Popular e-commerce platform Meesho has come under scrutiny for selling t-shirts branded with the likeness of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The issue was highlighted by filmmaker Alishan Jafri, who called it an example of “India’s latest online radicalisation.”
Jafri shared a post on X that shows Lawrence Bishnoi t-shirts being sold on Meesho, an online marketplace that facilitates trade between vendors and customers. The white t-shirts come printed with Lawrence Bishnoi’s picture, with some including the word “gangster.” They retail for as low as ₹168 on Meesho and other platforms like Flipkart.
While the t-shirts have come under fire for glorifying crime, even more concerning is the fact that some of the branded merchandise is targeted towards children.
“People are literally selling gangster merchandise on platforms like Meesho and Teeshopper. This is just one example of India’s latest online radicalisation,” Jafri wrote on X.
“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 filmmaker highlighted the issues with glorifying gangsters by providing real-life examples – like that of the 15-year-old from Deoria who, inspired by gangster content, killed his friend.
“Similarly, three young boys in Delhi formed a group called ‘Badnaam Gang’ and planned to murder someone and make it viral on Instagram, aiming to become dons,” Jafri claimed.
Shame on Meesho
The issue of gangster t-shirts being sold on Meesho brought the e-commerce website a lot of negative scrutiny.
“Shame on Meesho and similar websites. Shame,” read one comment under the post.
“So Meesho loves gangsters and promotes them on kids’ apparels. Wow!” an X user said. “Meesho should be de-platformed,” another opined.
“This gangster culture will destroy India,” a person wrote.
Infamous Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his syndicate has been involved in a spate of high-profile crimes, including the shooting of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala and death threats to actor Salman Khan. The Bishnoi gang has also been linked to the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique last month.
Meesho’s response
Meesho has now removed the offensive product from its website after facing flak. While this morning, searching for “Lawrence Bishnoi” on the Meesho website would lead to t-shirts branded with the gangster’s face, those products are no longer available for retail.
“We have taken immediate action to deactivate the products. Meesho remains committed to providing a safe and trusted shopping platform for all our users,” a spokesperson for Meesho told HT.com.
However, the t-shirts are still available for purchase on other e-commerce platforms like Flipkart.