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The Audio Long Read

‘Lawrence is karma’: the gangster who became an icon of Modi’s India

The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

Society & Culture

4.22.5K Ratings

🗓️ 15 May 2026

⏱️ 34 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Lawrence Bishnoi has been in high-security custody for more than a decade. During that time, he has been linked to multiple high-profile killings, both in India and as far afield as Canada. What explains his seemingly undimmed power? By Atul Dev. Read by Mikhail Sen. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is The Guardian.

0:09.7

Welcome to The Guardian long read, showcasing the best long-form journalism covering culture, politics and new thinking.

0:16.4

For the text version of this and all our long reads, go to the guardian.com forward slash long read.

0:26.8

This article contains some very strong language.

0:31.3

Lawrence is karma, the gangster who became an icon of Modi's India by Atul Dave, read by Mikhail Sen.

0:43.8

The border that separates India from Pakistan is lined with 50,000 towering poles that hold

0:53.5

150,000 floodlights, which at night create

0:57.0

a glare that is visible from outer space. Passing through the towns on the Indian side of

1:03.0

the border, it can be difficult to tell, even in daylight, where one ends and the other begins.

1:10.0

Curving along the rolling fields of wheat

1:12.2

are nameless dirt roads

1:14.1

where men sit on rope benches,

1:16.8

whiling away their afternoons,

1:19.0

staring as you pass by.

1:23.3

Dutarawali, right by the highway, is slightly different.

1:31.3

Here, the houses are big with spacious courtyards. One of the houses, three stories, painted white with red accents,

1:36.3

has a seven-foot boundary wall topped with barbed wire,

1:40.3

and four CCTV cameras overlooking the unpaved street.

1:45.7

The symbol of Ome is curled on its brown iron door, which has no nameplate.

1:51.5

It is the house of Lawrence Bishnoy, who is today at the age of 33, India's most notorious gangster.

2:01.2

In October 2024, members of the Bishnoi gang carried out one of the most high-profile murders in recent memory,

2:09.6

Baba Siddiqui. A senior Indian politician was left in a pool of blood next to his car in a wealthy Mumbai neighborhood.

...

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