Shubham Lonkar, whose name figured in the Maharashtra Assembly Thursday after Congress MLA Sajid Pathan alleged fresh threats from him, is an absconding accused who the police say is linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and has emerged as a key figure in several high-profile threat and firing cases in Maharashtra.
This was not the first time that the name of Lonkar – also accused in the Salman Khan firing case, Baba Siddique murder, Rohit Shetty firing case – came up in the House. He was also discussed on Tuesday when Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar raised the issue of law and order in the state. During Tuesday’s discussion, Minister Yogesh Kadam told the House that Lonkar and Aarzoo Bishnoi were leading the faction from outside the country as Lawrence and his brother Anmol Bishnoi were behind bars.
Kadam said that while Lonkar’s exact location is not known, “he was in a country with which we don’t have a treaty. We have done paperwork with them.” Kadam added that they are taking help from Central agencies to track down Lonkar and get him back to India.
Sources told The Indian Express that Lonkar has been moving across Southeast Asian countries after fleeing India via Nepal soon after the firing outside actor Salman Khan’s residence. Officers said that while both Lonkar and Aazroo Bishnoi head the faction, Lonkar is considered the bigger threat in Maharashtra.
“Lonkar is brainwashed into thinking that now with the underworld of the 90s no longer active in Mumbai, he should ‘rule Mumbai, Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad’. Since he operated from Pune where he ran a dairy shop and eventually got into crime, he has necessary networks in place to source the phone numbers of businessmen, politicians and stars to make threat calls to them,” an officer said.
Shubham Lonkar links to Baba Siddique killing
Lonkar’s name surfaced when the police began investigating the targeted killing of Baba Siddique on October 12, 2024. Investigators found that he had been arrested by the Akola police in January 2024 in a case related to the supply of illegal arms.
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During the investigation, police allegedly recovered messages exchanged between Lonkar and gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail, as well as his brother Anmol Bishnoi, who was believed to be abroad at the time. Lonkar was later released on bail but subsequently went absconding.
When the police began an investigation into the Baba Siddique murder case, the name of Lonkar cropped up. The police found he had been arrested by the Akola police in January 2024 in a case involving the supply of arms.
The police found messages between him and gangster Lawrence Bishnoi – lodged at Sabarmati prison – and his brother Anmol, who was then believed to be out of the country. Lonkar was later released on bail and, thereafter, went absconding.
During his interrogation by the Akola police, Lonkar had said he wanted to join the Army. He, however, failed the Army recruitment test held at Jaisalmer in 2018-19. According to the police, he met a person in Jaisalmer called Bajra, who told him that if he wanted to work for the country, he could introduce him to someone who would help him. In this manner, he was introduced to the Bishnoi gang.
Arms training in Nepal, Azerbaijan
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Later, as per the police, Lonkar was also sent to Nepal and Azerbaijan, where he received arms training by the Bishnoi gang. Lonkar then returned to his home base, Pune, where he ran a dairy with his brother Pravin, later arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch and currently behind bars.
Upon receiving instructions that some shooters were needed for the Baba Siddique firing, he brainwashed youngsters, including one Shiv Kumar Gautam who was working in the shop near Lonkar’s dairy and would move around with Lonkar’s gang. Lonkar was heavily influenced by ‘religion’ and ‘nationalism’ and brainwashed Gautam into targeting Siddique by claiming it would be akin to a ‘patriotic act’, Gautam had told the police.
Aarzoo Bishnoi
Aarzoo Bishnoi, whose name is Naveen Kumar, has been a long-term associate of Lawrence Bishnoi. He hails from Rajanwali village, next to Duttaranwali village near Abohar town in Fazilka district, Punjab.
Suspected of operating from outside the country, he has several cases related to illegal weapons. An audio clip claiming responsibility for the firing outside Rohit Shetty’s residence mentioned his name.
