The Wives And Girlfriends Who Ran Bishnoi Crime Syndicate From The Shadows

In jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's underworld syndicate, a network of women has risen to positions of significant operational control, carrying out extortion demands, drug trafficking, assassinations and kidnappings on behalf of the gang.

While organised crime in India has historically been led by men, police investigations and arrests in recent years have revealed the active involvement of several women who have taken on leadership roles within the Bishnoi network and its allied factions. 

Some assumed command after the incarceration or death of male partners, while others built their own criminal operations before aligning with the syndicate.

One figure identified by authorities as part of the Lawrence Bishnoi group is Khusnuma Ansari, also known as Neha or 'Madam Zeher (poison)'. 

According to Delhi Police sources, she is one of several women within the gang whose names are associated with serious criminal activity. 

Pooja Sharma

Pooja Sharma, who uses the aliases Maya and Deepa, was arrested by police in Chandigarh on March 2, 2024. Sharma, who has an AK-47 tattoo on her hand, told interrogators that she wanted to become a gangster. A resident of Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan, she is married and left her family after a domestic dispute. She was recruited into the Lawrence Bishnoi network through a criminal named Rakesh, also known as Honey, who introduced her to gangster Rohit Godara.

Godara provided her with Rs 25,000 and a mobile phone and instructed her to travel to Chandigarh. There she met three associates -- Sachin, Umang and Tiger -- from Faridabad, acting on orders from Goldy Brar. Brar arranged for the purchase of two sets of lawyers' robes from Elante Mall in the city.

The group spent 11 days in Chandigarh conducting reconnaissance of court premises in Mohali, Chandigarh and Panchkula. Their plan, according to Sharma's statement to police, was to assassinate rival gangster Bhuppi Rana inside a court building while disguised as lawyers. Sachin was to wear one set of robes and Sharma the other. 

Sharma was assigned to carry out the shooting. 

At the time, the Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and Rohit Godara factions were operating in coordination.

Zoya Khan 

Zoya Khan, the third wife of Hashim Baba,  a key operative in the Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate, was arrested after police recovered 270 grams of heroin from her possession, with an estimated international market value of Rs 1 crore. Khan, 33, is accused of managing her husband's criminal operations while he faced multiple cases involving murder, extortion and arms smuggling. The couple married in 2017 after Khan divorced her first husband. 

They had been neighbours in northeast Delhi before their relationship began. Delhi Police Special Cell sources say Khan handled extortion rackets and drug supply chains, performing a role comparable to that once played by Haseena Parkar in Dawood Ibrahim's network. Khan maintained a public image that included attending high-profile social events, wearing designer clothing and using luxury brands, as seen in photographs on her social media accounts, where she has a substantial following.

Zikra

Another woman linked to the Hashim Baba faction is Zikra, a resident of Seelampur in northeast Delhi. Police say Zikra is experienced in criminal intimidation and routinely carries a pistol. She is accused of displaying firearms on social media to instil fear in the area. Zikra is alleged to move with a group of associates who have threatened members of the Hindu community and issued death threats in the past.

She and her gang are named in the killing of 17-year-old Kunal in northeast Delhi. According to police, the group surrounded the teenager before the fatal attack. Zikra's brother, Sahil, is identified as the individual who carried out the murder.

Madam Minz

Anuradha Chaudhary, known as Madam Minz, was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell in Saharanpur alongside gangster Kala Jatheri. Originally from Fatehpur in Rajasthan's Sikar district, Chaudhary holds a BCA degree and was described by former associates as an academically capable student. 

She and her husband, Felix Deepak Minz, ran a share-trading business in Sikar that collapsed, leaving them heavily in debt. To clear the debts, Chaudhary entered the criminal world through contacts with criminal Balbir Banuda, who connected her to gangster Anandpal Singh. 

She had earlier married against her family's wishes. Chaudhary is credited with changing Anandpal Singh's public appearance -- persuading him to abandon traditional Indian clothing for suits, boots and hats -- and teaching him to speak English. In return, she received training in the use of weapons, including the AK-47. 

Police say she planned many of his criminal operations. The couple lived together for nine months. After Anandpal Singh was killed in a police encounter, Chaudhary moved to Delhi using connections within the Lawrence Bishnoi network. 

Rajasthan Police had offered a Rs 5,000 reward for information leading to her arrest in connection with the 2006 kidnapping of Sikar businessman Indrachand, brother of a key witness in the Jeevanram Godara murder case. 

In 2016, a court in Nagaur district sentenced her to two years' imprisonment and fined her Rs 20,000. Her mother died when she was young, leaving her father, Ramdev, a government employee, as her sole parent. Her marriage ended after she became involved in crime.

She later entered a live-in relationship with Kala Jatheri. 

Anu Dhankar

Anu Dhankhar, girlfriend of gangster Himanshu Bhau, was detained at the Nepal border. She is accused of masterminding the murder of Aman Joon at a Burger King outlet in Rajouri Garden in Delhi, where around 40 shots were fired in 2024. 

Dhankhar allegedly created a fake social media profile to befriend the victim before luring him to the location, where Bhau's shooters killed him. A resident of Rohtak, she had been living in a Delhi paying-guest accommodation under a false identity and is also named in an extortion case involving a prominent sweetmeat trader in Haryana.