The Bishnoi effect: Is a new D-Company taking shape?

We have all seen the latest images of Amitabh Bachchan stepping out to greet his fans, and there is something deeply unsettling about them. It is a ritual he has maintained for years, only this time he has had to stand behind a bulletproof enclosure. The image tells us that a new underworld, or at least the dread of one, has arrived in Mumbai.

Calling it merely dread would be to seriously underestimate the threat. After all, some film personalities have narrowly escaped attempts on their lives. Just recently, Tiger Shroff's car was fired at in Juhu; now Tusshar Kapoor has reportedly received an extortion call from someone claiming to be a close associate of the gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The question many are asking is whether Bishnoi is attempting to build his own version of D-Company. His name has acquired a currency of its own; anyone even pretending to be part of his gang can generate fear. And given that actors have already been targeted by gunmen, nobody can really afford to take a chance.

The comparison with D-Company is doing rounds not only because of the scale of ambition that Bishnoi has displayed; it is also because of the efficiency with which he has created his network. Over the last few years, Bishnoi has multiplied his influence and power through creating alliances with regional gangs. This also helps him in recruiting young men and women who have no prior criminal record. What makes it even more dangerous is that some of these operations are reportedly coordinated from inside prisons through sophisticated communication networks; along with overseas operatives this becomes a deadly combination.

There is also something to be said about the way Bishnoi and his associates have used social media to publicise themselves and cultivate a high-profile image. In the process, they have turned themselves into objects of fascination and, in some quarters, even admiration.

That is why every bulletproof screen that goes up in Mumbai is disturbing. It also tells us something about the state's failure to recognise the scale of this challenge. D-Company became powerful because it was allowed to grow into a parallel system of influence, at times exercising an authority that rivalled that of the state itself. With Bishnoi, the state risks making the same mistake.