In a joint operation by Mumbai Police Crime Branch and West Kutch Police, two sharpshooters, Vicky Saheb Gupta and Sagar Shrigajendra Pal, were arrested late on Monday night from Kutch in Gujarat. They are involved in the firing outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s home on April 14.
Following phone network surveillance, their location was traced to Nakhtrana village in Kutch. Mumbai and Kutch police arrested them from the sanctum sanctorum of ‘Mata No Madh’ temple. The temple is dedicated to Ashapura Mata, the patron deity of Kutch.
They were brought to Bhuj and later the police flew with them from Bhuj to Mumbai. The two accused will be presented before a Mumbai court on Tuesday morning.
Vicky Gupta, 24, has reportedly confessed that he fired gunshots outside Khan’s residence. Later, he and Sagar Pal, 21, fled on a bike from Galaxy Apartment, Khan’s residence in Bandra area in Mumbai. Both the accused arrived at the scene on a motorcycle covering their faces under helmets.
Both Vicky and Sagar are residents of Bihar’s West Champaran. Vicky is a sharpshooter and Sagar has confessed to being a sympathiser and supporter of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Investigation has confirmed their link with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch arrested Vishal alias Kalu, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, for his involvement in a firing incident near Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s residence in Bandra’s Galaxy Apartments. The arrest follows the firing of six shots, including one on the wall of the complex and two at Khan’s balcony, by two individuals who arrived on a bike on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai police have also arrested Vishal, alias Kalu, linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang. Vishal has a criminal history dating back to 2020 and is suspected of being involved in the murder of a bookie.
Pre-planned incident
The accused had fired four rounds outside Galaxy Apartments around 5 am on Sunday and fled the spot. According to top sources, the firing was a pre-planned conspiracy. The two accused had reportedly rented a house for a month in Navi Mumbai’s Panvel area, 12 km away from Khan’s farmhouse.
They had also conducted a recce of Galaxy Apartments four times before carrying out the firing incident. The police are investigating whether the accused had conspired to carry out some operation at Khan’s farmhouse.
The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has taken responsibility for the firing. Mumbai Police sources said that the attack was carried out by gangster Rohit Godara, who operates Bishnoi’s gang in Rajasthan.
Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi‘s brother Anmol Bishnoi allegedly took responsibility for the attack in a Facebook post and signed off the post crediting Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang, Goldy Brar, Rohit Godara and Kala Jathari.
Heavy police force was deployed outside the actor’s residence following the incident. After the firing, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde spoke to Salman Khan over a phone call and also held discussions with the Mumbai Police Commissioner.
‘Disturbing and unnerving’
Arbaaz Khan, Salman Khan’s brother, released a statement on behalf of the Khan family about the gun-firing incident. He wrote on social media that wrong statements about the family being unaffected by the incident are being floated by the media. The actor said that the happening was ‘disturbing and unnerving.’
“No member of the Salim Khan family has made any statement regarding this incident to the media. At this time, the family is helping and cooperating with the police in the investigation of this untoward incident. We have faith in the Mumbai police and we have been assured they will do everything in their capacity to protect and secure our family. Thank you everyone for your love and support,” he wrote.
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