The assassination attempt on Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff on Sunday evening has put the spotlight back on “Hindu don” Lawrence Bishnoi, 33, who continues to operate with impunity from Sabarmati jail in BJP-ruled Gujarat.
Three bike-borne assailants fired multiple times at Shroff’s BMW sedan in Juhu, Mumbai. The actor was unhurt but his driver Firdaus and an autorickshaw operator, Chauhan, suffered gunshot injuries.
Shortly afterwards, a man identified as US-based gangster and Bishnoi associate Anil Pandit claimed responsibility via audio messages and online posts, although police have not confirmed the gang’s involvement.
One of the audio messages warned Bollywood celebrities against working with actor Salman Khan. “Sabka nambar aayega (Everyone’s turn will come),” the speaker reportedly said.
Mumbai police have registered an attempt-to-murder case and transferred it to the crime branch.
Rajasthan police on Monday detained three suspects: Ritik from Bihar, Rehan from Haryana, and a minor who cannot be named.
The Bishnoi gang had shot to limelight by claiming responsibility for the assassination of NCP leader Baba Siddique in 2024. Earlier, the police had identified two motorcycle riders who had fired at Salman’s Bandra West home as members of the gang.
Several bullets were fired at filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s home in February, the Bishnoi gang claiming responsibility for the “small trailer”.
Bishnoi, whose gang engages in murder, shootings, extortion and intimidation, has been in jail since 2014 but his operations have continued, raising questions about the security agencies’ failure to fathom how he runs his crime network.
Sources in the security establishment said Bishnoi identified himself as a “Hindu don” and a warrior for the “Hindu cause”, which he believes offers him a degree of protection under the current government.
His gang of 700 is said to operate mostly in north India, particularly Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Last July, America’s FBI charged Bishnoi with running an India-based transnational crime syndicate. Last year, Canada termed the gang a “terrorist entity”.
Sources said the Mumbai Police might seek to question Bishnoi in connection with Sunday’s firing.
However, this will involve a thicket of legal procedures and approvals since a Union home ministry order restricts his removal from Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati jail and bars any state or agency from taking his custody for a year.
Sunday’s incident has raised fears of the revival of the fearful days of the ’80s and ’90s when crime syndicates like the D-Company of Dawood Ibrahim, Abu Salem and Chhota Rajan ran extortion and financing networks involving the film industry.
Last year, Lawrence’s brother Anmol Bishnoi was deported from the US. He is in Tihar jail, Delhi.