According to Crime Branch sources, the accused fired bullets outside Salman Khan’s Bandra Galaxy Apartments on April 14 in order to get “media coverage and publicity.” Their motive was to spread terror, sources added.
On April 16, two residents of Champaran, Bihar, Vicky Gupta, 24, and Sagar Pal, 21, were taken into custody from Bhuj, Gujarat, and brought to Mumbai.
Following the attack, Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently in jail, took to Facebook to take credit for the firing outside Salman Khan’s home.
According to sources, the investigation found that Anmol Bishnoi was communicating with Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta via internet calling. The two accused were paid Rs 1 lakh in advance for the shooting and promised to receive an extra 3 lakh after the job was done
According to the crime branch sources, Sagar Pal was trained to use the weapon around his village in West Champaran that was used in the attack.
During the investigation, the accused further admitted that they did a reconnaissance of Salman Khan’s farmhouse in Panvel 4-5 days before the shooting event. However, it was decided that the fire would take place at Bandra.
“The accused conducted a ‘recce’ of Salman Khan’s farmhouse in Panvel. They intended to just scare him, not murder him. The statements of both families have been recorded in Bihar. Around 7 people have been called from Haryana and other states for questioning, which is ongoing,” a Mumbai Crime Branch official was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Sonu Gupta, brother of Vicky Gupta, is also being interrogated in the matter. Sonu lives in Chandigarh and works as a labourer. Call records have revealed that Vicky and his brother were on calls until late at night on April 13, a day before the attack.
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