Jaipur/Jaisalmer: Sriganganagar police Wednesday arrested four persons for suspected links to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and seized Rs 91 lakh in cash generated from ransom and extortions in what officers said was the first major breakthrough exposing the gang’s covert financial network.SP Amrita Duhan said the accused were identified as Kuldeep Kumar (50), his son Yogesh Kumar (32), Aman Kumar (20) and Ram Swarup (38).Police teams had set up a picket near Bajuwala Chowk as part of routine checking late Tuesday night. “Our team intercepted a suspicious SUV approaching the checkpoint. The vehicle was stopped and bags were checked, during which the cash was recovered,” she said.During the investigation, police found that Kuldeep’s nephew Akshay was in contact with one Sahil alias Shanty, who works for Lawrence’s henchman Arzoo Bishnoi. Police said Akshay leveraged his connection with Sahil to start working for Arzoo.Ransom and extortion money collected on behalf of Arzoo and Lawrence was routed through Akshay to Kuldeep and his son Yogesh, before being forwarded further, police said.The money seized Wednesday came from ransom and extortion and was being brought by the gang from Jodhpur, Duhan said. “The cash was meant to fund weapons purchases, recruitment, training and the support of gang members who are on the run,” she added.Police said the gang distributed smaller amounts of cash to its members through deliveries. The transfer of funds to senior operatives living abroad, however, was routed through USDT, a cryptocurrency pegged to the value of the US dollar, they added. Duhan said this was the first time police were able to unearth the financial transactions of the gang on such a large scale. “None of the four accused has any previous criminal record. We learnt that this was the gang’s modus operandi: to use a select group of backroom operatives with clean antecedents to collect and distribute cash generated through illicit activities,” the SP said.This financial faction within the gang was never used for front-line activities such as surveillance or intimidation, she said, adding that investigations are underway to trace the gang’s wider financial network and identify other key operatives.
