Baba Siddique murder: Is Lawrence Bishnoi gang filling up Mumbai’s underworld vaccum?

File: Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi being produced at Patiala House court, in New Delhi

"This is the Mumbai Police, and we are in Maharashtra. We will not tolerate any gang’s 'Dadagiri,'” said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde after visiting actor Salman Khan’s residence, which had been fired upon by shooters from Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang last April.

He announced that the Mumbai Police would wipe out the gang. Six months later, the gang struck again, killing a leader from the alliance of which Shinde’s Shiv Sena is a part. The murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique has not only landed the Mahayuti government in hot water over law and order concerns but also highlights how a North Indian gang is expanding its presence in the metropolis, attempting to fill the vacuum left in Mumbai’s underworld.

Two Decades of Silence

By the dawn of this century, most of the underworld gangs in Mumbai, which thrived on fear in the '80s and '90s, had been silenced. The era of daily shootouts, extortion calls, and the killing of builders, mill owners, hoteliers, and filmmakers had faded. Most of the shooters were either killed by the police, who followed the unofficial policy of 'encounters,' or were imprisoned under stringent laws like the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Many gang leaders, such as Chhota Rajan, Arun Gawli, and Abu Salem, were arrested. Ashwin Naik left the underworld and became a real estate developer. The D Company has not fired a single shot in Mumbai since 2003, when Dawood Ibrahim’s younger brother Iqbal Kaskar was deported from the UAE and prosecuted. Even "B-list" gangsters like Ravi Pujari, Ijaz Lakdawala, and Bunty Pandey are languishing in jail.

The Mumbai underworld, as portrayed in movies like 'Satya', 'Vaastav', and 'Company', collapsed, and there had been silence for the last two decades. However, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang seems to have broken this lull. The two major incidents this year — 1) the firing at Salman Khan’s residence and 2) the murder of Baba Siddique — suggest that the gang is trying to build inroads into Mumbai, evolving as a potential challenger to the Mumbai Police.

'Kill the Near & Dear'

Although the initial investigation points toward the involvement of Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang in Siddique’s murder, the motive remains to be convincingly established. A social media post by one of the gang members threatened to attack people who are friendly with Salman Khan. One of the tactics adopted by the underworld has been to target the associates of their main target if they cannot reach them directly. In 1991, Dawood’s brother-in-law, Ibrahim Parker, was killed by the Arun Gawli gang. Though Parker was not part of Dawood’s gang, he paid with his life for being related to the don. Similarly, Dawood’s elder brother Sabir was killed by the Pathan gang in the '80s. Even Arun Gawli lost his elder brother, Papa Gawli, due to gang rivalry.

It seems that Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang has employed the same tactic to intimidate Salman Khan. Investigations by the Mumbai Police revealed that Bishnoi’s gang had made two unsuccessful attempts on Khan's life. After the shootout at his residence, Galaxy Apartments, this year, the Mumbai Police enhanced his security. It is speculated that the shooters killed Baba Siddique since he was a close friend of Khan. Siddique was instrumental in brokering peace between Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan, who had a major fallout and were not on talking terms for many years. The truce was publicized at Siddique’s Iftar party, where he asked both actors to hug in front of the cameras. Siddique stood by Salman Khan during his legal battles, including the hit-and-run case and the blackbuck poaching case.

Prison No Bar

Investigations by various law enforcement agencies reveal that prison bars are no hindrance for Bishnoi in running his gang or ordering hits. There have been reports that Bishnoi had access to a mobile phone in prison and made video calls to associates outside. A few months ago, Bishnoi even gave an interview to a TV channel via video call from his prison cell. He is not the first gangster to operate from jail. In the past, mafia bosses like Arun Gawli and Ashwin Naik also managed their gangs while incarcerated. Corruption within the jail administration enables such activities.

The Freshers

What could pose a significant challenge for the Mumbai Police in dealing with the Bishnoi gang is its strategy of employing freshers as hitmen. In the case of Mumbai's underworld, the gangs had seasoned criminals with histories of serious offenses like murder and attempted murder. The Mumbai cops were able to track them through informers and background information. However, the shooters from Bishnoi’s gang have little to no criminal record. The gang recruits young men to carry out hits, paying them around ?50,000 and delivering the weapon just before the crime.

While the exact number of youngsters working for the Bishnoi gang is not known, investigations suggest the gang has hundreds of members, most hailing from Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

The Nationalist Don

Investigations into past incidents linked to the gang suggest that Bishnoi is attempting to build his image as a nationalist don. Salman Khan is reportedly on his hitlist for allegedly hunting blackbucks, which are revered by the Bishnoi community. The gang has also fired at individuals labeled as "Khalistanis," indicating an effort to project a "nationalist" image.

In the past, Chhota Rajan also tried to portray himself as a "nationalist don" by ordering hits on those accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings. Ravi Pujari, after breaking away from his gang, adopted the same tactics. In 2004, his shooters fired at the vehicle of Majeed Memon, who had defended the bombing accused. Dawood's gang, by collaborating with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), bombed Mumbai to earn the image of an "avenger of Muslims."

Fear is Currency

No matter what image a gangster tries to project, the ultimate aim of any organized crime syndicate is to make money. In the '90s, Mumbai’s underworld followed the principle of “kill one, scare a hundred.” By assassinating a prominent figure, gangs created an atmosphere of fear, which facilitated extortion. After a hit, whenever gangsters made extortion calls to businessmen, filmmakers, or hoteliers, they often paid up without resistance, avoiding complaints to the police.

It remains to be seen whether the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, now active in Mumbai, will follow the same path. Mumbai, being India’s financial capital, where millions of rupees change hands every day, remains vulnerable to underworld activities.