‘Lawrence Bishnoi gang’ shooters planning targeted killing arrested in Delhi

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) The Delhi Police’s Rohini District Special Staff arrested three shooters having purported links with “the Lawrence Bishnoi-Hari Boxer gang”, who were allegedly planning a targeted killing, police said on Sunday.

According to officials, the accused had recced multiple targets in the national capital for targeted killing and were receiving information through a network based abroad, after which they were to carry out the crime.

They were reportedly wanted in several incidents in Delhi.

The arrested accused have been identified as Randeep Malik, Hari Boxer and Anil Pandit.

Speaking to IANS, Shashank Jaiswal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Rohini, said: “Randeep Malik, Hari Boxer and Anil Pandit were working on the directions of gangsters and also conducted recce for them.”

The DCP said that three accused have been arrested and one among them was found to have been previously arrested in a murder case in 2024.

“He was released from prison and was attempting to commit the offence but was arrested before he could do so,” he added.

The police said that the accused had also made an extortion demand. “There was an initial demand of Rs 1 crore by Randeep Malik, which was later increased by Hari Boxer,” Jaiswal said.

However, the police officer maintained: “Whether or not the accused have links with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang is a matter of investigation.”

Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), along with other law enforcement agencies in the United States, launched a major operation and took more than 20 individuals into custody.

The crackdown, codenamed “Operation Hard Ball”, targeted the Lawrence Bishnoi network and was aimed at dismantling key factions of the transnational criminal syndicate allegedly involved in criminal activities affecting communities across North America and India. The action was linked to the network’s operations in the United States.

While the operation largely targeted the illegal actions of the network, one of the key findings was that there was nothing to link the Indian government with the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani operative.

An official said that the latest action vindicates India’s position that there was nothing credible in the allegations made by then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2023 that India had played a role in the murder of Nijjar.

–IANS

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