The Gurugram Police on Thursday, 1 June, arrested 10 close associates of the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar gang.
"They were planning to kidnap a person and extort crores of rupees as ransom. They were, however, nabbed before they could do anything. Seven of the accused were wearing police uniforms at the time of arrest," claimed Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Varun Dahiya while addressing a press conference.
The alleged ‘mastermind‘ behind the assassination of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Waala, Lawrence Bishnoi is a gangster accused in over a dozen criminal cases. More recently, he threatened actor Salman Khan to apologise for killing a blackbuck or “get ready to face consequences“.
As per the police, four foreign-made pistols, 28 live cartridges, two vehicles, and seven police uniforms were recovered from their possession.
An FIR was registered by the crime branch under sections 399 (dacoity), 402 (assembling for purpose of committing dacoity), and 171 (impersonating a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Relevant sections of the arms act were also added to the FIR.
How did police nab the accused? Detailing the operation, ACP Dahiya said that Inspector Anand Kumar from the Crime Branch Sector-31, jointly acted on a tip-off and successfully arrested the seven suspects from Bhondsi village.
"During the initial interrogation, it was revealed that all of the arrested individuals were active members of Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar gangs. They had come to Gurugram to carry out a major robbery and kidnapping. Their plan involved Joginder alias Joga posing as a police inspector, while the other members would impersonate police officers to commit the crime," ACP Dahiya said.
Who are the accused? The arrested individuals have been identified as Rakesh Kumar alias Anil, Harjot Singh alias Leela, Ajay Isharwalia alias Punjabi, Prince alias Golu, Jogendra alias Joga, Sandeep alias Deep, and Sinderpal alias Bittu.
Among them, Jogendra is a wanted criminal with over 15 serious criminal charges, including robbery, dacoity, attempted murder, and extortion. He has been in and out of jail, spending five years in Ambala Jail from 2017 to October 2021. After being released, he was arrested in February 2022 but was later released on bail. He had been on the run since then and had not appeared in court. He also has associations with Lawrence Bishnoi and his gang members from his time in Patiala Jail.
After interrogation, three additional accomplices, Dharmendra alias Dharma, Deepak alias Dilawar, and Karan, were also apprehended from Devilal Stadium near Rajiv Chowk, with illegal weapons in their possession.
About Lawrence Bishnoi: A gangster with over two dozen criminal cases against him, Bishnoi runs a gang which has approximately 700 sharpshooters affiliated with it. He is currently in custody in Punjab's Bathinda jail.
In May 2022, Bishnoi and his close associate Goldy Brar took responsibility of assassinating Punjabi Singer Sidhu Moose Waala.
More recently, in an interview with a TV channel given while Bishnoi was in jail, he threatened Hindi film actor Salman Khan and asked him to apologise to the Bishnoi community for "killing a blackbuck".
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