22 august 2024 :The High Court of Punjab and Haryana issued a notice to the Rajasthan government on Wednesday regarding suo motu proceedings related to interviews conducted with incarcerated gangster Lawrence Bishnoi by a private news channel in 2023.
The bench, comprising Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and Justice Lapita Banerji, made this ruling after the Punjab Police investigation revealed that one of the interviews took place from a jail in Rajasthan.
The court has summoned the Advocate General of Rajasthan to participate via video conferencing on September 5.
The court expressed serious concern over the two interviews conducted with the gangster while he was in custody and initiated suo motu proceedings in November 2023. Additionally, the court requested information regarding the actions taken in response to this incident.
During the interviews, Bishnoi asserted that he was not involved in the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala, who was killed in 2022, and suggested a desire for revenge against actor Salman Khan for alleged animal killings. These interviews were broadcast on March 14 and March 17, 2023, while Bishnoi was incarcerated in Bathinda jail.
On August 7, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) assigned to investigate the matter reported that one of the interviews occurred at the CIA police station in Kharar, Mohali, where Bishnoi was detained at that time. The SIT also indicated that the second interview was conducted in the central jail of Jaipur, Rajasthan. Following this, amicus curiae Tanu Bedi filed a request to include the Rajasthan government as a party to the case, which was granted on Wednesday.
