MUMBAI: At least five more members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang were involved in last month’s firing at actor Salman Khan’s residence, the investigation of the Mumbai police’s crime branch has revealed.
The police have already arrested five people linked with the incarcerated gangster, out of which one allegedly died by suicide while in the crime branch’s custody.
One of the arrested accused, Mohammed Rafiq Sardar Choudhari, revealed during his interrogation that five more Bishnoi gang members, all from Rajasthan, were involved in the April 14 incident, the police said.
On Monday, a special court for cases under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999, extended Choudhari’s police custody till May 16.
Choudhari, 37, allegedly told crime branch officials that he had recorded a video of Galaxy Apartments in Bandra, where Khan resides, on April 12 and sent it to Anmol Bishnoi, brother of Lawrence Bishnoi.
The crime branch seized Choudhari’s mobile phone and retrieved several deleted videos and photos with the help of technical experts, officials said.
On further interrogation, Choudhari allegedly confessed he had collected ₹3 lakh in cash from Bishnoi gang members and given ₹2 lakh to the two shooters, Vicky Kumar Gupta, 25, and Sagar Kumar Pal, 24.
Choudhari, who has been living in Mumbai for nearly two decades, was arrested on April 30 from Rajasthan. According to the police, he was in touch with Rohit Godara, a trusted aide of Lawrence Bishnoi, whose name cropped up during the interrogation of Gupta and Pal.
Gupta had also spoken to Anmol Bishnoi and sent a few of their recorded voice calls to his brother Sonu Gupta, who is an important witness in the case, said a crime branch official.
According to the police, Pal used to be associated with Bishnoi’s trusted gang member Ankit Arora, who was killed in an encounter two years ago in Punjab.
After he was promised a huge amount of money by another gang member (whom the police are looking for and whose name they have not revealed), Pal convinced Vicky Gupta to take up the job with him.
The gang member then instructed both men to visit Mumbai for a few days in October 2023 to get acquainted with the city, and gave them ₹40,000 for expenses.
They then returned to the city in March, which is when they met Choudhari in Kurla and conducted a recce of Khan’s residence. In the early hours of Sunday, April 14, the duo shot at Khan’s first-floor apartment and also fired several rounds in the air before fleeing on a motorbike.
Gupta and Pal got ₹5 lakh in six to seven instalments from October to April for the entire operation. “Both are unhappy with the gang member, as they were promised huge money but did not get it,” said the officer.
Gupta and Pal, who were arrested from Bhuj, Gujarat, on April 16, were produced in the MCOCA court and sent to judicial custody after 23 days of police custody.
Apart from Choudhuri and the alleged shooters, the crime branch has arrested two other accused in the case: Anuj Thapan, 32, who died by suicide on May 1 while he was in the crime branch’s custody, and Sonu Subhashchandra Bishnoi, 37, who is from Punjab.
On March 15, Thapan and Sonu Bishnoi met Gupta and Pal in Panvel and handed over two pistols and 38 live rounds to them, which were used to fire at the actor’s apartment, said the police.
For more breaking news and live news updates. Read more on Bharat Scope.