The police have intensified the search for Shubham Lonkar, an alleged member of the dreaded Lawrence Bishnoi gang who once operated from Pune.
On January 27, a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against Shubham at the Sant Tukaram Nagar police station in Pimpri Chinchwad for allegedly making extortion calls to businessman and film financer Sunny Waghchoure, 37.
Then his name cropped up in connection with the firing outside Bollywood film director Rohit Shetty’s house in Mumbai’s Juhu around 12.45 am on February 1. Within an hour, a message appeared on a Facebook page under the name ‘Shubham Lonkar Aarzoo Bishnoi’ claiming responsibility for the attack. The Mumbai police have nabbed five men from Pune in this case and are probing their links with Shubham, who is also a wanted accused in the Baba Siddique murder case.
Baba Siddique’s killing
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddique, 66, was shot dead in Mumbai on October 12, 2024, following which Shubham had allegedly put up a Facebook post in Hindi stating that the former MLA was killed for his prior links with Dawood Ibrahim and the death of Anuj Thappan. Thappan had allegedly died in police custody after being arrested for firing at actor Salman Khan’s house in Bandra West on April 14, 2024.
Though the post put up after Siddique’s death was deleted within a few minutes, its screenshot went viral. The police then zeroed in on Shubham and arrested his brother Pravin Lonkar from Pune’s Warje area in October 2024. Shubham had since been on the run. A Mumbai police team visited Pune to “check” on him after the attack on Salman Khan’s house, allegedly by the Bishnoi gang. However, Shubham was not made an accused in this case. Besides, no offence had been lodged against Shubham with the Pune police till then.
Threat call to businessman Sunny Waghchoure
However, on the evening of January 25, 2026, a man who identified himself as Shubham Lonkar called scrap businessman Sunny Waghchoure from Pimpri over WhatsApp using what appeared to be an international number.
Shubham allegedly asked Waghchoure to search for him on Google. The next day, he is said to have sent a WhatsApp message to Waghchoure from another international number demanding Rs 5 crore and warned that he would be murdered like Baba Siddique if the money was not paid.
The threat message read, “….tera Baba Siddique jaisa haal karenge. Tu jitna sona pehenta hai us se dogna jyada pital bhar denge yaad rakhna #Arzoo Bishnoi… (You will be killed like Baba Siddiqui. Remember, you wear gold, but we will put double the amount of brass (bullets) in your body…).”
Shubham Lonkar and his brother Pravin started Lonkar Dairy at Bhalekar Wasti in Warje in 2022 while residing in a rented apartment nearby. (Express Photo)
Waghchoure, whose Instagram account has around 25 million followers, became famous after appearing at various social and commercial events wearing about 3 kg of gold jewellery. He has also acted in the Bollywood movie Zila Gaziabad, and appeared in Kapil Sharma’s comedy show as well as The Khatra Khatra Show on television. He joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on January 6, in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash in Baramati on January 28.
Based on Waghchoure’s complaint, the police booked Shubham Lonkar under section 308 (5) (extortion) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The probe was handed over to the Crime Branch of the Pimpri Chinchwad police. The police suspect the accused, claiming to be Shubham Lonkar, may have used a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to contact Waghchoure using international numbers.
2024 arrest in firearms case
The police said Shubham is a native of Nevari village in Akola district of Maharashtra. Along with his brother Pravin, he was arrested in a firearms recovery case by the Akola police in 2024. They were later released on bail. A police probe had then revealed Shubham’s communication with Lawrence Bishnoi gang members over WhatsApp audio and video calls.
The police said Shubham, now aged around 32, wanted to join the Indian Army and had participated in National Cadet Corps (NCC) activities in the past. Investigators believe he had been to Rajasthan for an NCC event when he came in contact with men linked to the Bishnoi gang and he gradually became an active member of the syndicate around 2018-2019.
During this period, Shubham left Akot with Pravin and settled down in Pune. They started Lonkar Dairy at Bhalekar Wasti in Warje in 2022 while residing in a rented apartment nearby. The dairy, mostly looked after by Pravin, remained open till a few days before his arrest in the Baba Siddique murder case.
Investigators said some of the shooters in the Baba Siddique case were known to be working at the Balaji Scrap Centre, located adjacent to Lonkar Dairy. The police suspect that while operating from Pune, Shubham allegedly gathered men to work for the Bishnoi gang.
Officers are investigating if Shubham has been in direct contact with Bishnoi, who is currently lodged in Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Central Jail. They suspect Shubham received WhatsApp calls from Lawrence’s brother Anmol, who was deported from the US in November last year, and is now in Tihar jail. A senior officer from Pimpri Chinchwad police said that attempts are on to trace Shubam’s location.
Earlier, a few men from Pune who allegedly worked for the Bishnoi gang were also arrested in connection with the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in 2022.
