Gangster Bishnoi has kept cops on toes

Amit Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 4

It is not for the first time that gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s name has cropped up in a crime in the city. The gangster and his accomplices have been keeping the UT police on their toes for the past few years.

From “ordering” killing from jail to making extortion calls to businessmen, Bishnoi has always been in the limelight. Now, Bishnoi’s link to the firing incident at a hotelier’s house in Sector 33 is being investigated by the police.

The UT police had recently brought Bishnoi on production warrant for his role in the killing of Sonu Shah at Burail. Bishnoi had confessed to hatching a murder conspiracy from the jail. Shah, a property dealer who had a criminal past and was a rival of the Bishnoi gang, was shot dead at his office in Burail, Sector 45, in broad daylight on September 28 last year. Ten bullets were pumped into Shah’s body.

Around two weeks before the murder, the owner of Boulevard, a club in Sector 26, had received a WhatsApp call from a person who introduced himself as Lawrence Bishnoi and demanded protection money. The club owner was told that the money could be paid either monthly or annually.

In April 2018, the owner of a leading chemist shop in Sector 11 had received an extortion call. The caller introduced himself as Sampat Nehra, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, and demanded a ransom of Rs3 crore.

Nehra, who has several cases registered against him, was later arrested by the Haryana Police from Hyderabad in June 2018.

Bishnoi former student of DAV College, Sector 10

Bishnoi, who hails from Abohar in Punjab, is a former student of DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh. Once a SOPU leader, Bishnoi entered the world of crime a decade ago. It all started with college brawls. Bishnoi became a notorious criminal. He is at present facing several cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion and robbery in several states, including Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Access to mobile phone in jail

Bishnoi’s interrogation by the Chandigarh Police in the Sonu Shah murder case had revealed that a jail staff member at Bharatpur Central Jail, Rajasthan, was instrumental in providing him a mobile phone that was used to communicate with his gang members. Several Facebook pages linked to Bishnoi also have his pictures and selfies taken inside the jail, which establishes the fact that he always had access to a mobile phone.

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