Rajasthan Police have arrested members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang who were planning to carry out terror attacks in Delhi and Gwalior on Independence Day, August 15.
Additional Director General of Police (Crime Branch) Dinesh MN said that three men — Jitendra Chaudhary of Tonk, Sanjay from Hanumangarh district, and Sonu alias Kali of Kapurthala, Punjab — along with three minors, were taken into custody from Jaipur and Tonk districts last week. They were later handed over to the Special Operations Cell of the Punjab Police in Amritsar.
The accused were wanted in connection with a grenade blast in Nawanshahr, Punjab, on July 7.
According to police, members of the Bishnoi gang had hurled a grenade outside a liquor shop in Nawanshahr in order to “spread terror and extort money” before fleeing to Rajasthan.
A case was registered under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), including Section 49 (abetment outside India for offence in India), Section 55 (abetment of offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life), Section 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy), along with sections of the Arms Act.
ADG Dinesh MN said that a team led by Additional Superintendent of Police Siddhant Sharma from the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) was dispatched to Jaipur and Ajmer ranges after the Nawanshahr blast. “The team concealed its identity and, without caring for their lives, worked hard to collect intelligence about the wanted and arrested them on August 10,” he said.
Police interrogation revealed that the suspects were linked to Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang and were receiving instructions from Zeeshan Akhtar, who is based in Canada. “Upon interrogation, it was found that they are associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and that their handler is Zeeshan Akhtar, who lives in Canada and had taken responsibility for the murder of Baba Siddique in Mumbai,” ADG Dinesh MN said.
He further claimed that Akhtar, Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti, Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) member Manu Agwan, and gangster Gopi Nawanshahria are all part of an interconnected network.
“They carry out criminal activities in different parts of the country and contact local youth by luring them with money to commit the crime. The accused in the present case are connected with Zeeshan Akhtar through Instagram and other online apps. Zeeshan Akhtar had also provided grenades to the accused for the Nawanshahr blast. He used to give instructions to them through online applications. He had also instructed them to carry out blasts in Delhi and Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, on Independence Day, August 15,” he added.
In June, Mumbai Police had said Akhtar was detained in Canada in connection with the murder of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique. However, his status and whereabouts remain unclear.