Lawrence Bishnoi is lodged in high-security Sabarmati jail in Gujarat. (File Photo)Not only Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down in Canada in 2024, the United States Department of Justice indictment also held the Lawrence Bishnoi gang responsible for other incidents including shooting at the residence of actor Salman Khan, threats issued to Punjabi actor and singer Gippy Grewal, and “ordering and directing” the murder of Sidhu Moose Wala (Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu).“Acts of violence committed by members and associates of the Bishnoi organised crime group, or OCG, often targeted prominent cultural, political, and business leaders in India and diaspora communities outside of India,” US DoJ indictment says.It further stated that “the group had claimed responsibility through an interview with a media outlet for ordering and directing the murder of SSS, a prominent Indian singer and rapper who was murdered on May 29, 2022 in Mansa, Punjab,” the US DoJ says. This is most likely a reference to noted Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moose Wala (Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, or SSS), who was shot and killed on May 29, 2022, in Jawaharke village of the Mansa district.Read | Operation ‘Hardball’: Indian agencies shared, verified list of names and hideouts with US“Between 2022 and 2026, Bishnoi announced, on multiple occasions, his intention to murder SK, a well-known Indian actor and television personality,” the indictment said. According to sources, this is a reference to actor Salman Khan, whose residence was under attack in April 2024, besides the security breach on his film set. The gang has been continuously threatening the actor, primarily due to the 1998 blackbuck poaching case.“Members and associates of the Bishnoi OCG used these and similar claims to promote the enterprise and instil fear in the public, including to extort members of the public based on fear of the Bishnoi OCG,” says the DoJ.Read | FBI announces $50,000 reward on gangster Goldy Brar, who is a designated terrorist in IndiaOn November 25, 2023, defendant Bishnoi claimed responsibility for a shooting that occurred on November 24, 2023 in Vancouver, Canada at the residence of RG, a prominent Indian actor and singer, in an online post to Facebook that warned, in Punjabi, “no one can save you from us,” it said. This is understood to be a reference to Punjabi actor/singer Rupinder Grewal, or Gippy Grewal, as shots were fired outside his house on the same date in Vancouver.Read | From Canadian scrutiny to FBI’s Operation Hard Ball: How net tightened around Lawrence BishnoiThe DoJ says the Bishnoi organised crime group, or OCG, originated in Punjab, under the leadership of its founder, defendant Bishnoi. While enrolled in university in the early 2010s, Bishnoi styled himself as a student leader and developed a network of associates and followers. He soon, thereafter, traded campus politics for criminal activity, and refashioned his associates and followers into a criminal organisation, the US DoJ indictment said.Story continues below this adThe Bishnoi OCG recruited new members primarily from vulnerable, disadvantaged populations in India, including through promotional videos and messages posted on social media sites. The Bishnoi OCG often recruited minors from impoverished areas in Punjab. The Bishnoi OCG targeted minors for recruitment to minimise the sentencing exposure that would otherwise attach to violent criminal activity committed by members and associates of the enterprise, the US DoJ says.Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More Tags:Lawrence Bishnoi