Public Prosecutor and if it considers it expedient or desirable so to do, sit for any of its proceedings at any place other than its ordinary place of sitting.”
According to sources, during court proceedings held recently, NIA’s Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Rahul Tyagi informed the court of the powers available under Section 12 of the NIA Act. The court then agreed to hold the hearing in NIA’s headquarters. Tyagi is being assisted by advocates Jatin, Shubham Goyal, Amit Rohilla, and Priyansh Raj Singh in this case.
After the hearing concluded, the judge sent Anmol to 7-days’ NIA custody.
Citing social media threats by the “Pakistani gangster”, Advocate Rajani, who represents Anmol, moved an application on November 27 stating that they needed additional safeguards to protect the life and liberty of the accused.
Rajani, in the application, was referring to a purported Instagram post where the Pakistani gangster can allegedly be seen “threatening” and “openly challenging” Lawrence Bishnoi to save his brother and maternal uncle.
She sought that directions be issued by the court to the NIA to provide adequate armed police protection and for Bishnoi to be taken in a bullet-proof vehicle while donning a bulletproof jacket. “It is submitted that such threats cannot be treated lightly, as similar instances of social-media-based threats have, in recent times, culminated into actual acts of violence,” advocate Rajani said in her application.
“That in March 2025, a serious incident was reported in Jalandhar, Punjab, where a grenade was hurled at the residence of a social media influencer following similar threats issued through online videos by the aforesaid foreign-based gangster. This incident demonstrates a clear pattern of escalation from threats to real-world violence,” the application stated.
“That in view of these developments, the continuous nature of the threats, and the demonstrated pattern of actual violence, the applicant/accused have a genuine and reasonable apprehension of imminent danger to his life and liberty, as well as the safety of his counsel,” the application further read.
Sources said during the hearing at the NIA HQ, SPP Tyagi sought 10-days custody of Anmol; he had already spent 11 days in NIA’s custody.
According to sources, the NIA sought custody extension as Anmol had allegedly disclosed details about an international network in Europe which needed to be unearthed. Sources also said that arms from Pakistan which had allegedly been distributed to Bishnoi’s gang members had to be traced.
Anmol, who has over 30 cases pending against him across the country, is among those who allegedly managed the extortion operations of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, a criminal syndicate operating in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi.
The Central agencies are focusing on his alleged role in the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in May 2022, NCP leader Baba Siddique’s killing last year, the firing outside actor Salman Khan’s house, among others.
In May 2022, Anmol fled to the US allegedly on a fake passport. In 2024, the US Immigration Department found that one of the reference letters of a company, attached to his travel documents, was forged.
India had requested his deportation in January last year. In response, the US Department of State sought information about cases in which Anmol had direct involvement and financial details in March this year.
After his asylum application was turned down by a Louisiana court in the US, Anmol was deported from the US and reached India around 1 pm last Wednesday. He was arrested by the NIA on arrival.
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