Moosewala murder to shooting outside Salman Khan house: High-profile crimes linked to Lawrence Bishnoi, his gang

The high-profile cases linked to his gang include the murder of Punjabi musician Sidhu Moosewala in May 2022, the firing outside actor Salman Khan’s Mumbai house on April 14 this year, firing at the house in Canada of musician A P Dhillon in early September, and the shooting outside Punjabi singer and actor Gippy Grewal’s house, also in Canada, in November last year. The gang also claimed responsibility for the killing of alleged rival gang member Sukha Duneke in Canada in September last year.

Hours before Siddique’s murder, Delhi Police arrested one Madhur, aka Mota Armaan, who is accused of shooting dead a Delhi gym owner, following a brief encounter in which he was shot in the legs. Madhur is believed to be part of the Lawrence gang, which has long operated in the national capital through two of its most prominent members, Rohit Godara and Goldy Brar.

In Rajasthan, the killers of Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena president Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, who was gunned down in Jaipur in December 2023, were also linked to the Lawrence gang.

The gang targeting Salman Khan is seen as a reprisal to the blackbuck shooting case against the actor. Blackbucks are revered by the Bishnoi community. However, police suggest that the gang is trying to gain popularity by threatening the popular actor.

Lawrence is an undertrial in at least 19 cases of varied nature in Punjab. According to records, he has been convicted in four cases registered between October 2, 2010, and September 13, 2016.

In Delhi, too, the gang’s operations revolve around targeting businessmen for protection money, police said. “They would fire a couple of rounds outside a home or a shop, and use that to threaten all the major businessmen of the area,” a Delhi Police officer said. Police cite December 2023 firing at the house of liquor baron and former MLA Deep Malhotra, and shots fired at Shahdara-based businessman Pradeep Jain’s house in November 2022 as part of the tactic.