The United States has deported 200 Indian nationals — a group that includes alleged gangster Anmol Bishnoi, two other Punjab fugitives, and 197 undocumented migrants — in what officials describe as one of the largest coordinated returns of Indian nationals in recent years. The special flight carrying them has departed from the US and is scheduled to land at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at 10 am on Wednesday. The deportation of Anmol, in particular, represents a major breakthrough in India’s ongoing efforts to dismantle the global networks of the Bishnoi crime syndicate.
Anmol, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, is wanted in multiple high-profile cases across India, including the assassination of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique and the April 2024 firing outside Salman Khan’s Bandra residence. Intelligence sources say he fled India in April 2022 using a forged passport, just weeks before the killing of singer Sidhu Moosewala. He is believed to have travelled on fake Russian documents while moving between the US and Canada, allegedly continuing gang operations remotely through encrypted platforms.
According to US officials, Anmol was detained in California last year and placed under electronic surveillance using an ankle monitor — a GPS-enabled tracking device used for individuals under judicial supervision. After months of monitoring, US immigration authorities finalised his deportation from Louisiana.
The family of Baba Siddique, who was murdered on October 12, 2024, had been actively pursuing US agencies for updates. His son, former MLA Zeeshan Siddique, said they were registered as “victim contacts,” entitling them to official notifications from US law enforcement. He urged Indian authorities to arrest Anmol immediately upon landing and said he had repeatedly written to US agencies with detailed evidence of the Bishnoi gang’s role in his father’s murder. Zeeshan also stated that he sought enhanced security from Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and Union Minister Devendra Fadnavis in light of Anmol’s return.
Multiple agencies are now preparing for a custody battle once Anmol lands. Both the Mumbai Crime Branch and the NIA have active cases against him. The NIA, which has been probing interstate terror-crime networks linked to the Bishnoi syndicate, is widely expected to take initial custody. Officials say his forged travel documents and movements across North America will form a key part of the broader investigation into the syndicate’s international operations.
Anmol is also a named accused in the firing outside Salman Khan’s Galaxy Apartments in April 2024. Investigators claim he coordinated logistics and provided instructions from abroad, with audio clips and encrypted chats forming part of the evidence. His role as a global handler in the Bishnoi crime network had grown significantly after Lawrence’s imprisonment, making his deportation strategically important for Indian agencies.
The remaining deportees include two fugitives wanted by the Punjab Police and 197 undocumented Indian migrants detained in the US over immigration violations. Their return comes amid increased cooperation between New Delhi and Washington on tackling organised crime, human trafficking and transnational criminal syndicates.
For Indian agencies, however, the spotlight remains firmly on Anmol Bishnoi — a young but highly influential figure whose interrogation is expected to uncover critical information about the Bishnoi gang’s global finances, safehouses, foreign collaborators and encrypted communication networks.
