Lawrence Bishnoi, the alleged mastermind behind the killings of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique and Punjabi singer-politician Sidhu Moose Wala, was arrested for the first time about 13 years ago when he set fire to some vehicles in Chandigarh after a fight with a student leader.

Bishnoi, who was involved in student politics at Panjab University back then, was in police custody for a day, former Chandigarh inspector Amanjot Singh told NDTV on Tuesday.

A son of a police constable in Punjab, he was only 18 when he set vehicles parked outside Sector 11 in Chandigarh on fire, the officer said.

“He was very innocent at that time. When the police used to arrest him, he sometimes called the officials uncle or sir,” Mr Singh said.

“He did whatever his party leadership told him,” Mr Singh said, adding that he never thought that Bishnoi would become such a big gangster.

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Mr Singh, who arrested the 31-year-old dreaded gangster numerous times, said that when Bishnoi was arrested for the sixth time, he had said that the “police of 7-8 states will search” for him.

Lawrence Bishnoi first grabbed headlines when he publicly threatened to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan in 2018, accusing him of allegedly poaching two blackbuck antelopes – a revered animal for Rajasthan’s Bishnoi community to which he belongs.

During a court appearance in Jodhpur, Bishnoi said, “We will kill Salman Khan. Everyone will know once we take action.”

Incidentally, Baba Siddique, who was shot dead by three persons in Mumbai last month, was known to be Salman Khan’s close friend.

Bishnoi is also the prime accused in the murder of Sidhu Moose Wala, who was shot dead in Punjab in 2022.

“Lawrence Bishnoi Transformed In Jail”

Mr Singh said that Lawrence Bishnoi initially worked on his party leadership’s instructions but later “transformed” in the jail.

“Initially, he kept working on his party leadership’s instructions. But when he kept going to jail, his transformation happened very fast. He came in contact with big gangsters and his influence kept increasing,” he said.

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“When he kept going to jail again and again, there were some prisoners in the jail, who had committed big crimes, who felt that there was something special about Bishnoi. They then started using him,” Mr Singh said.

They took him under their protection because they knew that Bishnoi was going to get bail, he added.

Lawrence Bishnoi Met His “Mentor” Rocky Fazilka In Jail

Lawrence Bishnoi considered gangster Ranjit Jasvinder Singh, alias Rocky Fazilka, as his mentor, Amanjot Singh said.

“When Lawrence Bishnoi went to Banda jail in Uttar Pradesh, he met another gangster Ranjit Singh “Dupla”, who was very close to Rocky Fazilka. He was the one who introduced him to Fazilka,” Mr Singh said.

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Rocky Fazilka, a resident of Punjab’s Ferozepur, was impressed by Bishnoi and took him under his custody.

As their villages were nearby, they became close aides, Mr Singh said.

Bishnoi has been in prison since 2015 and is currently lodged in Gujarat.