Baba Siddique Murder: What's Lawrence Bishnoi's Motive? More Than Salman Khan

The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has claimed that Baba Siddique was killed due to Salman Khan. But there's more to it.

Lawrence Bishnoi has taken responsibility of killing Baba Siddique.

(Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

"Bade aadmi ko maarne wala aur bhi bada bann jaata hai" (The person who kills a big man ends up becoming even bigger). This dialogue from a Ram Gopal Varma film, is important to understanding the Lawrence Bishnoi story.

Already accused of assassinating Sidhu Moose Wala in 2022, Bishnoi's gang has now claimed responsibility for killing NCP leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai on 12 October.

Siddique is a former MLA and leader of Ajit Pawar's NCP, which is part of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra. He is also known to be close to a number of Bollywood film stars such as Sanjay Dutt, Shah Rukh Khan, Shilpa Shetty and, most importantly in this context, Salman Khan.

So, what is Bishnoi's motive behind killing Baba Siddique? And how does he continue to operate from jail?

We'll answer these two questions in this piece.

Why Kill Baba Siddique?

The Mumbai Police is yet to officially confirm the Lawrence Bishnoi gang's involvement in Baba Siddique's killing. However, several news reports have appeared quoting unnamed Mumbai Police sources that the Bishnoi gang was indeed involved in the killing.

A Facebook post has surfaced in which Shubham Lonkar, an alleged associate of Bishnoi, has claimed responsibility for the killing on Bishnoi's behalf and given justification for the same.

The post calls the killing a Satkaram (good deed) and claims that Siddique was killed due to his friendship with actor Salman Khan and for his alleged links to fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim.

Salman Khan has been a pet target of the Bishnoi gang – Bishnoi has claimed that his 'enmity' with Salman Khan stems from his refusal to apologise for allegedly killing a blackbuck in Jodhpur in 1998. The animal is considered holy by the Bishnoi community.

While this may have been one of the motives for Bishnoi, it is not the only one.

Much of Bishnoi's killings and attacks over the past few years have been aimed at establishing his hegemony over organised crime in the country. For this, he chooses prominent targets and shows a certain brazenness in carrying out the killings.

Siddique's killing checks both boxes. Baba Siddique was a big name in Mumbai, given his political stature and his high-profile Bollywood links. And he was killed in Mumbai's posh Bandra area, where several prominent stars live, including Salman Khan.

The killing will open a new market for Bishnoi's extortion racket. Now it won't be difficult for him to target the elite in India's financial capital for 'security money'.

The killing of Sidhu Moose Wala in 2022 was followed by an increase in threats from Bishnoi and his associates to businessmen and even some celebrities in Punjab. According to Punjab Police, it further increased after Bishnoi's TV interviews.

Bishnoi's associates also carried high-profile attacks on the Canada homes of prominent Punjabi celebrities like Gippy Grewal in November 2023 and AP Dhillon in September 2024.

"Flee to any country you wish, but remember, death doesn't require a visa," read a Facebook post, attributed to Bishnoi, after the attack on Gippy Grewal.

Then, in April 2024, an attack was carried out at Salman Khan's Mumbai residence, allegedly at Bishnoi's behest.

For every celebrity who was attacked or killed, there may have been many who were threatened and forced to pay extortion money by Bishnoi and his associates.

There's another angle to this.

Establishing Hegemony Over Organised Crime

Several factors have facilitated Lawrence Bishnoi's rise in organised crime in North India.

The foundation of his criminal empire was laid by his mentor Rocky Fazilka who controlled organised crime in Punjab in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Fazilka moved away from crime and towards politics before he was gunned down in 2016.

Lakha Sidhana, a key lieutenant of Rocky Fazilka, also quit the world of crime and became an activist.

This left the field open for Lawrence Bishnoi, who at that time was a rising force within Fazilka's gang and hails from the same area as the latter.

Over the years, Bishnoi has also benefitted from the fact that many of his rivals have been gunned down by the police, such as Shera Khubban, Davinder Bambiha, Vicky Gounder, Prema Lahoriya, and Jaipal Bhullar.

Four other important killings were allegedly carried out by people associated with Bishnoi's syndicate in the last two years.

In December 2022, Raju Theth, a prominent gangster from Rajasthan's Shekhawati region, was killed in Sikar. Rohit Godara, an associate of Lawrence Bishnoi, took responsibility for the killing and called it revenge for the killing of two prominent gangsters from Shekhawati – Anandpal Singh and Balbir Banuda.

In May 2023, Bishnoi's associates also allegedly carried out the killing of Tillu Tajpuriya inside a Delhi jail. Tajpuriya is said to have been part of the Kaushal Chaudhary-led crime syndicate, that includes the remnants of the Bambiha gang from Punjab. This syndicate is a direct rival of Bishnoi's syndicate – and Kaushal Chaudhary is said to be part of Lawrence's 'hit list' as well.

In September 2023, alleged Khalistani activist Sukhdool Singh was killed in Canada's Winnipeg. Lawrence Bishnoi's gang took responsibility for it through a Facebook post. The killing took place less than a day after Sukhdool Singh's name was published as part of a list of wanted gangsters by the National Investigation Agency.

According to a report in the Washington Post, "Canadian officials described an operational “chain” in which Indian diplomats in Canada collect intelligence on alleged Sikh separatists that is then used by RAW to identify targets for attacks carried out by a criminal syndicate led by Lawrence Bishnoi, whose organization, the officials said, has an extensive presence in Canada".

Then, in December 2023, Karni Sena leader Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi was killed in broad daylight in a posh area in Jaipur.

Just as Tajpuriya's killing was aimed at attacking Kaushal Chaudhary's syndicate in Delhi and Haryana, the killing of Theth and Gogamedi were aimed at establishing the Bishnoi syndicate's supremacy over organised crime in Rajasthan.

Though from Punjab's Fazilka, Bishnoi's roots lie in Rajasthan, and this has enabled him to expand his criminal footprint in the state. He has cleverly taken over the remnants of the Anandpal Singh gang and presented himself as the main challenger to Anandpal's rivals like Raju Theth who became powerful after the former's encounter by the police.

Bishnoi has been acutely conscious of how caste and crime are closely tied in the state.

His battle against Salman Khan over the blackbuck has made him popular among the youth of his own community.

In this context, there has been an interesting pattern to his killings – that at least one of the shooters or conspirators have been from the same community as the victim.

So, if Goldy Brar is the main accused in Moose Wala's killing (both are Jatt Sikhs), Rohit Godara is said to be behind the killing of Raju Theth (both Hindu Jats). Then, one of the accused in Rajput leader Gogamedi's killing is Rohit Rathore while the police is looking for one Zeeshan Akhtar in connection with the killing of Baba Siddique.

How Does Lawrence Bishnoi Continue To Operate from Jail?

According to the Washington Post report, there is a direct collusion between Lawrence Bishnoi and India's Research and Analysis Wing. India has denied these allegations.

It seems difficult to believe that Lawrence Bishnoi can carry out these activities from jail without some degree of official collusion.

Sure, it is possible that the planning and coordination of these killings is being done by his lieutenants who are still free, such as Goldy Brar, Rohit Godara and Anmol Bishnoi.

But then it is known that Lawrence Bishnoi himself has been in touch with people allegedly carrying out these killings. For instance, there are reports that Lawrence Bishnoi spoke to Siddique murder accused Shubham Lonkar over video calls in 2022 and 2023. Lonkar was even arrested in an Arms Act case earlier this year but was later released.

Then, there have been reports of several businessmen receiving threatening calls directly from Bishnoi from jail this year.

Bishnoi has also given video interviews from jail.

How is Bishnoi allowed to make video calls and interviews from jail?

Another question is regarding Bishnoi's custody.

An order of the Union Home Ministry prohibits the transfer of Bishnoi from Sabarmati prison in Ahmedabad. The order, issued under Section 268 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), gives the government power to bar the movement of high-profile prisoners in the likelihood it may affect law and order. It was initially in effect until August 2024 but has now reportedly been extended.

Bishnoi is wanted in several cases in Punjab and now even Maharashtra. Mumbai Police reportedly tried to get custody for Bishnoi following the attack on Salman Khan's house in April 2024, but they haven't yet been able to.

Despite his criminal enterprises and activities spanning across different states and even countries (such as the attacks on Gippy Grewal's and AP Dhillon's homes), why is the Union Home Ministry making it difficult for other states to get custody of him?

At the very least, there is collusion among jail authorities in places where Bishnoi has been able to make video calls and give interviews. But questions over collusion with the higher-ups can also be raised.

We had written way back in June 2022, right after Moose Wala's killing, that it was part of the Bishnoi syndicate's efforts to establish its complete dominance over organised crime in North India. Now he clearly has his eyes set on India's financial capital.

The question is, when will the law enforcement agencies realise this? That is, if they want to in the first place.