Lawrence Bishnoi’s rise: Student politics, first murder and a sprawling crime network

The Lawrence Bishnoi gang is a criminal network that grew from Bishnoi’s school and university circle into a wider operation across North India. It matters because the group continued expanding even while Bishnoi was imprisoned. The article connects it to several high-profile killings and attacks, showing how a local student group developed into a broader criminal organization.

Its early crimes grew out of student rivalries and violence. Bishnoi was accused of shooting at a rival candidate, attacking another candidate, and later killing Avtaar during a college election dispute in 2013. In later years, the gang became associated with threats, attempted attacks on actor Salman Khan, and killings including singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala in 2022 and legislator Baba Siddiqui in 2024.

The article presents the gang as a network rather than a group controlled only from one place. Associates operated while Bishnoi moved between jails, and some fled abroad. Social media helped publicize threats and alleged attacks, keeping the gang visible and influential.

Bishnoi’s first murder emerged from the violent student politics that had drawn him into crime. At a government college in Muktsar, Punjab, he fielded a candidate during elections. The rival side supported Avtaar, described as a member of the PUSU group. Their political competition became a personal and armed confrontation.

During campaigning, Bishnoi, Goldy Brar, and four others shot Avtaar dead one evening. The article identifies this killing in 2013 as Bishnoi’s first murder, and also describes it as Goldy Brar’s first murder. The key mechanism was the use of group rivalry, campaigning, and factional loyalty to produce escalating violence.

The killing marked a major change in Bishnoi’s trajectory. Earlier violence had included shooting at a rival student candidate and attacking another rival after the 2010 university election. After 2013, police officers described Bishnoi’s rise as meteoric, while his network expanded beyond university disputes across North India.

The network had grown far beyond its Punjab beginnings. The article says Bishnoi’s gang spread from Punjab to parts of North India across several states. This expansion matters because it shows that the organization was no longer dependent on one university, one city, or one local circle of associates.

Its reach also became international. While Bishnoi moved between jails in Delhi, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, some associates fled India, established networks abroad, and ran operations from outside the country. Goldy Brar, described as a later leader of the gang, hid in Canada and the United States. The article also says Brar used social media while Bishnoi was imprisoned.

The scale is striking alongside Bishnoi’s imprisonment. Police officers said he had been in jail for more than 10 years, yet he remained in the news and the gang continued growing. This suggests a network able to preserve influence through associates, communications, and operations outside prison.

These men helped transform Bishnoi’s early group into a more capable criminal network. Ranjeet Dupla, whom Bishnoi met in prison, had previously lived in the United States and was arrested in Punjab for arms smuggling. According to the police dossier, Dupla helped obtain weapons for Bishnoi, Sampat Nehra, and Kala Jathedi.

Sampat Nehra later became known as a jailed gangster arrested for attempting to kill Salman Khan. Kala Jathedi later became one of Delhi’s most wanted men. Goldy Brar was Bishnoi’s friend during their student-politics years and was arrested with him after a 2010 attack on a rival candidate. Brar later headed the gang while hiding abroad.

Their roles show how relationships formed through prison, student politics, weapons access, and later criminal activity strengthened the network. Brar also kept the gang visible while Bishnoi was jailed by issuing threats, claiming murders, and sharing videos on social media.

Social media gave the gang reach that physical freedom could not. Police officers quoted in the article believe Bishnoi and his aides used Facebook first to show their presence, then to recruit people. This mattered because Bishnoi spent much of the period in jail, yet the gang could still communicate with supporters and project power.

Goldy Brar used Facebook and later Instagram while Bishnoi was imprisoned. He issued threats, confessed to murders, and shared videos of Bishnoi during court visits. The article also says the gang became the first to confess to its hits on Facebook. These posts connected violence, publicity, and recruitment in one communication channel.

The result was continuing visibility across North India. Police officers said fan pages on Facebook and Instagram kept Bishnoi in the news and made the gang fashionable, especially after attempted attacks on Salman Khan. The article therefore presents social media as a tool for influence, not merely a record of events.

A criminal network can survive an imprisoned leader when authority and tasks are spread among associates. The article shows Bishnoi moving between jails in Delhi, Rajasthan, and Gujarat while his gang continued to grow. This matters because the network’s activity did not depend entirely on Bishnoi being physically free or in one location.

The clearest example is Goldy Brar, who later headed the gang while hiding in Canada and the United States. Other associates also fled India, set up networks abroad, and ran operations from outside the country. Social media added another layer, allowing Brar to issue threats, claim murders, and share videos while Bishnoi was imprisoned.

The article’s current picture is therefore of a distributed network. Prisons separated Bishnoi from many operations, but associates, overseas locations, and online communication maintained the gang’s reach. It continued expanding across several North Indian states despite his long periods in custody.

Student politics is the organized competition among students and campus groups for elected positions, influence, and control of student bodies. In the article, Bishnoi became involved in university politics around 2008–09 through the Students of Panjab University. This setting mattered because organized factions created strong loyalties and recurring conflicts.

Bishnoi campaigned for candidates, took over the SOPU party, and contested the 2010 university president election. Rival groups fought over candidates and elections. He was jailed after attacking a rival candidate, and later he, Goldy Brar, and others killed Avtaar during a college election dispute. The campus structure supplied allies, opponents, and occasions for confrontation.

Control of a student organization could therefore create influence beyond a single election. Bishnoi’s group learned to mobilize friends, settle disputes, and confront rivals together. The article links this circle to the gang’s beginnings around 2008–10, although it does not claim that student politics generally produces crime.