Jailed gangster under lens for firing at Salman’s home
Mateen Hafeez, Nitasha Natu & Raj Shekhar Jha (THE TIMES OF INDIA; April 15, 2024)

Mumbai/Delhi: Months after two men with fake ID tried to enter Salman Khan’s farmhouse in Panvel, 2 bike-borne youths opened fire at the actor’s residence in Bandra around 5 am Sunday. Four empty shells and a live bullet were found, police said, adding a shell was found in his balcony. Sources said Salman, who has Y+ security cover, was at home at the time. Police have increased the security at Galaxy Apartments, where he lives with his family.

Mumbai police, who have formed 15 teams to nab the shooters, suspect they could be from outside the city. The bike was found abandoned ne ar Mount Mary church area.

A Facebook post purportedly by jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s nephew Anmol, claiming responsibility, surfaced later. The group has been vocal against Salman, accusing him of killing a black buck, which his community considers sacred. Mateen Hafeez, Nitasha Natu & Raj Shekhar Jha report.
------------------------------------------------------
Mumbai/New Delhi : Central intelligence and Delhi Police’s special cell are investigating into the criminal network of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi for potential connections to the firing at actor Salman Khan’s Bandra residence by two bike-borne men around 5 am Sunday, after Mumbai Police suspected the involvement of outsiders and a Facebook post allegedly attributed to Bishnoi’s nephew, Anmol, claimed responsibility for the act.

Mumbai Police has collected CCTV footage of the firing incident. “The pillion rider had fired bullets,” said an officer. “They asked an auto driver for directions and after riding further, abandoned the bike, which is suspected to be a stolen one, near the Mount Mary area, and fled in another vehicle.” Both had worn helmets.

An officer said the two accused were around 5.8ft tall and did not seem to be from Maharashtra. One of the attackers is suspected to be Vishal alias Kalu from Gurugram who was allegedly involved in abusinessman’s murder case in Haryana last month. “The shooter seen in red T-shirt in the footage outside Salman’s home could be Vishal,” said a senior cop in Delhi.

On the complaint of Salman’s private security guard, Bandra police filed an attempt to murder case under Indian Penal Code and also invoked provisions of the Arms Act. The case has been transferred to the crime branch and a team is camping in Navi Mumbai after getting a strong lead. Police said the actor has not received any fresh threats recently.

“Around 5 am, two unidentified people opened fire in the air. Four to five bullets were fired in the air and empty shells have been found. Fifteen teams have been formed and we are working on the case,” said zonal DCP Raj Tilak Roushan. Sources said the accused may have used a 7.6 bore weapon. Cybercrime police are looking into the dump data of mobile phones near Salman’s house.

The FB post, purportedly written by Anmol in Hindi, said: “We want peace. If the decision against oppression is by war, so be it. Salman Khan, we did this to show you the trailer. So that you understand our capabilities. Don’t test us. This is the first and last warning to you. After this, bullets won’t be fired just at empty homes. We have two dogs named after Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel whom you consider to be god. I don’t like to talk too much. Jai Shree Ram. Jai Bharat. Salam Shahida.” At the bottom of the post was mentioned ‘Lawrence Bishnoi group’.

Anmol, suspected to be hiding in Canada, is wanted for the murder of Punjabi singer Siddhu Moose Wala. He is facing 18 criminal cases and was released from Jodhpur jail in Oct 2021. The Bishnoi syndicate wanted to assassinate Salman before killing Moose Wala on May 29, 2022, but their multiple attempts failed. Just days after Moose Wala’s death in 2022, the security team of Salman’s father, Salim, had found a threat letter at Bandra Bandstand near their house. Then, Salman’s security was elevated to Y-plus category.

Bishnoi is in the dock because his threats to Salman were in public domain as recently as Nov last year when his henchmen fired shots at the house of Punjabi singer Gippy Grewal in Canada, whom they thought to be the actor’s “brother”.

Shooters sent by Bishnoi had also conducted a recce of Salman’s farmhouse in Panvel, Delhi Police had earlier said, citing the interrogation of three shooters — Kapil Pandit, Deepak Mundi and Rajinder Joker — arrested in the Moose Wala case. Former chief of Delhi Police’s anti-terror unit, HGS Dhaliwal had then said the arrested shooters had spoken to locals to know details about Salman’s visits.

The plan, sources said, was to assassinate the actor on his way to the farmhouse. The trio had rented a room in Panvel and done a recce of the route that led to the farmhouse. They stayed there for a month and a half. “They were aware that Salman’s car was driven slowly after an accident in Mumbai he was involved in. The road leading to the farmhouse had a lot of potholes, and that would force him to go even slower, they believed,” an investigator recalled.

The shooters were also told that only a few men, including Salman’s bodyguard Shera, accompanied him there. Pandit told police that they had befriended a security guard at the farmhouse, posing as fans.

Earlier, in 2018, Bishnoi had sent his aide Sampat Nehra to kill the actor at his Bandra home. Nehra didn’t have a long-distance weapon so Bishnoi had bought a RK Spring rifle for Rs 4 lakh through his contact Dinesh Dagar, sources said. Nehra was later arrested in Bengaluru, and the plan didn’t materialize. Intelligence sources said they were scanning the movements of shooters linked to Bishnoi and his Europe-based aide, Rohit Godara, who had orchestrated the killing of Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Gogamedi last year.
--------------------------------------------
Two unidentified men arrived on a bike at 4.51 am on Sunday at the superstar’s Bandra residence, fired shots and sped away
Shirish Vaktania, Samiullah Khan (MID-DAY; April 15, 2024)

Two unidentified men fired five shots at actor Salman Khan’s Bandra residence early on Sunday and fled. Police suspect that the accused were professional shooters who used a gun that fired 7.62-mm bullets. They fired two rounds at the window of Salman's residence and one round hit the building wall on the first and second floors of Galaxy Apartment.

Interestingly, the sharpshooters had been conducting reconnaissance of the area for the past two days and had planned their escape route. The accused also noticed that the police team, along with the police jeep deployed outside Galaxy Apartment for Salman’s security, had been shifted to the Trident Hotel for the upcoming match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

The Bandra police recovered the bike used by the shooters. The accused were aware that Salman Khan had returned to Galaxy Apartment at 3 am on Sunday and fired their rounds after a police jeep left the area.

A crime branch officer informed mid-day that the two men, who arrived on a bike, were professional shooters and fired five rounds. The entire incident was captured by the CCTV cameras of Galaxy Apartment.

According to police officers, the incident occurred on Sunday at 4.51 am, with both accused arriving at the spot on a speeding bike. They had scouted out the area before the shooting. The shooters did not stop their bike outside Salman Khan's residence but fired while riding.

The security guard deployed at Salman’s residence saw the bike and made an unsuccessful attempt to chase it. The guard informed the police that the bike was moving too fast and within 2-3 seconds, the bikers had fired their shots and escaped. The shooter aimed the gun at the open window area of Salman Khan’s house, with one bullet hitting the gallery curtain, the second hitting the building wall, the third hitting a shop, the fourth firing into the air and the fifth live bullet found at the scene.

The security guard and the police team inside Galaxy Apartment opened the gate and chased the accused up to Mehboob Studio but could not find them. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in the incident.

Following the incident, Salman informed his team and called three bodyguards for additional security. Meanwhile, Salman Khan's father, Salim Khan, was sighted at Bandstand after his walk and returned home around 9.30 am.

Salman Khan has Y Category Security as he had received death threats following the controversial film The Kashmir Files. Police sources mentioned that a police jeep initially deployed for security outside Galaxy Apartment was moved out. Later, another police jeep with Y category security personnel was stationed at Galaxy Apartment. Police discovered that the accused had abandoned their bike near Mount Mary Church then took an auto-rickshaw to escape.

The police department formed 25-30 different teams to trace the accused and check lodges, hotels, trains and bus stands. However, following the incident, a member of the Bishnoi gang, Anmol Bishnoi, claimed responsibility for the shooting on X. Anmol wrote a threatening message to Salman in Hindi with a smattering of English. The message warned the actor that this was a first and last warning and demonstration of their abilities. The message warned Salman not to test their abilities anymore as the next time the bullets would not be merely fired at his residence

In March 2023, Salman’s manager received threats via mail and filed an FIR against Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar, who are currently in jail. Subsequently, Salim Khan received a threatening letter at Bandstand Promenade and security was heightened after the shooting incident.

Another angle the police are looking at is retribution by fans of Salman Khan who had gathered in large numbers outside the actor’s residence on occasion of Ramzan Eid and been subjected to a police lathi-charge.

Three fans of the actor—Asif Malik, Shavej Malik, Anas Malik—who arrived from Dehradun to meet the superstar on Sunday received the news about the firing and gathered outside Salman’s residence.

Speaking to mid-day, one of them said, “We love Salman Khan and nobody can touch him. We are with him and will block the path of bullets flying in his direction.”