Court Rejects ‘Apprehension of Fake Encounter’ Plea by Lawrence Bishnoi

Jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi on Monday, 30 May, filed a plea before the Patiala House court over "apprehension of fake encounter by Punjab Police and trial against him being compromised due to production warrants issued by judicial authorities of other states," news agency ANI reported.

The court refused to entertain the plea.

This comes a day after Punjabi singer-turned-politician Sidhu Moose Wala was killed by unknown gunmen near Jawaharke village in Punjab's Mansa district on Sunday.

Punjab Police has claimed that gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar, and their associates were involved in the killing.

Speaking to the media hours after Moose Wala's murder, Punjab DGP VK Bhawra said, "The Lawrence Bishnoi gang is involved in this murder. Lucky, a member of the gang, has taken responsibility from Canada."

Meanwhile, Bishnoi pleaded that prior information should be given to the court about production warrant of Punjab Police or any other police against him and "not give his custody to any other Police."

The gangster has also pleaded that any police may investigate case pending against him at Tihar Jail without obtaining his physical custody.

Further, on Monday, the Special Cell of Delhi Police questioned Bishnoi at Tihar jail in connection with Sidhu Moose Wala's murder case.

Who Is Lawrence Bishnoi?

Thirty-one-year-old Lawrence Bishnoi was arrested in 2017, and was previously lodged in Bharatpur jail in Rajasthan. He was recently brought to Delhi's Tihar jail by the Delhi Police in connection to a MCOCA case. He is in jail no. 8 of the Tihar Jail, as confirmed by DG Prisons Sandeep Goel. Lawrence is accused of crimes under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to attempt to murder, trespassing, robbery, and assault, among others.

The "gangster," who belongs to the Bishnoi community that believes blackbucks to be sacred, rose to notoriety when one of his aides was arrested in 2018 and had revealed plans of eliminating Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, allegedly after being asked to do so by Lawrence.

Khan was convicted in the blackbuck poaching case of 1998, and Lawrence' aides claimed that Lawrence wanted to "avenge the killing of blackbucks by Khan," reported The Indian Express in 2020.

(With inputs from ANI.)