E-Paper
Salman Khan farmhouse case: 6th Bishnoi gang aide arrested from Panipat
The accused is considered an expert in smuggling arms and weapons into India from his alleged handler Dogar, who is based in Pakistan. Sukha, along with the Bishnoi gang members, had planned to use weapons from Pakistan to execute the alleged plot to kill Salman Khan.
The Panvel City police on Wednesday morning arrested a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, Sukha Kalluya, the main accused in the Salman Khan farmhouse case, in Panipat, Haryana.
Sukha alias Sukhbir Balbir Singh, the sixth arrest in the case, had planned to use a Turkey-made Zigana pistol, the same kind of pistol that was used to kill Punjabi Singer Sidhu Moose Wala, to kill the Bollywood actor, as stated in the FIR. The police said the accused is being brought to Navi Mumbai for further processing.
The accused is considered an expert in smuggling arms and weapons into India from his alleged handler Dogar, who is based in Pakistan, he said. Sukha along with the Bishnoi gang members had planned to use weapons from Pakistan, such as AK-47s, M16s and AK92s, to execute the alleged plot to kill Salman Khan, the police officer said.
“We have been tracking him (Sukha) for several months. He is the main accused in the farmhouse recce case and was in contact with his Pakistani aides and was entrusted with the task of supplying the weapons required for executing the planned crime,” said the senior police inspector Nitin Thakare.
The proximity the accused enjoyed with both Lawrence and his brother Anmol Bishnoi was earlier established by the statement given by an informer to the police in the FIR registered with the Panvel City police station.
An FIR was registered on April 24, 2024, after police inspector Thakare received information that gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi – Goldy Brar had hatched a plan to eliminate actor Salman Khan and had accordingly sent 20 to 25 people to recce his farmhouse in Panvel, and his Bandra residence and the routes taken by him while travelling to and from his farmhouse.
Sukha along with the other accused was stated to have not only conducted a recce of all the places visited by the actor but also had extensive meetings at Panvel to decide the ways to execute the murder.
“The plan was to shoot Salman Khan,” said the inspector. “Around 17 young men mostly in the age group of 18 years were brought into the city and Sukha played a prominent role. On his Instagram page, he has posted many videos showcasing his possession of weapons.”
Sukha, who resided in Panvel between August 2023 and March 2024, has shared on his Instagram page videos wielding different assault weapons. He allegedly also posted videos of messages given by the jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
The Navi Mumbai police previously arrested five members of the Bishnoi gang: Dhananjay Tapesingh aka Ajay Kashyap, Gaurav Bhatia aka Nahvi, Vapsi Khan aka Waseem Chikna and Rizwan Khan and Deepak Hawasing aka John, 30. They are said to be part of the Bishnoi gang.
