Lawrence Bishnoi, being probed in Sidhu Moose Wala murder, threatened to kill Salman Khan in 2018: ‘Jodhpur mein hi maarenge…’

Hours after popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala‘s murder in Punjab, the police suggested that the dreaded Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang might be involved. Even though Bishnoi is at presently jailed in Tihar, his involvement is being investigated Punjab Police.
Bishnoi, 31, is the son of a well-off agricultur in the sleepy Dhattaranwali village near Abohar in Ferozepur drict of Punjab, and is currently lodged at the Tihar jail. Shortly after the killing, Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar alleged that he along with Bishnoi had engineered this assassination.
Bishnoi has two dozen cases regered against him, ranging from murder to extortion. The police believe that Moose Wala’s death is a result of a gang war. But this isn’t the first time that the gangster’s name has cropped up in connection to the world of entertainment. In 2018, a man claiming to be an associate of Bishnoi’s was arrested in Bengaluru. The man, Sampat Nehra, alleged that he’d been tasked with carrying out a hit on Salman Khan, in retaliation for the blackbuck hunting case.

The police had claimed that Lawrence Bishnoi belongs to the Bishnoi community, which considers blackbucks sacred. Mumbai Police beefed up Salman’s security after the threat level was analysed. “We have enhanced the overall security of Salman Khan. Police will be present around his apartment to make sure no nefarious activity is done the gang from Rajasthan,” a senior police official was quoted as saying Hindustan Times.Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
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Bishnoi himself had threatened to kill Salman in Jodhpur. “Hum karenge toh pata chal hi jayega. Salman Khan ko Jodhpur mein hi maarenge, pata chal jayega inko. Abhi toh maine kuch kiya hi nahi hai, bina matlab ke involve kar rahe hain (Everyone will know once we take action. We will kill Salman Khan here, in Jodhpur. I haven’t done anything yet, and they’re accusing me of crimes for no reason),” he said outside court in 2018.
In 2020, the arrest of an alleged sharpshooter associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang led police to claim that they had uncovered a plot to kill Salman Khan. Rahul alias Sanga alias Baba alias Sunni was arrested in Uttarakhand, in connection with a murder case in Faridabad. “During questioning, it has emerged that Rahul had travelled to Mumbai in January to conduct a recce for the murder of Salman Khan. He went to the actor’s house in Bandra for the purpose and stayed in the area for two days,” said Rajesh Duggal, DCP (Headquarters). The DCP added, “He conducted this recce at the behest of Bishnoi and Sampat Nehra, another member of the gang, who had also conducted a recce to plan for the same crime before he was arrested in June 2018.”
Delhi Police Special Cell sources told the Indian Express that Bishnoi had been in active contact with his gang members and had tasked his associate Md Shahrukh to kill Moose Wala, but the plan failed and Shahrukh was arrested in April.