The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested Rahul Sarkar, a key associate of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, for allegedly facilitating the escape of gang members from India using forged passports.
Sarkar, believed to be operating the gang’s passport procurement module, was produced before the NIA Special Court at Patiala House, which remanded him to agency custody for further interrogation.
The arrest was made in connection with a 2022 case registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and sections 17, 18, and 18-B of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The case, filed on the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs, pertains to a broader conspiracy involving organised criminal syndicates engaged in fund-raising and recruitment for unlawful activities.
According to the NIA, Sarkar arranged forged travel documents to help gang members flee the country after committing crimes. Among those he allegedly helped is Sachin Thapan alias Sachin Thapan Bishnoi, one of the prime accused in the 2022 murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.
The development is part of an expanding crackdown on transnational crime networks linked to Lawrence Bishnoi, who, despite being incarcerated since 2014, is believed to run a sprawling criminal syndicate with over 700 operatives across the globe.
