STF catches 5 of Lawrence gang, one an arms supplier

Gurgaon: Five key members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, including one who stole luxury cars and another who was involved in illegal drug supply, were arrested on Monday.
The five were nabbed by the special task force (STF) after it received a tip-off about their movement in Bahadurgarh, a town in Jhajjar district.
“The team laid a trap near Bahadurgarh bypass and apprehended them. They were riding in stolen Innova and Scorpio cars, and had come from Delhi,” said Sumit Kumar, superintendent of police (STF).
The accused are all active members of the gang, most recently in the news for the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala. Chirag allegedly handled the drug trade in south Haryana, and is the brother of Tinu Bhiwani – arrested by the Punjab Police in connection with the Moose Wala murder.
Manoj Bakkarwala allegedly stole cars from across states and later used them for drug trafficking, police said.
The three others — Prakash Barmer of Barmer (Rajasthan); Amit of Pinjore; and Sanjay of Zirakpur (Punjab) -- facilitated the gang’s functioning.
Kumar said all five accused were members of the Bishnoi gang for years. They were brought into the gang’s fold by Tinu Bhiwani They also sourced weapons for the gang, besides making extortion calls.
During interrogation, Bakkarwala told police that he provided weapons and drugs to the gang, and had stolen hundreds of cars, the SP said. “There are many cases registered against him in Delhi, Haryana, UP and Punjab. He was jailed previously for about 10 years,” Kumar added.
The accused also told the STF that he would get details of luxury cars on a mobile app, where users put up their vehicles for sale.
After the theft, he would change the engine and chassis number with the help of a Meerut resident. Later the two would prepare fake documents and sell the vehicle.
“Chirag handled the entire drug business in south Haryana. He also handled the liquor business in Bhiwani as well as Rajasthan,” said Kumar.
The murder of singer Sidhu Moose Walla in Punjab’s Mansa directed spotlight to the Bishnoi gang in May this year. Punjab Police have named its leader Lawrence Bishnoi as the “key conspirator” in the case.