8 Bishnoi gang shooters held in police crackdown

In a crackdown on the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, the Delhi police Special Cell has arrested at least seven shooters who were planning to target nephew of a former MLA from Rajasthan, officials in New Delhi said on Friday.

In a separate but related incident, the Delhi police arrested a member of Lawrence Bishnoi and Kala Jathedi gang, and recovered arms and ammunition from his possession, officials said.

The arrest of seven shooters comes days after the sensational murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique in Mumbai on October 12.

The Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for the murder.

Deputy commissioner of police (Special Cell) Pratiksha Godara said the seven accused have been identified as Ritesh, Sukhram, Sahil, Amar, Badal, Parmod and Sandeep.

Though the police have not found their links in Siddique's murder case as of now, the accused were being further interrogated, she said.

Godara said the shooters were planning to target Sunil Pahalwan, a resident of Ganganagar in Rajasthan; and Raj Kumar Gaur, the nephew of a former MLA from Rajasthan, on the direction of Arzoo Bishnoi, who is a close confidant of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi.

She said the shooters had also done the reconnaissance of their target.

Additional commissioner of police (Special Cell) PK Kushwaha said around six sophisticated pistols, 24 live cartridges and a GPS tracking device, which they used to place on their targets' vehicle to waylay them, have been recovered from their possession.

Anmol Bishnoi alias Bhanu, believed to be living in Canada, is allegedly said to be behind the murder of Baba Siddique.

Anmol is also under the National Investigation Agency's (NIA's) radar for his alleged involvement in a firing incident outside actor Salman Khan's Mumbai residence in April. He also been put on the anti-terror agency's most wanted list.

The NIA has announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information leading to his arrest.

Godara said Arzoo is believed to be staying in India and teams are working to nab him.

Kushwaha said similar kind of GPS device was used by the shooters in the murder of INLD leader Nafe Singh Rathee in February this year.

Kushwaha said Ritesh was among the first to be arrested from South East Delhi on October 23.

Based on Ritesh's revelations, further raids were conducted in Rajasthan, resulting in the arrest of Sukhram from Ganganagar.

"Sukhram disclosed that he was getting instructions from Anmol and Arzoo to execute the murder. It is suspected that they could target some more people in the future on the directions of their leaders," he said.

Subsequently, two more shooters Sahil and Amar, were arrested from Abohar in Punjab on Thursday. Badal, Parmod and Sandeep were apprehended from Sirsa in Haryana on the same day.

Meanwhile, the Delhi police have arrested Rijwan Ansari, a member of Lawrence Bishnoi and Kala Jathedi gang, officials on Friday said.

According to the police, there was a bounty of Rs 25,000 on the head of Bishnoi-Jathedi gang member Rijwan.

He is a close associate of Shahbaz Ansari, who had previously been arrested for supplying arms in the murder case of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.

Rizwan is an accused in arms supply cases of Khujra Dehtat and Kotwali of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, the police said.

The police said they have registered an FIR and launched further investigation into the matter.