Meesho removes products with Lawrence Bishnoi’s images after backlash for ‘glorifying gangster’
New Delhi: E-commerce platform Meesho has removed listings for t-shirts featuring images of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi after facing backlash on social media for selling the products.
The company’s spokesperson told ThePrint, “We have taken immediate action to deactivate the products. Meesho remains committed to providing a safe and trusted shopping platform for all our users.”
ThePrint also scanned through Meesho’s website with relevant keywords, which did not yield any results, indicating that the platform has removed the items.
The matter came to light after journalist and X user Alishan Jafri posted screenshots of t-shirts with photos of Bishnoi available for sale on Meesho, calling it “just one example of India’s latest online radicalisation”. The screenshots also showed t-shirts available in children’s sizes.
People are literally selling gangster merchandise on platforms like @Meesho_Official and Teeshopper. This is just one example of India's latest online radicalisation.
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1/n pic.twitter.com/vzjXM360q3— Alishan Jafri (@alishan_jafri) November 4, 2024
Bishnoi is an Indian gangster, who is facing multiple criminal charges, including those for extortion and murder, and has been in prison since 2014. Bishnoi’s gang has been linked to several high-profile crimes, including the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in 2022 and that of politician Baba Siddique in October this year. Actor Salman Khan is allegedly on the gang’s hitlist.
Jafri also shared screenshots of other “gangster merchandise” with images of another gangster, Durlabh Kashyap. “At a time when the police and NIA are struggling to stop youths from joining gang crime, social media influencers are making quick money by promoting gang content and glorifying gangsters,” he added.
The social media post received over 1,000 retweets, leading to reactions from other social media users.
One user wrote that Bishnoi is a criminal according to Indian law, and accused Meesho of “blatantly glorifying a gangster”.
भारतीय कानून व्यवस्था के अनुसार लॉरेंस बिश्नोई एक अपराधी है। लॉरेंस बिश्नोई के नाम तमाम मुकदमें हैं और उसके नाम से कई लोगों की हत्या की गई है,
Meesho जो कि अपने देश में एक बड़ी E-commerce वेबसाइट है, वह गैंगस्टर लॉरेंस बिश्नोई के ब्रांड के T-shirt बेच रहीं हैं।
यह साइट खुलेआम… pic.twitter.com/gnAIdvaxO1
— Jaiky Yadav (@JaikyYadav16) November 5, 2024
Another user wrote: “Hello @Meesho_Official Don’t glamorize crime! Wearing Lawrence Bishnoi’s merchandise doesn’t make you cool, it promotes gang culture. Let’s focus on inspiring India’s youth to become leaders, innovators & change-makers, not gangsters. Indian youth deserve better role models.”