The Kshatriya Karni Sena has reportedly said it will give a ₹1.11 crore “reward” to any policeman who kills jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in an “encounter,” Hindustan Times reported.
In a video making the announcement, Kshatriya Karni Sena national president Raj Shekhawat reportedly announced a ₹1,11,11,111 reward “for any police officer who kills Lawrence Bishnoi,” the report said. This was first reported by the Navbharat Times.
Shekhawat has reportedly said that the reward is for the “safety and security” of any security personnel who carries out an encounter against Bishnoi. He also blamed the central and Gujarat governments for Bishnoi's “menace".
He added that Bishnoi “killed our precious gem and heritage Amar Shaheed Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi ji”.
Notably, the former chief of the Karni Sena, Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, was shot dead in Jaipur by unidentified persons on December 5, 2023. Soon after, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility.
Bishnoi is currently being held in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail. While he is named in the alleged plot to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan and firing outside his house in April 2024 and speculated to be linked to the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique, the gangster is currently in jail for a cross-border smuggling case.
Siddique's son and Maharashtra legislator Zeeshan Siddique said that his father's killers have now turned “their sights" on him but asserted that he “can't be intimidated” and carries his father's “roar”.
“They silenced my father. But they forget — he was a lion, and I carry his roar within me, his fight in my veins. He stood for justice, fought for change and withstood the storms with unwavering courage,” Bandra (East) MLA Zeeshan Siddique said in a post on X.
“Now, those who brought him down turn their sights on me assuming they've won, to them I declare: The blood of a lion runs in my veins. I am still here, unafraid and unbroken. They took one, but I rise in his place. This fight is far from over. Today, I stand where he stood : ALIVE, RELENTLESS and READY. To my people of Vandre East, I am always with you (sic),” he added.
Baba Siddique was fatally shot by three people near Zeeshan's office in Mumbai's Bandra suburb late on October 12. Police have so far arrested 10 people in connection to the murder and are on the lookout for the main shooter and his two accomplices.
(With inputs from PTI)
