Lawrence Bishnoi - the name of the notorious gangster has been all over the media since the killing of senior Maharashtra leader Baba Siddique. In a Facebook post, one of the accused claimed the murder was executed by the Bishnoi gang - a gang reportedly behind many high-profile murder and extortion cases.
Even though the police have yet to confirm or establish gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's link to the murder of the NCP leader, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has put out his version of the case on his X handle.
"Lawrence Bishnoi was just a 5-year-old kid when the deer was killed in 1998 and Bishnoi maintained his grudge for 25 years and now at age 30 he says that his life's goal is to kill Salman Khan to take revenge for killing that deer. Is this animal love at its peak or god playing a weird joke?" Mr Varma posted on X.
The infamous blackbuck poaching case involving Bollywood star Salman Khan took place in 1998 during the filming of "Hum Saath-Saath Hain" in Rajasthan, irking the Bishnoi community which reveres the animal.
Two-decade later, Lawrence Bishnoi, 31, made his deep resentment against Salman Khan public. During a court appearance in Jodhpur in 2018, Bishnoi said, "We will kill Salman Khan. Everyone will know once we take action."
Since then, the actor has received multiple threats to his life, with the matter reaching a tipping point in April this year when gunshots were fired outside his Bandra home by two shooters reportedly belonging to the Bishnoi gang who were later arrested.
His alleged link to the murder of Siddique, 66, emerged when the Facebook post surfaced claiming "Jo Salman Khan aur Dawood gang ki help karega apna hisab-kitab laga ke rakhna (whoever helps Salman Khan and the Dawood gang, keep your accounts in order)".
It was posted by one Shubuu Lonkar, whom the police suspect to be Bishnoi gang aide Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar.
Baba Siddique, known to be close to Salman Khan, was killed on October 12 by three shooters.
"A lawyer turned gangster wants to take revenge for a deer's death by killing a superstar and as a warning orders some of his gang of 700 , which he recruited through Facebook to first kill a big politician who is a close friend of the star," another post of the filmmaker read.
According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Bishnoi now enjoys a 700-member strong gang spread across the country, including sharpshooters, with the help of other notorious gangsters such as Goldy Brar, Sachin Thapan, Anmol Bishnoi, Vikramjit Singh, Kala Jatheri, and Kala Rana.
The 31-year-old law graduate, in jail since 2015, runs a trans-national crime syndicate, according to the NIA.
In statements, the NIA has said he runs his syndicate from jails in different states, as well as countries such as Canada, through associates, who have been in contact with "pro-Khalistani" elements in neighbouring Nepal and other countries.
His name has been linked to several high-profile cases including the 2022 killing of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala.
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