Bajwa targets BJP, AAP over ‘links’ with Bishnoi

Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa on Sunday accused both the BJP and AAP of patronising jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who he said has relations with the Pakistan-based criminal involved in a grenade attack on a Jalandhar YouTuber. He also alleged that the AAP government facilitated the airing of an interview of Bishnoi on a TV news channel when he was lodged in a Punjab jail.

The gangster is lodged in a jail in BJP-ruled Gujarat.

Bajwa said after Pakistan-based gangster Shehzad Bhatti took responsibility for the grenade attack in Jalandhar, AAP MPs Malvinder Singh Kang and Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer blamed the BJP for patronising Bishnoi. “However, they forgot that it was in the AAP regime in Punjab that the gangster gave an interview to a private TV channel while being in police custody,” he said in a statement.

“The matter does not end here. Dismissed DSP Gursher Singh Sandhu was accused of facilitating the recording of Bishnoi’s interview. It was the AAP government, which didn’t arrest him in time and let him escape,” he said.

“The BJP has been often blamed for pampering Bishnoi. Yet, AAP’s association with Bishnoi has also been proven. We have every reason to question both the BJP and AAP for their links with Bishnoi, who further has relations with Bhatti,” Bajwa added.