Bishnoi, aides used WhatsApp from Gujarat jail to blackmail victims: US DoJ

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said on Wednesday (July 8, 2026) that Lawrence Bishnoi, a Punjab-born gangster who is currently lodged in a maximum-security prison in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, used WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging apps as recently as December 2025 and January 2026 to allegedly attempt to extort $5 million from victims of racketeers and racketeers. USA

The Ministry of Justice accused him and his associate Satinderjeet Singh, alias Goldy Brar, of ordering the assassination of pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. It said “the business routinely attacked prominent religious, social and political leaders with violence and used these high-profile acts to terrorize and extort community members”.

For example, in November 2023, Bishnoi claimed responsibility for a shooting that took place at the residence of a prominent Indian actor and singer in Vancouver, Canada, warning in a Facebook post written in Punjabi that “no one can save you from us”.

According to his lawyer Rajni Khatri, Bishnoi has been lodged in Sabarmati Jail since 2023 in solitary confinement and is under round-the-clock CCTV surveillance. The Union Home Ministry has invoked Section 303 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which prohibits his movement outside the jail, and is participating in court proceedings through video conferencing. If he has to be questioned by the police from abroad, he will go to prison.

According to a charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2022 against Bishnoi and others, 84 cases have been registered against him in Delhi, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Punjab, with the first case dating back to 2010.

Ms Khatri said Bishnoi had been released or acquitted in 40 other cases. “If he used WhatsApp to carry out extortion activities from jail, then the authorities should provide supporting evidence. He is under round-the-clock surveillance in jail. He only meets his legal team,” she said. Before Sabarmati, Bishnoi was jailed for a year in a Punjab jail and before that in Tihar jail in Delhi.

There was no response from state or central government officials to the allegations made by US authorities.

The NIA charge sheet echoed the US Justice Department’s allegations that Bishnoi ran his racket from jail. The Department of Justice said that “using contraband cell phones and other Voice over Internet Protocol devices smuggled into his prison cell, Bishnoi personally directed political assassinations, murders, shootings, extortion, kidnapping, drug trafficking, human smuggling, and other crimes committed by members and associates of the Bishnoi Enterprise around the world.”

In 2022, the NIA said that Bishnoi “runs all operations of the gang from jail”. “He is so adept at controlling from jail that he has not applied for bail in any case since last few years,” it read.

But Ms. Khatri said Bishnoi has not applied for bail in recent years as several cases are registered against him and no one comes forward to secure bail for him.

For example, the NIA charge sheet cited a conspiracy to murder Sidhu Moosewal. It said that during the planning and execution of the murder, the key accused were lodged in various jails, including Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria in Tihar, Manpreet in Ferozepur Jail, Saraj Singh Mantoo in Bathinda Jail and Manmohan Singh in Mansa Jail. Despite being jailed, they allegedly remained in touch with Brar, who coordinated with jailed associates and eventually commissioned the gunmen to carry out the killings after Moosewala’s security cover was dropped, the NIA said.

The NIA said that a significant portion of the money generated through extortion activities is sent to Canada, the US, Dubai, Thailand and Australia for the use of their foreign associates and family members and also to finance the activities of “pro-Khalistan extremists”.

The NIA compared the rise of the Punjab gangster to that of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. The agency said that Bishnoi, who started as a petty criminal, has expanded his network into a vast organized crime syndicate, similar to Dawood’s gang.

According to the US Department of Justice, Bishnoi, a self-proclaimed university student leader, presided over a vast criminal enterprise that spanned multiple continents before he grew tired of politics and turned himself and his followers to crime. It said Bishnoi projected his public image as a “patriot”, “nationalist” and deeply religious individual through social media posts and interviews with news organizations and used this public image to recruit members and associates to his crime syndicate in India, the US and elsewhere.

The NIA said that with the help of associates including Goldy Brar, Sachin Thapan, Anmol Bishnoi, Vikram Brar, Kala Jatheri and Kala Rana, Bishnoi allegedly expanded his network into a large criminal organization. Her charge stated that the gang eventually grew to over 700 associates and generated millions of rupees through criminal activity.

Published – 8 Jul 2026 23:09 IST