The murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique, the investigation into the assassinations of pro-Khalistani activists that have soured India-Canada ties, and the security threats against actor Salman Khan.
A common link in all this is jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
Shuffling between prisons for over a decade in connection with cases of murder, drugs, and extortion, and currently imprisoned at Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, Bishnoi, 31, has now become a rage on social media. A day after Siddique was shot dead in Mumbai on October 12, the Bishnoi gang purportedly claimed responsibility through a Facebook post by one “Shubuu Lonkar Maharashtra”. As tributes poured in for the politician known to be close to Hindi film actors, including Salman Khan, the hashtag #LawrenceBishnoi began to trend on X, formerly Twitter.
Simultaneously, Canada claimed the Indian government purportedly worked alongside Bishnoi’s “gang” in the targeted killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and other pro-Khalistan activists on Canadian soil.
Despite alarm over the jailed gangster’s far-reaching influence and the law and order situation, an unexpected wave of admiration poured in for him, with many referring to him as “sher (lion)” and “deshbhakt (patriot)”. Many of his online supporters regularly post about Hindutva, while some are even followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
But what has triggered this massive outpouring of support, and who are Bishnoi’s supporters?
A wave of Hindu pride, parallels with Dawood, Chhota Rajan
An old video of Bishnoi, circulating widely on social media, shows him reciting a poem against the backdrop of a portrait of revolutionary Bhagat Singh. One Dinesh Vana, who posted the video on X, called the gangster “the new Bhagat Singh of India”.
In another post, Vana claimed that Bishnoi is a devotee of Hindu god Hanuman. In a third, he said Bishnoi would be the prime minister if he were not jailed.
Vana’s X account is flooded with videos and pictures of the gangster and the Bishnoi community. His bio reads “social media influencer” and while he barely has 1,207 followers, some of his posts about Bishnoi have clocked in more than 100,000 views. Many of his posts tilt toward radical Hindutva ideology, while he uses provocative language to critique perceived threats to Hindu values.
Several others of Bishnoi’s online supporters call him “Hindus’ idol” and hail him as ostensibly the Hindu counterpart of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. For example, Bharat Chandrawat, with over 50,000 followers, has posted several tweets hinting at parallels between Bishnoi and Dawood.
One of Chandrawat’s posts said that Gulshan Kumar was once murdered, allegedly by Dawood, and it’s now “Baba Siddiqui’s turn”. Another post said, “Those whose own role models are Dawood Ibrahim, Tipu Sultan, Aurangzeb, Babar, Muhammad Ghori, Ghazni, and other terrorists should not preach to Hindus on considering Lawrence Bishnoi as their ideal.” His other posts glorify Hindu history or emphasise the importance of Hindu identity.
Some social media users pointed out the similarities between the support being garnered by Bishnoi and Chhota Rajan, a criminal who was once hailed as a “patriotic gangster” and “Hindu hero”.
A day after Siddiqui’s death, one SK Jain posted that “sarkari (government) gangster” Chhota Rajan is now getting older and a “younger and more vicious replacement was needed”. Meanwhile, an X user named Aman Garg said that Bishnoi is “a modern-day Chhota Rajan, where every celebrity murder will be pinned on him and the real player will be hidden somewhere else”.
‘Keeping Muslims in check’
Several X users praised Bishnoi for purportedly “keeping the Muslim community in check.”
One of them, Vikash Bishnoi – a Jambhani Sahitya Akademi awardee with over 6,000 followers, as per his bio – posted that “there was a time when a Muslim terrorist kept the whole of Mumbai in terror, and now it’s a Hindu name, leaving Muslims in panic.” Most of his other posts are about the pride of the Bishnoi community, describing them as defenders of nature and animal rights, and the perceived threats from Islamists.
X users also said Siddiqui’s death was “his karma catching up” with him. Some called Bishnoi the “elder son of the house”, suggesting that his responsibilities are far and wide, and some said he is a “krantikari yuvak (revolutionary youth)”. One of these posts, shared by an account named God, garnered over 274,500 views, and another post clocked over 19,000 views.
An X user called him “Kalyug ke Nathuram Godse” – the Nathuram Godse of modern times. Another said Bishnoi was the “father of Khalistanis”, suggesting his superiority and dominance. A third appealed to “hail Lawrence Bishnoi”.
A list of suggested ‘targets’
Suggestions on the “next targets” of the Bishnoi gang also poured in.
A post by Jaipur Dialogues – which has over 398,000 followers and regularly posts about “Hinduphobia” and vengeance – had a picture of actor Salman Khan and Mamata Banerjee with the caption, “To whomever it may concern, Salman Khan is also friends with Mamta didi.” Notably, Siddiqui was known to be close to Khan.
An X user named Priya Mishra (Modi ka Parivar) shared a video of Khan and remarked, “Tiger kab tak zinda rahega (till when will tiger stay alive). Lawrence Bishnoi has named the upcoming film’s name.”
An account named Nitin Uploader declared that Bishnoi was the “real bhai (brother)” and Khan was the “nakli bhai (fake brother)”. It garnered over 73,000 views.
Speculations were also rife on X, whether standup comedian Munnawar Faruqi would be the next target of the Bishnoi gang. Some asked for Z+ security for Faruqi and called for judicial trials, urging authorities to stop the Bishnoi gang from becoming “another D company”.
Pointing to fact-checker Muhammad Zubair, Hindutva Knight posted, “Maine abhi sapna dekha ki Lawrence Bishnoi ne Zubair ko tapka diya (I just dreamt that Lawrence Bishnoi killed Zubair)”. The post has recorded more than 108,000 views. The user, purportedly a woman, posts sarcastic commentary and dark humour in support of right-wing stances on social issues.
Mr Sinha, who has over 347,000 followers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, shared a screenshot of Bihar politician Pappu Yadav’s tweet questioning the law and order situation in connection with the accusations against the Bishnoi gang. He seemed to suggest that Yadav could also join the long list of suggested targets.
His post was captioned: “Koi iske iss tweet screenshot ka print le kar Sabarmati jail mein fenk aao (Someone take the screenshot of Yadav’s tweet and throw it inside Sabarmati jail, where Bishnoi is lodged).” Most of his other posts challenge secular narratives and express outrage over incidents of violence involving Hindus.
BJP-linked X users, journalists hail Bishnoi
One Puja Tiwari, who is “honoured to be followed by Narendra Modi” as per her bio, posted a video of Bishnoi reciting a poem with a picture of Bhagat Singh in the backdrop. She has more than 21,000 followers on X and often posts with nationalistic undertones, criticising past governments, and applauding the vision of a Hindu-centric India.
Prajapati Indrapal Bajrangi, whose bio states that he is the BJP Uttar Pradesh unit’s regional office-bearer, posted that criminals must not be supported, but there is something different about Bishnoi.
Bajrangi’s post, which included a picture of Bishnoi, was captioned: “Vaise toh kisi aprashi ka samarthan nahi kiya ja sakta. Lekin kuch toh baat hain Lawrence Bishnoi mein, jisse Khalistani atankwadi aur Dawood Ibrahim ke group thar-thar kapti hain (A criminal cannot be supported, but there is something about Lawrence Bishnoi that Khalistani terrorists and Dawood Ibrahim’s group fear him).”
Another video widely circulated featured Major Gaurav Arya, editor-in-chief of Chanakya Forum and a frequent “defence expert” on TV news. In the clip, Arya is saying that “Lawrence Bishnoi is a very powerful man”.
After the clip went viral, Arya responded by sharing another video, in which he said: “A lot of Khalistanis called me and said I have made Lawrenece Bishnoi a hero…I just know one thing: Khalistanis are afraid of Lawrence Bishnoi”. His posts are often commentary on controversial figures such as Zakir Naik, religion, and geopolitics, particularly Pakistan.
A post by Atul Krishan, whose bio says he is a senior assistant editor at The New Indian, declared that it was “Lawrence Bishnoi gang week”. He usually posts commentary on politics and religious issues, particularly Hindu and Muslim conflicts.
Krishan was among many who appealed that October 14 to 20 should be declared “Bishnoi week”. A post by Ankit Kumar Avasthi, an IIT Kanpur alumni as per his bio, read: “In history, this week should be declared the Lawrence Bishnoi week.” It also included a picture of Bishnoi and Canadian President Justin Trudeau. Ankit has over 212,000 followers on X.
Another purported journalist, Shubham Shukla, casually asked his followers – he has over 105,000 – to write “two words” about Bishnoi. The comments section blew up with praise for the gangster, with some saying that “words won’t suffice” and others demanding a Bharat Ratna for him. Shukla’s posts also majorly focus on the significance of Hinduism.
‘Asset for government’
Another viral video of Bishnoi is his infamous interview to ABP’s Jagvinder Patiyal last year, which was even probed for triggering a crime spurt. A snippet of it, posted by an X user named Amock, showed the notorious criminal saying, “Do not consider us terrorists.” The post read: “Like this tweet if you support sher (lion) #LawrenceBishnoi.” The same post on an account named ॐ had recorded over 487,000 views.
In another post, Amock said, “Some criminals are assets” and that Bishnoi is “a major asset for the government for eliminating Khalistani terrorists.” Many of his posts contain misogynistic and anti-Muslim remarks.
Amid praise, some criticism also surfaced for Bishnoi and the law and order situation. Yogesh Meena, who calls himself the Rajasthan state coordinator of Congress-affiliated Seva Dal, questioned about the modus operandi of the Bishnoi gang. He posted a picture of Bishnoi with the caption, “If Lawrence Bishnoi is in jail, who is running his gang? If he is managing it himself from prison? Isn’t that a failure of the Gujarat government and Home Minister Amit Shah?”
This article was originally published in Newslaundry and can be read here.