Bishnoi gangs’ activities confined to Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Mumbai: CM

Pune: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said activities of the gangs linked to Lawrence Bishnoi and Rohit Godara were largely confined to Mumbai, Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad in Maharashtra, and a special police team would be constituted to crack down on the organised crime networks behind a series of extortion-linked firings.Replying to a discussion in the assembly, Fadnavis said investigations revealed a clear modus operandi. He said the gang leaders, allegedly operating from abroad, made extortion calls using VPNs (virtual private networks). The chief minister said if the victim appeared vulnerable, hired shooters — mostly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar — fired outside their homes or business establishments to create fear and force payment of extortion money.

He said they moved on if the target ignored the threat.“The objective is not necessarily to kill, but to terrorise victims into paying extortion,” Fadnavis said. He said Anmol Bishnoi and Pravin Lonkar were arrested. Their brothers, Aarzoo Bishnoi and Shubham Lonkar, are believed to be operating from overseas.The chief minister said the callers routed their calls through multiple countries using VPNs, making it difficult to trace them.

He said the police were actively investigating the digital trail. “People should not panic if they receive such calls. These gangs succeed only when victims get intimidated,” Fadnavis said.MLA Vijay Wadettiwar said extortion threats were no longer limited to traders and businessmen, celebrities and public representatives, including MLA Sajid Pathan, were also targeted. Referring to the firing outside a furniture mall in Punawale in May, allegedly carried out by operatives linked to the Bishnoi gang after its owner refused to pay extortion, he accused the government of failing to curb such gangs’ activities.“Extortion threats to businessmen continue despite gang members openly claiming responsibility for firing incidents. This raises serious questions over whether the home department has acted effectively or not,” Wadettiwar said.Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh demanded a special police team to tackle organised crime, recalling that a similar squad comprising officers such as Pradeep Sharma, Daya Nayak and Deven Bharti was constituted in 2014 to deal with gangsters.

Fadnavis accepted the demand and said a similar team would be constituted to act against criminals linked to the Bishnoi network.Wadgaonsheri MLA Bapu Pathare also expressed concern over the growing influence of the gang in Pune, saying while the police action was visible in Mumbai, firings linked to the gang continued to be reported from Pune district. At least four to five such incidents took place outside homes or business establishments of traders over the past two months in Pune.Fadnavis said all those involved in the firings reported in Pune, Mumbai and Pimpri Chinchwad had been arrested. Preliminary investigations revealed the shooters were hired. He said the police were invoking the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in such cases to ensure stringent punishment, while the state government was coordinating with the Centre to trace the gang leaders operating from abroad.Minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam said gang members create fresh social media accounts to claim the responsibility of firing incidents or issue threats and delete these. Screenshots of these posts are then circulated widely on social media.Kadam said Arzoo Bishnoi was suspected to be in the US or Canada, while the exact whereabouts of another accused, Shubham Lonkar, were yet to be established. “It is suspected that they are operating from countries with which India does not have an extradition treaty.

We have written to the authorities concerned and are taking assistance from central agencies,” he said.Responding to questions on why Maharashtra police had not taken Lawrence Bishnoi into custody despite his name surfacing in several cases, Kadam said he was currently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). “As per procedure, the state police cannot take anyone’s custody from the NIA. We interrogate him whenever required, while he remains in the NIA custody,” he said.Fadnavis said both Arzoo Bishnoi and Rohit Godara were involved in criminal activities across the country. He said the Centre was working to trace them and bring them back to India.