Why this attack by the Bishnoi gang differs from past incidents in the city
In a first possible indication that the gang has been making calls to Bollywood personalities, the message warned Bollywood to “improve while there is still time” and that “whoever they have called should come to the phone and speak or they will have nowhere to hide.”
The Mumbai Police has so far maintained that they have not received any information about the Bishnoi gang making extortion calls to the city. An officer said, “We have not received any complaints from Shetty or any Bollywood actor that they have received extortion calls.”
THE MODUS operandi of the Bishnoi gang has remained the same when it comes to attacks in the city: carry out attacks, claim responsibility in a facebook post, take a screenshot and share on social media so that the IP address cannot be traced. However, this time around, the post claiming responsibility makes no effort to cloak it in ‘noble purposes’ but appears to be a straightforward hint of the gang trying to intimidate Bollywood.
Actor Salman Khan has been on the radar of the gang for years for allegedly killing a blackbuck – considered holy by the Bishnoi community – during the shooting of a film in 1999. Later, when a firing incident took place outside the actor’s residence in April 2024, Anmol Bishnoi in a post had claimed “you consider Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel as divine. We however have two pet dogs named after these two”. There was no demand for money.
Similarly, when the gang got NCP leader Baba Siddique murdered outside his Bandra residence in October 2024, Shubham Lonkar put up a message stating how they had gunned down Siddique as he was linked to Dawood and Salman Khan. It was also said to be a revenge for the death of Anuj Thapan, an accused arrested in the Salman Khan case, who allegedly committed suicide while in police custody. In this case too, no demand for money was made, as per police.
In the social media post in the aftermath of the firing outside Rohit Shetty’s house, the account did not provide any reason. All it said was that Shetty should not “interfere in their work”. It later said, “if in the future he didn’t understand or follow what they had to say they will fire at him”
In a first possible indication that the gang has been making calls to Bollywood personalities, the message warned Bollywood to “improve while there is still time” and that “whoever they have called should come to the phone and speak or they will have nowhere to hide.”
In the chargesheets filed by the Mumbai police in both the Salman Khan and Baba Siddique cases, the motive for these attacks was mentioned as the gang tried to create fear in the city using which they could later carry out extortion.
The Mumbai Police has so far maintained that they have not received any information about the Bishnoi gang making extortion calls to the city. An officer said, “We have not received any complaints from Shetty or any Bollywood actor that they have received extortion calls.”
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The spectre of extortion calls has haunted the city when underworld gangs from Dawood to Chhota Rajan would make extortion calls in the past. The past two decades have been a welcome respite with most of these gangsters being neutralised.
Mohamed Thaver is a highly specialized journalist with the Expertise and Authority required to report on complex law enforcement and legal issues. With a career dedicated to the crime beat for over a decade, his work provides readers with informed and trustworthy insights into Maharashtra's security and justice systems.
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Core Focus: Has been exclusively covering the crime beat for over a decade, building deep, specialized knowledge in the field.
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Key Beats:
Law Enforcement: Reports on the operations of the Maharashtra Police and the Mumbai Crime Branch.
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Mohamed Thaver’s long-standing specialization in the crime beat—combined with his focus on technological aspects like cyber crime and his direct coverage of major institutions like the Mumbai Crime Branch and the Maharashtra Home Department—underscores his Trustworthiness and status as an expert source for detailed and reliable journalism on law and order.
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