From Punjab campus to Jodhpur prison: How Lawrence Bishnoi's path led him to Salman Khan

Lawrence Bishnoi is a Punjab-based gangster who allegedly leads a criminal network built through student politics, campus violence, extortion and alliances with criminals. His story matters because the network expanded from Punjab into Rajasthan and later became associated with threats against Salman Khan and violence in Mumbai.

Bishnoi was arrested in 2008 for allegedly assaulting a rival candidate in Panjab University elections. By 2014, after two murders and several violence cases, he fled Punjab. In Rajasthan, he entered the liquor trade through Amandeep alias Sonu, formed local alliances and carried out revenge killings after Amandeep’s murder.

The article describes a network that continued growing through prison contacts and local associates. Police later arrested aides accused of arranging weapons and conducting a recce outside Khan’s home. In 2024, the gang allegedly killed Baba Siddique, showing how far the network’s alleged reach had extended.

The first threat happened by coincidence, not through a planned meeting. On January 4, 2018, Bishnoi appeared at a Jodhpur court for a murder case, while Salman Khan was there for a hearing in the blackbuck poaching case. Bishnoi threatened Khan that day.

The threat gained force from the Bishnoi community’s reverence for the blackbuck. Khan had allegedly hunted blackbuck near Jodhpur between September 26 and October 2, 1998. Bishnoi was only seven then, but by 2014 he had entered Rajasthan, met community members and heard about the case while building criminal alliances.

The article presents the timing as accidental but the hostility as years in the making. Bishnoi repeatedly threatened to kill Khan over the following decade. The conflict later brought heavy security for Khan, arrests of alleged aides and a deadly connection to Baba Siddique’s killing in 2024.

The blackbuck case matters because blackbuck are considered sacred by the Bishnoi community in Rajasthan. The article connects that religious and cultural reverence to the threats against Salman Khan. It says Khan allegedly hunted blackbuck near Jodhpur in 1998, making the case more than an ordinary criminal allegation for community members.

Bishnoi was seven years old when the alleged hunt occurred. He learned about the case much later, after entering Rajasthan as a fugitive in 2014. His alliances with local criminals and members of the Bishnoi community brought him closer to the issue. The grievance then became part of his public threats against Khan.

The case remains central to the conflict’s symbolism. The article says Bishnoi repeatedly threatened to kill Khan over the following decade. Police have since increased Khan’s security and arrested alleged gang aides accused of arranging weapons and conducting surveillance near his Bandra residence.

The gap was 20 years. Salman Khan allegedly hunted blackbuck near Jodhpur between September 26 and October 2, 1998, while Lawrence Bishnoi first threatened him on January 4, 2018, at a Jodhpur court complex.

The timing is striking because Bishnoi was only seven when the alleged hunt took place. He was not connected to the incident then. His later involvement developed after he fled Punjab in 2014, expanded into Rajasthan and met members of the Bishnoi community. There, he first heard about the blackbuck case.

The article therefore separates the original event from the later conflict. It describes the 2018 encounter as a coincidence, but says the enmity had been shaped over years by Bishnoi’s expansion into Rajasthan and his connection to the community’s belief that blackbuck are sacred. The threats continued after that first confrontation.

Bishnoi’s move began when Punjab Police pressure forced him to leave the state in early 2014. He went to Jaipur and stayed there for three to four months. His friend Ravinder Punia provided money and introduced him to Amandeep alias Sonu, a liquor shop owner. That connection moved Bishnoi beyond campus violence.

Amandeep first worked with Bishnoi and later became an independent investor. While travelling with aides, Bishnoi fired at Rajasthan police officers who stopped them near Balaji. He was caught and sent to Sikar jail, but continued building contacts. After Amandeep was murdered by the liquor mafia, Bishnoi expanded his gang in Rajasthan and vowed revenge.

Between 2014 and 2015, Bishnoi and aides murdered three men identified as involved in Amandeep’s killing. Prison contacts and local alliances strengthened the network. By 2017, associates sought his help threatening a prominent Jodhpur doctor, bringing him closer to the district linked to Khan’s case.

The conflict has produced sustained security and policing consequences. The article says Khan remains under heavy security after repeated threats from Bishnoi. Police have arrested alleged aides accused of arranging weapons and conducting a recce outside Khan’s Bandra residence. The threats have therefore moved beyond words into alleged preparation for an attack.

The dispute has also been linked to a wider killing. In 2024, the Bishnoi gang allegedly killed Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique. The article says the killing was allegedly connected to Siddique’s closeness to Khan and to the gang’s effort to establish supremacy in Mumbai.

The current reality is a continuing security problem rather than a closed court episode. Khan’s protection has been increased, while alleged gang members face arrests and investigations. The article indicates that the conflict’s consequences now involve public figures, weapons, surveillance and gang expansion beyond the original Rajasthan case.

Extortion is the demand for money, property or favours through threats or coercion. In a protection racket, criminals offer to prevent harm that they may cause themselves or through associates. These businesses matter because they create recurring income and influence without requiring control of a formal company or institution. The article identifies extortion as part of Bishnoi’s early network.

The article gives two mechanisms for expansion. Bishnoi used prison stays to make contacts, including alliances inside Punjab’s Ropar prison. He also relied on local figures such as Ravinder Punia and Amandeep, who helped him survive and enter Rajasthan’s liquor trade. Later, associates sought his help threatening a Jodhpur doctor.

Prisons can connect people with skills, money and territory, while local alliances supply information and access. These points explain how a group can move from campus violence into wider crime. In Bishnoi’s case, the article links that expansion to Rajasthan killings, threats against Khan and alleged activity in Mumbai.