New Delhi: In a major breakthrough in its crackdown on terror–crime networks, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday took custody of Anmol Bishnoi, brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, immediately after he was deported from the United States.
Anmol, who had been absconding since 2022, is wanted in multiple high-profile cases, including the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, the firing outside actor Salman Khan’s Bandra residence in April 2024, and the conspiracy surrounding the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.
According to officials, Anmol was detained in the US in November 2023 and was formally removed from the country on Tuesday before being handed over to Indian authorities. His arrest makes him the 19th accused apprehended in the NIA’s probe into the Bishnoi-Brar gang’s alleged terror network.
An NIA spokesperson said Anmol had been chargesheeted in March 2023, after investigators found that he played a key role in facilitating acts of terror between 2020 and 2023. He was allegedly working closely with designated terrorist Goldy Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi, coordinating violent attacks from abroad.
Investigators allege that Anmol provided safe houses, logistics support, and resources to shooters linked with the gang, besides orchestrating extortion operations in India while based overseas.
The agency said its probe aims to dismantle the wider nexus between gangsters, arms suppliers, and terror operatives, whose networks span multiple countries.
The killing of Baba Siddique on October 12, 2024, outside his son’s office in Bandra sent shockwaves through Mumbai’s political and security circles. At least 26 individuals linked to the Bishnoi syndicate have been arrested so far, and Mumbai Police have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case.
Along with Anmol, Shubham Lonkar and Zishan Mohammed Akhtar were also named as wanted accused.
With Anmol now in custody, the NIA is expected to intensify its efforts to map the gang’s international funding channels and operational networks as the investigation continues.
