Mumbai/Jaipur: Police teams probing the firing on actor Salman Khan’s residence, have fanned out to Delhi, Jaipur and Bihar to trace the two shooters who are suspected to have left the city after the incident. One has been identified as Vishal alias Kalu, a suspect in a Gurgaon murder. The other is possibly from Rajasthan, where a Mumbai ATS team is questioning members of the Lawrence Bishnoi and Rohit Godara gangs in custody.

Within hours of the firing, a strong lead took Mumbai crime branch to an address in Panvel where the duo stayed for 15 days on a fictitious identity. They have questioned three persons—the landlord of the house, the owner of the bike used in the firing, and a broker who negotiated its purchase.

Dump data of mobile phones used around Khan’s residence suggest the two abandoned the bike in Bandra after the firing, took an auto to Santacruz station from where they took a train to Andheri before phones were switched off. They may have taken a long dis tance train to leave the city.

An officer said the duo are believed to have conducted two or three recces including on Eid when Khan was on the balcony to greet fans.

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Mumbai/Jaipur: The two shooters suspected to have fired at actor Salman Khan’s house in Bandra are believed to have made two or three recces while staying at Panvel for 15 days. In fact, on Sunday, before the shooting, CCTV footage showed the duo wearing caps and T-shirts and carrying backpacks on foot in the vicinity of Khan’s residence. Khan’s farmhouse is also in Panvel.

Preliminary investigations suggest the conspiracy was hatched in Canada by a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which gunned down popular Punjabi rapper-singer Sidhu Moose Wala.

“The shooters may have been asked by their handlers to scare the actor by firing at his residence. Two days ago on Eid, when Khan appeared on the balcony and waved to fans, they may have been there but due to police bandobast they could have developed cold feet,” said an officer.

The two bike-borne individuals wearing helmets fired five rounds outside Salman Khan’s residence around 5 am on Sunday. One shell was found on his balcony. The city Forensic Science Laboratory has analysed the residue from the crime scene. They suspect the firearm used was a country-made pistol.

Police sources said the fact that the shooters fired blindly in the early hours outside Khan’s residence in Galaxy apartment at Bandstand, Bandra suggest the intention was not to harm Khan but to intimidate him.

The state home department late Sunday transferred the case to the city crime branch. Since Nov 2022, Khan’s security has been elevated to Y-Plus on account of threats from gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar. Last year on Mumbai police's request, he applied for a personal arms license which was immediately issued.

In November 2023, police reviewed his security following another threat by the Bishnoi gang. The threat was in a Facebook post to Punjabi singer actor Gippy Grewal while claiming responsibility for shots fired outside Grewal's Canada residence.

Bishnoi's nephew, Anmol, is believed to have used a gangster named Rohit Godara, also based in Canada, to plan the latest attack. Godara is believed to have engaged the two youths including Kalu, who is accused in cases of robbery, snatching and illegal weapon possession. Kalu is believed to have come in contact with Godara’s gang in Tihar jail. Anmol Bishnoi has purportedly claimed responsibility for the shootout in an online post. Police have tracked the VPN of Anmol Bishnoi's post to Portugal.

A Mumbai ATS team in Jaipur comprising three additional SPs, interrogated Rithik Boxer, an associate of Godara and Bishnoi, lodged in Sodala jail. A Rajasthan police official said, "Rithik Boxer was brought on a production warrant from Ajmer High Security Jail in connection with a case related to extortion threats to businessmen in the state. He has been lodged at Sodala.”

Boxer has eight cases registered in police stations in Jaipur, three in Hanumangarh, and one in Bikaner. He was caught by a police team at Raxaul on March 20, 2023, while attempting to enter In dia via Bihar from Nepal. This year on Jan 28, after armed assailants opened fire at a private club in Jaipur, Boxer had claimed responsibility for it on social media. Rithik had demanded Rs 5 crore from the club owner; Godara also sought a payment.

An official said Boxer and two others, Rohit Rathore, and Nitin Fauji, were questioned by the Mumbai team. They also conducted inquiries at a juvenile home from which two minors were extracted by Bishnoi and coerced into committing a murder in Rohtak. The minors were caught at the Nepal border while crossing over.

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