Lawrence Bishnoi sent to judicial custody in hotel firing case

JAIPUR: Notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi was sent to judicial custody by a local court following completion of his remand period on Thursday.
Bishnoi’s counsel Deepak Chouhan said that the gangster was produced before the court through a video conference.
A special police team on February 15 brought Bishnoi to Jaipur from Bathinda jail in Punjab. He has been accused of being one of the conspirators of firing at the Days Hotel near Tonk Road on January 28 to extort Rs 1 crore from the owner.
“We have appealed before the court that Bishnoi has been lodged in jail for past several months.He has always been under CCTV surveillance. Therefore, it is impossible for him to be part of the firing conspiracy,” Chouhan said.
Jaipur police, however, said Bishnoi remains one of the prime suspects in the firing case. “Police recovered a letter from the hotel wherein the accused claimed they were acting on behalf of Bishnoi's gang,” said an official.
The investigation revealed that Bishnoi's close aides Rohit Godara and Ritik Boxer orchestrated the firing to extort money from the hotel owner while simultaneously creating a wave of terror amongst other local businessmen. Sources in Jaipur police said Bishnoi was also interrogated about as many as seven to eight different extortion cases.