Himalaya Harbinger, Rudrapur Bureau
In a chargesheet filed in firing incident case outside Salman Khan’s Bandra apartment, the Mumbai Police has alleged that Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, instructed a gunman to fire shots in air outside Bollywood superstar home to intimidate him. The instructions were part of a broader plan to establish the Bishnoi gang’s dominance in Mumbai for financial and other benefits, according to the police.
The chargesheet, presented to the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court, includes transcripts of conversations between Anmol Bishnoi and shooter Vickykumar Gupta. Anmol allegedly told Gupta to fire in a way that would scare Khan and suggested he smoke during the act to appear fearless on CCTV footage.
In one of the conversations, according to the chargesheet, Anmol Bishnoi instructed Vickykumar Gupta to carry out the shooting in a way that would scare ‘Bhai’ (Salman Khan), even if it took more than a minute.
“You will create history by doing this job and your name will be there in all newspapers and other media,” the 1,735-page chargesheet said, citing their conversation.
On April 14, Gupta and another person, Sagar Pal, fired multiple shots outside Khan’s residence at Galaxy Apartments in Bandra. Those arrested in the case are Gupta, Pal, Sonukumar Bishnoi, Mohd Rafiq Choudhary, Harpal Singh, and Anujkumar Thapan. Thapan reportedly committed suicide while in police custody. The remaining five are currently in judicial custody.
Anmol Bishnoi, who has claimed responsibility for the firing, resides in Canada and travels to the USA. However, the IP address of the Facebook post where he claimed responsibility was traced to Portugal, according to a Mumbai police official. The police have issued a look out circular (LOC) for him.
As per the chargesheet, Salman Khan expressed serious concern over Lawrence Bishnoi gang. In the statement to Mumbai crime branch, Khan said he heard a sound similar to firecrackers while sleeping at his Galaxy Apartments residence in the early hours of April 14. His police bodyguard informed him around 4:55 am that two people on a motorbike had fired at the first-floor balcony.
Khan stressed that this incident poses a significant threat to him and his family members and should not be underestimated.