The video purportedly shows jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi wishing Pakistani gangster Shazad Bhatti happy Eid

A video purportedly showing gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who has been lodged in Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Central Jail since August 2023, speaking with Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhati over a video call was made public on Tuesday, prompting the Gujarat government to order a probe.

In the 19-second unverified video, Bishnoi is seen wishing Bhati happy Eid-ul-Azha (celebrated in India on Monday) and Bhati tells him that the festival will be celebrated the following day in Pakistan. Bishnoi then told Bhati that he would call him the next day to extend his Eid wishes.

PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

After the video went viral on social media platforms, the state government stepped in and ordered an investigation.

Gujarat government spokesman and education minister Rushikesh Patel said in Ahmedabad that the state’s home department, under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, has already ordered an inquiry into the contents of the video.

“I came to know about the matter today (Tuesday) morning. Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi has already ordered a probe and asked the authorities to look into the matter in detail. All aspects regarding the alleged video, including whether the video is new or old, will be investigated,” Patel said.

Bishnoi was transferred from Punjab to Ahmedabad by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad to investigate his role in a cross-border drug smuggling case in August 2023. After completion of his detention period, he was sent to judicial custody and lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail.

Bishnoi is one of the prime suspects in the murder of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in 2022. Mumbai Police also found that a Bishnoi gang was behind the shooting that took place outside actor Salman Khan’s house in Bandra on April 14, 2024.

Meanwhile, in Chandigarh, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majitia tagged a post on social media platform X and shared a video, alleging that Bishnoi was talking to a Pakistani gangster over a video call from a Gujarat jail.

“Recently, Bishnoi extended Eid greetings to Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti from a Gujarat jail, demonstrating his ability to function freely even in prison,” Majitia said.

“Despite being interviewed live from a Punjab jail, Punjab Chief Minister and Home Minister Bhagwant Mann constituted a special task force to investigate but the investigation has yielded zero results,” Majitia wrote in his post. The SAD leader also pointed out that the Bishnoi gang had also threatened actor Salman Khan.

“His gang continues to threaten Salman Khan and has conducted multiple raids on his residence. This behaviour, where gang members are able to act unchecked even while incarcerated, poses a serious risk to public safety,” Majithia said.

Last year, a private news channel aired two interviews with Bishnoi, but Punjab Police maintained at the time that it was highly unlikely that any interviews would have taken place in any of the northern province’s prisons while the dreaded gangster was in police custody.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had subsequently directed the Punjab Police to register two First Information Reports (FIRs) in connection with two interviews with Bishnoi that were aired on a private news channel in March 2023.