Delivering a major blow to organised crime, the National Investigation Agency arrested gangster Anmol Bishnoi on Wednesday after he was deported by the United States. The anti-terror agency produced Anmol in a court in Delhi, where it said he and his gang, led by his brother and dreaded gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, are linked to terrorist organisations like Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), and their aim is to spread instability and fear in the country.
Anmol, the agency told the court, was part of a criminal-terror syndicate operating in India and abroad and was involved in a major conspiracy involving terrorists and gangsters. These activities included raising funds for terrorist acts, recruiting youth, conspiring to carry out targeted killings of prominent individuals, and spreading terror by publicising these incidents on social media. The court granted the NIA Anmol's custody for 11 days.
The gangster, who is from Fazilka in Punjab, began making national headlines after his involvement in the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala in 2022, and continued to be involved in high-profile cases, including the killing of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique - in which he was designated the main plotter - and the firing outside Salman Khan's house.
In October last year, he was added to the most-wanted list of the National Investigation Agency, which also announced a bounty of Rs 10 lakh.
Cases
Chargesheets were filed against Anmol in two cases registered by the NIA in 2022 and he fled India using a fake passport the next year.
Anmol has at least 18 cases against him and allegedly provided weapons and logistical support to the men who gunned down popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala aka Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, near his village Moosa in Punjab's Mansa district on May 29, 2022. Fellow Bishnoi gang member Goldy Brar had taken responsibility for the killing. The Bishnoi gang later said the killing was carried out to avenge the murder of Vicky Middukhera, a Youth Akali Dal leader.
On April 14, 2024, two men, Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, opened fire outside actor Salman Khan's residence, Galaxy Apartments in Mumbai's Bandra, and Anmol claimed responsibility for it. A chargesheet filed in the case said the planning for the shooting had been going on since August 2023.
The chargesheet also stated that Bishnoi delivered a nine-minute speech to motivate the shooters before the incident, telling them that they were going to make history.
"Lord Ram has blessed us. We will handle him (Salman Khan). There is no problem, as long as it is in my control, I don't have any problem," he told the shooters.
"Now it is do or die, either life or death. It is written by God. Either the bullets will be fired in the morning or we will sit at home. It is in your hands what to do and what not to do... If you work, then history will be created. You will fill the newspapers," he said.
A court in Mumbai issued a non-bailable warrant against Anmol in July.
Just three months later, former Maharashtra minister and three-time MLA Baba Siddique was shot dead on October 12 outside the office of his son, Zeeshan Siddique, in Bandra. The chargesheet in the case said Anmol was in touch with the shooters and gave instructions to them on how to carry out the murder. It also named Anmol as the "plotter".
Arrest
Bishnoi was arrested in California's Sacramento in November 2024 for entering the country with illegal documents. The arrest was made days after a non-bailable warrant against him was issued by a Maharashtra court and a Red Corner Notice was issued by Interpol.
Speaking exclusively to NDTV on Tuesday, Zeeshan Siddique had said he had been following up with the US authorities on Bishnoi's extradition for months and had told them that the gangster was wanted for his father's murder.
Bishnoi was finally deported on Tuesday and landed in New Delhi on Wednesday afternoon.
