4 minutes of readingBombayFebruary 2, 2026 04:05 pm IST
The Mumbai Police or indeed various state police forces across the country are in a peculiar position where they are unable to take custody of the alleged main conspirator of the crime taking place in their jurisdiction when it comes to the Bishnoi gang.
In it Shot outside director Rohit Shetty’s residence On Sunday, a social media account allegedly linked to the Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility. There is little chance of that happening. Bombay This time the police can also have access to the Bishnoi brothers lodged in jails in the country.
In it Shooting outside actor Salman Khan’s residence Outside Galaxy Apartments in Bandra on April 14, 2024, Mumbai Police named Lawrence Bishnoi as the conspirator in its chargesheet. In the charge sheet he is named as “accused of absconding.”
Typically, fugitive defendants are those who are on the run and are being sought by law enforcement agencies. In this case, Bishnoi was admitted to Sabarmati prison, but the police could not gain access.
In the case of assassination of NCP leader Baba Siddique Outside his son’s office in Bandra on October 12, 2024, the Mumbai Police in its chargesheet named Lawrence’s younger brother Anmol as a wanted accused in the case.
Although he had been on the run in recent years and was suspected of moving between Canada and the United States, he was deported to India in November last year. However, the Mumbai Police has so far failed to get his custody.
The same story is likely to unfold in the current case if the police discover the involvement of the Bishnoi gang, which has been claimed by a social media account claiming to belong to Shubham Lonkar, an aide of the Bishnoi gang.
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The reason why the Mumbai Police has not been able to question them is the imposition of section 303 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). According to the section, both the central government in cases initiated by central agencies like the NIA, and state governments may “by general or special order, directly direct that any person or class of persons shall not be expelled from the prison in which he may be confined or detained, and so on, so long as the order remains in force.”
Section 303(2) of the BNSS specifies three criteria for invoking the section, including the nature of the offense for which the person or persons have been ordered to be confined or detained in prison, the likelihood of public nuisance if they are allowed to be removed from prison, and the general public interest.
Investigative agencies have argued in the past that interrogation of a person in jail can be limited, as only one or two officials may be allowed to question the person for a few hours or a specific period. Other defendants may not be made to appear during interrogation.
A Mumbai Police official said, “When we identified Lawrence Bishnoi’s role in the Salman Khan dismissal case, he was already in Sabarmati jail. An attempt was made to interrogate him, but due to legal constraints, we could not get his custody. A month after Anmol was deported to India and lodged in Tihar jail, the section was also invoked in his case.”
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Sources said the decisions are taken by Home Ministry officials keeping in mind the provisions of the law.
