New Delhi: Two men, Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, the suspected shooters who allegedly opened fire outside actor Salman Khan’s apartment building in Mumbai, have been arrested from Gujarat.
The suspects were arrested by the Bhuj Police and handed over to the Mumbai Police Crime Branch late Monday pursuant to an FIR in the case lodged at the Bandra police station. The Mumbai Police had called the incident a “meticulously planned attack”.
Soon after the firing, gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s younger brother Anmol claimed responsibility for the attack in a purported social media post which was later deleted. Anmol also threatened Khan in the purported post saying that this was just a “trailer”.
Lakhmi Gautam, Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) told ThePrint, “They (suspected shooters) have been brought to Mumbai. We are checking their past criminal records and who had contacted them. Further details will be known after interrogation.”
Meanwhile, while addressing a press conference Tuesday, JCP Gautam, said, “The arrests have been made on the basis of human and technical intelligence. The accused traveled 250-300 kilometres after firing. After screening CCTV footage, the location of the accused were identified to be in and around Bhuj. The Bhuj Police was contacted and the accused were held from a temple there in a joint operation.”
The officer added that Anmol Bishnoi’s post on social media has been taken as a serious threat. “The accused have been remanded to police custody till 25 April.”
According to Mumbai Police sources, the two men, allegedly members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, travelled to Gujarat after the incident. “They came on a motorcycle with their faces partially covered with helmets and opened fire outside Khan’s residence. One bullet landed on the balcony of the actor’s house,” said one source.
The suspects had fired from the road outside Galaxy Apartments in Bandra, aiming for the actor’s house Sunday morning. “They fired five rounds and then headed to the Bandra railway station. They boarded a train from Santacruz to Mira Road, then proceeded to Surat, and finally took another train to Bhuj,” said a Mumbai Police officer.
According to police, both the suspects hail from Bihar’s Champaran.
The Bishnoi gang had earlier sent threats to Salman Khan over the killing of two blackbucks in Rajasthan while shooting for a movie in 1998. The gang accused the actor of hurting their religious sentiments as the blackbuck is considered sacred by the Bishnoi community.
According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), actor Salman Khan ranks high on the Lawrence Bishnoi gang’s list of 10 targets. Earlier, Sampat Nehra, a friend and close ally of Lawrence Bishnoi, had surveilled the actor’s Bandra home. The actor’s security was upgraded to Y+ after another threat call was made to him in April last year.
This is an updated version of the report.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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