The Mumbai Police has formally written to the Maharashtra state government, requesting its intervention to secure the custody of gangster Anmol Bishnoi. The police aim to bring him to Mumbai to further the investigation into the October 12, 2024, murder of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra minister, Baba Siddique. The veteran politician was shot dead outside the office of his son, Zeeshan Siddique, in the Bandra East area of Mumbai.
Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of incarcerated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, is currently detained in Delhi's Tihar Jail. Following his deportation from the United States in November 2025, he was taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The Mumbai Police contends that gaining direct access to him is vital to unraveling the broader conspiracy linked to the high-profile killing of Baba Siddique, an act that investigators have already attributed to members associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Currently, the movement of Anmol Bishnoi is restricted under Section 303 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), a provision that allows the government to prohibit the relocation of specific prisoners from their current detention facility. A previous attempt by the Mumbai Police to secure his custody was denied by a special NIA court in Delhi. The central government has maintained these movement restrictions until the ongoing trial related to the NIA case reaches its conclusion.
In its recent communication, the Mumbai Police has urged the state Home Department to coordinate with the central authorities to ease these constraints. This would theoretically allow for the transfer of the accused to face questioning in the city. The investigative agency has also submitted a comprehensive report detailing its efforts to secure his custody to a special MCOCA court, which was filed in a sealed envelope to maintain the integrity of the ongoing probe.
The demand for Anmol Bishnoi’s involvement in the legal proceedings has grown significantly, with the family of the deceased, including Baba Siddique’s wife, calling for his formal arrest and trial alongside the other individuals already apprehended in the case. Beyond the Siddique murder, Anmol Bishnoi is also wanted in connection with the 2024 firing incident that took place outside the residence of Bollywood actor Salman Khan.
The request for custody comes against the backdrop of increasing scrutiny regarding organized crime activities in the region. Recent reports have highlighted other security incidents in Mumbai, such as a firing case involving actor Tiger Shroff, where an overseas operative linked to the Bishnoi network was identified as a primary suspect, though neither Lawrence nor Anmol Bishnoi were named as formal accused in that specific incident.
The legal road ahead remains complex, as the Mumbai Police must navigate the existing directives issued under the BNSS. As the investigation into the death of the NCP leader proceeds, the authorities remain focused on linking the various strands of evidence to the leadership of the gang. The outcome of the request to the state and central governments will prove critical in determining whether the police will succeed in interrogating the suspect in connection with the Bandra East incident.
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