On Wednesday, March 16, the Bhatinda police in Punjab informed that two minor girls ran away from home and reached Bathinda Central Jail to ‘meet’ jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The minor girls were reportedly taking selfies outside the jail when they were caught and handed over to the District Child Protection Department by the jail administration.
Minor girls run away from homes to get clicked with Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, under police custody pic.twitter.com/XXcUC8lVp0
— Take One (@takeonedigital) March 17, 2023
The matter came to the fore after the Bhatinda police received a letter from Bathinda central jail in which the administration of the jail wrote that two minor girls clicked photos outside the jail premises. Both are residents of Jharkhand.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh said the family members of the minor girls have been called, and both the girls have been sent to Safi Center after getting medically examined.
Punjab | A letter from Bathinda central jail has come to light in which the administration of the jail wrote that two minor girls clicked photos outside the jail premises. Both are residents of Jharkhand: Gurpreet Singh, DSP, Bathinda pic.twitter.com/tk4rbOPI0d
— ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2023
“The whole matter is being investigated. The family members of both the minor girls have been summoned. Both minors have been sent to Safi Center after getting medically examined. If anything comes up in the probe, legal action will follow,” said Gurpreet Singh.
Speaking on the matter, Ravneet Kaur Sidhu, Child Protection Officer in Bathinda, said the girls were taking selfies outside Bathinda Central Prison and wanted to share them with their friends, adding that they were influenced by Lawrence Bishnoi on social media.
“The minor girls reached Bathinda after lying at home about where they were headed. Both had spent a night at Bathinda railway station as well. After interrogating the girls, we learned that the purpose of taking selfies outside Bathinda Central Jail was to show them to their friends. They have all been influenced by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi on social media. Bishnoi is lodged at Bathinda jail,” said Ravneet Kaur Sidhu.
2 minor girls came to Bathinda after getting influenced by social media. They lied in their house that they are going on a trip. After counselling, we understood that after getting influenced they came here to take selfies: Ravneet Kaur Sidhu, Child Protection Officer, Bathinda pic.twitter.com/Ti3YNUPIHd
— ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2023
Bishnoi is one of the main accused in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case. He is also under investigation from NIA.
Recently, an interview of the dreaded gangster, who is currently lodged in Bathinda jail, went viral. It was aired on March 13 by ABP News. The Punjab Police authorities have denied the channel’s claims that the interview was shot inside the prison. It is unclear when the interview was recorded. OpIndia could not verify if the interview was recent or recorded while Bishnoi was in Bathinda prison.
