NIA arrests gangster Anmol Bishnoi after deportation from US, gets 11-day custody

New Delhi, Nov 19 (PTI) Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and wanted in several sensational cases, was arrested by the NIA upon his deportation from the US on Wednesday in a case related to nexus between criminal gangs and terror groups.

Immediately upon landing here along with 200 deportees from the United States, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) placed Anmol, a proclaimed offender and carrying a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh, under arrest.

After completing the formalities, Anmol, against whom the NIA had filed a chargesheet in 2023, was taken for medical examination and later to the designated court at Patiala House.

Surrounded by heavy security, including Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel, Anmol was produced before Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma around 5 pm and the proceedings were held in-camera.

The court after hearing both sides remanded Anmol to the custody of the federal agency for an 11-day period.

Talking to reporters after the court proceedings, Special Public Prosecutor Rahul Tyagi said that he would be produced again before the court on November 29.

"Eleven days of remand has been given. He has to be produced again on the 29th of November. He is a very important member of the terror-gangster syndicate," Tyagi said, and asserted that his questioning may help in unearthing what activities he has been undertaking.

He said the probe is focused on Anmol's escape and his alleged extremist ties.

To a question whether the role of Khalistani elements was being investigated, Tyagi said "Yes, that is the basic chargesheet. He is an absconder. He was part of the BKI and the gangster syndicate. That is why he has been arrested." Anmol, absconding since 2022, is wanted in connection with other major crimes, including the killing of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique in October 2024, firing incident outside actor Salman Khan's residence in April 2024 and murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in 2022.

In its 12-page order, the court said that the NIA has moved an application saying that Anmol was part of a conspiracy hatched by members of a criminal syndicate based in India and abroad with banned Babbar Khalsa International terror group and its operatives for raising funds and recruitment of youth for carrying out terror activities in the national capital and other parts of the country.

The NIA alleged that Anmol was part of the syndicate which was involved in executing and planning to execute a heinous crime.

Anmol, who was declared a proclaimed offender by the NIA in January this year, denied all the allegations levelled against him.

The court, while granting the custody, directed the NIA to allow lawyers of the accused to meet him in person or through video conference every alternate day.

According to NIA officials, Anmol was "removed" from the United States on Tuesday, where he had been detained since November last year. He is the 19th accused to be apprehended for involvement in the Lawrence Bishnoi-led syndicate.

The NIA, which has been investigating the gangster-terror syndicate, has alleged that Anmol played a pivotal role in running the gang's operations from foreign soil. "Anmol was chargesheeted by the NIA in March 2023," an NIA spokesperson said in a statement.

The agency has alleged that Anmol "actively aided designated individual terrorist Goldy Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi in the commission of various acts of terrorism in the country during the 2020-2023 period" which included running terror syndicates and executing terrorist acts from the US using ground operatives.

He was also allegedly involved in providing shelter and logistic support to the gang's shooters and ground operatives and engaging in extortion in India from foreign soil with the help of other gangsters.

With his arrest, the NIA may get a further insight into the nexus between terrorists, gangsters, and arms smugglers, including their funding channels.

Meanwhile, police in Mumbai, where cases related to the Baba Siddique murder and the Salman Khan residence firing are registered, are expected to seek his custody for their own investigations.

Sources in Mumbai police indicated that earlier this month, agencies had received information that Bishnoi, who was reportedly moving between the US and Canada, was carrying a Russian passport procured on forged documents.

Earlier, NCP leader and Baba Siddique's son Zeeshan Siddique had told PTI that he had received an email informing that Anmol had been "removed" from the US.

"This means he is not in the United States and should be brought to India and tried for his crimes," Zeeshan had said.

Baba Siddique was shot dead on the night of October 12, 2024, in front of his son Zeeshan's office in Bandra. Several persons related to the gang headed by Lawrence Bishnoi were arrested in the murder.

The Mumbai police had invoked provisions of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in Baba Siddique murder case. Police had arrested at least 26 persons in the case and Anmol, Shubham Lonkar and Zishan Mohammed Akhtar were shown as wanted in the case. PTI SKM MNR ABS SKL KVK KVK