Lawrence Bishnoi: The making of a gangster

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 13

Once a student leader, Lawrence Bishnoi has emerged as one of the notorious gangsters in the region during the past decade.

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Bishnoi has several Facebook profiles where selfies taken in jail have been uploaded. Bishnoi’s interrogation in the Sonu Shah murder case revealed that he had a mobile phone in jail which he used to communicate with his gang members.

Bishnoi, a former student of DAV College, Sector 10, entered student politics years ago. This marked the beginning of the formation of a gang that comprised sportspersons, wards of police personnel and local students. In no time, Bishnoi had built a huge network in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Rajasthan.

Bishnoi, a native of Abohar in Ferozepur district, is at present facing trials in cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion and robbery in several states, including Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

The gangster and his aides have been keeping the UT police on their toes for the past few years. Bishnoi, who is now lodged at a jail in Rajasthan, had been operating his gang from within the jail.

The UT police had recently brought Bishnoi on a production warrant for his alleged role in the murder of a man, Sonu Shah, at Burail. Bishnoi had confessed to hatching a murder conspiracy from the jail. Shah, a property dealer with a criminal past, was a rival of the Bishnoi gang. He was shot dead at his office in Burail, Sector 45, in broad daylight on September 28 last year.

Earlier this year, shots were fired at a businessman’s house in Sector 33 and at a liquor store in Sector 9 at the behest of Bishnoi.