Amitabh Bachchan's iconic dialogue from the movie Don — "Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahi, namumkin hai" (to catch Don is not just difficult, it's impossible) — is undeniably legendary. But it's outdated. Today's dons operate out of high-security jails and run international syndicates from behind bars.

Lawrence Bishnoi, born in 1993 in the Fazilka district of Punjab, is the most famous of these in-house dons, operating out of Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He has been in high-security custody since 2015 — effectively a third of his life. Yet since his imprisonment, the global criminal syndicate he runs has only expanded, spreading across Canada, the US, Dubai, and parts of Europe to launder money, distribute weapons, and run drug operations. He reportedly does this from a closely monitored solitary cell, using contraband technology, a decentralized modular network, and a highly organized proxy leadership system. The million-dollar question is: how? Security agencies stay tight-lipped on that front.

It's come to light that the Bishnoi syndicate uses smuggled smart devices running on contraband technology, communicating through encrypted platforms like WhatsApp, Signal, and VoIP. These devices reportedly reach his solitary cell routinely. The syndicate is also said to run a parallel telephone exchange with untraceable call routing to mask locations — dubbed "Dabba calling."

The syndicate reportedly relies on proxy overseas commanders — chief among them is his North American deputy, Satinderjeet Singh or Goldy Brar,  based in Canada, said to manage Bishnoi's day-to-day operations abroad and coordinate ground teams from safe havens overseas. And there are some more.

Where there's communication, there's activity — and there's little guessing what that activity involves: coordinating sharpshooters, weapons couriers, and financial handlers. One hand doesn't know the other; the recruits are treated as disposable, yet the system runs seamlessly. If a cog in the wheel is apprehended or compromised, the core organization stays untouched. That core, remarkably, is housed in a single high-security solitary cell.

Much of what's known about his methods has emerged through international law enforcement investigations, culminating in a major indictment by the US Department of Justice in July 2026 for running an international extortion and racketeering scheme targeting victims in the US and Canada. Just yesterday, a ‌federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles alleges that he and Goldy Brar directed the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep ​Singh Nijjar in Canada, which had plummeted the relations between India and Canada.

Bishnoi's name invariably surfaces in connection with major killings — the high-profile assassinations of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala (2022) and politician Baba Siddique (2024) among them. Actor Salman Khan continues to live under the shadow of his threats. Canada has accused him of orchestrating crimes on its soil.

Bishnoi has cultivated the image of a "nationalist" — the Hindu Don. Is this a carefully curated social media persona, or is there truth to it?