New Delhi: Lawrence Bishnoi is all over the news nowadays. From his extortion call threats to his open declaration of causing homicide, the 31-year-old gangster fits into every textbook definition of a ‘mafia kingpin’. Although, Bishnoi’s targets seem to be as heterogenous as one could imagine, the aim is to strike fear of the paramount nature. So, when his gang members are going hammer and tongs after Bollywood actor Salman Khan citing his killing of the blackbuck, way back in 1998 in Jodhpur, as the reason behind their ire, something doesn’t add up. Is Lawrence Bishnoi really after Khan to prove a point, or is it an “image thing”, or is Blackbuck reverence a part of his DNA.
spoke with Yashovardhan Azad, a senior retired IPS officer who donned multiple hats during his tenure, including that of the secretary of Security, Government Of India. Azad says the real motive behind these open threats (to Khan in particular) are a combination of – 1) The prejudice of his community about the killing of an important symbol and 2) the main aim is to fill in the shoes of mafia overlord Dawood Ibrahim. Will he succeed in doing the latter? Let’s find out.
On whether blackbuck killing is what is driving the hatred
By and large, the mafia is not focussed on one or two issues. They operate on a much broader level. When the Blackbuck incident happened, Lawrence was only five-years-old. I don’t think he had the capacity to register and avenge at that point in time or even later. There is no denying that a lot of DNA is involved as well. He is a ‘Bishnoi’ and people from this community revere the blackbuck. They have a blind sense of prejudice to safeguard their symbol. But is this the only reason why Bishnoi and his gang members are after Khan? I don’t think so.
There are larger motives at play here. The one main thing could be that of desiring to fill in the gap vacated by Dawood Ibrahim in India. Bishnoi could be doing all of these to fill that space and he thinks the time is ripe.
On fear being the main driver, still!
What drives the mafia is their false sense of power to perpetuate a type of fear in people who matter the most. They are in the lookout for clientele which could cause the maximum noise and make an irreparable impact. But the way Bishnoi functions is very different from other gangsters. Take for example, Mohammad Shahabuddin, who was elected again and again in Bihar until he died due to Covid. According to his members, Shahabuddin was actually an arbiter and the dispenser of justice.
But the way Bishnoi began his nefarious activities was a stark contrast to Shahabuddin. What started with petty crimes like extortion threats, he graduated to murder and other means of creating fear in the minds of people. The rest, we all know.
On his Bollywood fascination, going the Dawood way?
As far as celebrities are concerned, whether related to sports or any other field, when they grow into a certain level and start flaunting a rich and influencing lifestyle, they automatically become soft targets for a young gangster like Lawrence. But he has not reached that level yet from where he can virtually control the underbelly of Mumbai, including real estate, TV, Films, liquor, other industries. Will he get there? I don’t think so because his modus operandi is very unlike that of Dawood’s. The latter had a pulse around the people. He used to try and genuinely dispense justice to the poor and downtrodden. For now, Bishnoi is only concentrating on a narrow area of target.
On whether India is doing enough to curb this Bishnoi fear
He has matured and so are his dealings but India has maintained the right approach to keep the gang in the radar. All of this wouldn’t have escalated if the justice system had delivered a prompt verdict on the Blackbuck killing case and if Khan was made to serve the kind of sentence that was due. That may have resulted in pacifying the Bishnoi community or diverting their attention to the petty extortion demands that were known to be making previously.
Could India have done better to control his gang men gaining the muscle? I would certainly think so. We were quick to learn where the investment of Lawrence was parked and even requested Canada to help monitor and control his activities. But there has been no help offered to us from that end. Instead their support for anti-elements may have just resulted in giving Bishnoi a kind of a morale boost.
A very important thing to note here is this – that every terrorist, every mafia has a shelf life. Lawrence Bishnoi too comes with an expiry date. In fact, his troubles would be much more today, given that there are umpteen gang rivalries, high-tech and improved surveillance and India’s zero tolerance against such acts attitude.
