A shooting outside a money-exchange office in Haryana's Panipat, another at a singer’s gym in Delhi, and gunfire targeting a Bollywood actor in Mumbai share a common thread as investigators examine a string of violent intimidation tactics carried out in the name of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. One name that has repeatedly surfaced in connection with these incidents over a seven-month period is Anil Pandit, an alleged member of the transnational criminal syndicate.
Following a shooting incident targeting actor Tiger Shroff in Mumbai's Juhu area on October 18, an audio recording emerged in which a man claiming to be Pandit warned Bollywood celebrities against working with actor Salman Khan. In the clip, the speaker issued a direct warning stating that everyone's turn would come. While Shroff escaped without gunshot injuries, his driver was hurt, prompting a major law enforcement inquiry into the attack.
Anil Pandit, believed to be operating from the United States, first drew significant public attention in March when a social media post attributed to him and another gang member claimed responsibility for a shooting at a money-exchange office in Panipat while threatening rapper Badshah. In June, another purported post attributed to Pandit claimed responsibility for a shooting outside Punjabi singer Guru Randhawa's gym in Delhi. Investigators subsequently linked four suspects arrested in the gym-firing case to Pandit and other overseas-based operatives.
Police investigations show that Pandit's name has appeared not just in threatening online posts, but also in cases involving hired gunmen, illegal firearms, and money allegedly sent from abroad to orchestrate attacks in India. His name has frequently appeared alongside other alleged gang members such as Randeep Malik, Harry Boxer, and Harman Sandhu in responsibility claims, though his precise position in the gang's hierarchy has not been conclusively established by authorities.
The first major incident linking Pandit's name to a celebrity threat occurred on March 14, when three motorcycle-borne assailants fired seven rounds at a money-exchange establishment in Panipat. Later that evening, a social media message attributed to Randeep Malik and Pandit claimed responsibility, accused the establishment of hawala transactions, and threatened rapper Badshah for allegedly damaging Haryana's culture. The investigation eventually led to multiple arrests, with police uncovering that overseas handlers had transferred funds into the bank account of a local suspect to facilitate the operation.
Nearly three months later, on June 11, two masked men on a motorcycle fired seven rounds at a gym associated with Guru Randhawa in New Delhi's Paschim Vihar. A purported Facebook post attributed to Pandit later claimed responsibility, alleging that Randhawa had ignored warnings to distance himself from Salman Khan. Delhi Police subsequently arrested four suspects, utilizing an encounter to apprehend two of them, and recovered a foreign-made pistol. Investigators stated that the suspects communicated with overseas handlers through encrypted messaging applications like Signal and Zangi, highlighting an expanding international network orchestrating crimes across multiple states.