A Nepali youth has been arrested on charges of demanding ransom using the names of Indian gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Anmol Bishnoi.
The arrested individual has been identified as 41-year-old Ram Bahadur B.C. (Budha Chhetri) from Katheghari, Bheriganga Municipality-7, Surkhet. He was residing in a rented apartment in Kohalpur Municipality-5 and was arrested in Banke.
A police team from the Area Police Office, Kohalpur, Banke, apprehended him. According to Kohalpur DSP Dharma Raj Bhandari, Chhetri allegedly demanded a ransom of five crore Indian rupees (approximately eight crore Nepali rupees) while using the name of Bishnoi.
He is accused of making ransom demands via the social media platform WhatsApp. The police stated that he used a foreign WhatsApp number to make threatening calls.
Chhetri has a criminal history and has been arrested multiple times. His past criminal records are documented in the police’s Criminal Record System (CRS).
On 27 Shrawan 2061, a case was filed against him at the Area Police Office, Kakarbhitta, for human trafficking. At that time, he was accused of luring a Nepali woman into marriage and taking her to India.
Similarly, on 8 Chaitra 2062, he was charged with extorting money from the general public by issuing threats, a case registered at the District Police Office, Jhapa. Two years later, he was accused of collecting ransom money and was charged in Kathmandu.
On 9 Bhadra 2064, the Metropolitan Police Circle in Kathmandu (now the District Police Office) registered a case against him for extortion. He was accused of kidnapping a person, detaining them in a taxi, and demanding ransom.
Additionally, he was charged with a crime related to attempted murder. In the 2064 Constituent Assembly elections, he was accused of shooting and killing an individual.
On 27 Chaitra 2064, Rishi Sharma, a Constituent Assembly candidate, was shot dead near Lode, Jharebazar, Mehalkuna, Surkhet, while returning from an election campaign. A case was filed against Chhetri at the Area Police Office, Chhinchu.
Later, in Chaitra 2065, he was accused of snatching weapons from police officers during a protest by conflict-affected army and police personnel. This case was registered in Kathmandu.
Chhetri was also involved in shooting Maoist Centre leader Shakti Bahadur Basnet at Nikileshwar Temple in Koteshwor. He was sentenced to five years in prison and fined NPR 60,000 for this crime. After serving his sentence, he was released on 28 Falgun 2070.
The police revealed that Chhetri is a deserter from the Nepali Army. He abandoned his military duty in 2059 and later joined criminal groups under various aliases.
To engage in criminal activities, he had also obtained an Indian Aadhaar card, according to the police.
Chhetri had used the name of the Bishnoi group while making threats. The Bishnoi gang is an Indian criminal syndicate involved in ransom extortion and murder. Lawrence Bishnoi has been in an Indian prison since 2014. The group has been linked to several crimes, including the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala on 29 May 2022, an assassination attempt on Bollywood actor Salman Khan, and the killing of Baba Siddiqui.
Anmol Bishnoi, whose name was also used in the threats, is Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother. He, too, is accused of demanding ransom from businessmen and industrialists.
