On Friday (March 17), a second interview of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi named ‘Operation Durdant’ was conducted by journalist Jagwinder Patial and aired on ABP News.
During the course of the interview, Lawrence denied targeting the family of the deceased rapper Sidhu Moose Wala. On being asked about the man who threatened to attack Salman Khan and Moose Wala’s father, he claimed that the man has no connection to his gang.
He also spoke about his aide, Goldie Brar, and claimed to have no knowledge about his precise location. “Goldie tells me that he is not in the United States. Once he told me about his hideout in Europe and in Canada the other time…We planned the whole thing (murder of Moose Wala) with Goldie bhai..” he said.
On being asked about his life of crime, Lawrence Bishnoi said, “I still think of myself as a student. When I eliminate Salman Khan, I will think of myself as a gangster. I came to jail directly from my college hostel. Life teaches you a lot of lessons. I will also teach you when I meet you in person.”
Journalist Jagwinder Patial inquired, “Are you not afraid that someone else may kill you in a similar fashion as you did to other people?” The gangster replied, “Yes. I have resigned to my fate. This is bound to happen one day or the other.”
Lawrence Bishnoi later claimed that he did not murder Sidhu Moose Wala although it was his original plan. He said that Goldie Brar executed the final plan and took out the Punjabi rapper. “I am in jail for a long time and I’m being falsely implicated in the case,” he alleged.
The gangster, however, conceded that his only aim in life is to eliminate Salman Khan. On being asked by the reporter about an alternate plan for the actor to seek forgiveness, Lawrence suggested Salman Khan offer prayers at Mukti Dham Mukam temple and apologise for his act of killing a black buck.
During the course of the interview, he refused to take ‘protection money’ ever from any singer. He also claimed that the jail authorities do not allow him to step out of his cell but casually showed the interiors using his phone.
Interview not recorded inside the Bathinda prison: Punjab police
Interestingly, the Punjab police had earlier claimed that the interview was not shot inside the Bathinda jail premises, where Lawrence is currently being lodged.
Punjab Anti-Gangsters Task Force (AGTF) Assistant Inspector General Sandeep Goel had said, “This is not from Bathinda jail or any Punjab jail or Punjab Police custody. Bathinda jail, where he is lodged, is a high-security dead phone zone”.
Petition filed against Lawrence Bishnoi’s interview
A Chandigarh-based lawyer named Gourave Bhayyia Gilhotra has filed a petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking an investigation into the interview of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi from inside the jail.
Gilhotra has requested that a central agency be appointed to inquire and register an FIR against the person responsible for conducting the interview from within the jail premises. Bishnoi is a Class-A category gangster, who has been involved in over 30 cases of murder, extortion, and ransom.
The petitioner accused the state of Punjab of not conducting any preliminary inquiry into the live telecast/streaming of the interview. He said that the jail manual and Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) do not permit access to prison inmates to the internet/ mobile use or give interviews to media without court authorisation
Gourave Bhayyia Gilhotra has requested the intervention of the High court and direct judicial inquiry into the incident by a national-level agency.
