Police nab 4 Bishnoi gang members who plotted to kill Salman with guns from Pak

The four accused intended to involve minors in the crime, who would meet in Kanyakumari after the crime and take a sea route to Sri Lanka

Mumbai: The Panvel police have arrested four individuals with alleged ties to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang from various parts of the city. According to the police, the accused had conspired and conducted reconnaissance of actor Salman Khan's farmhouse in Panvel, his residence in Bandra, and various shooting locations in Mumbai. The police said the accused planned to assassinate the actor using sophisticated weapons supplied via Pakistan on the orders of gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar.

Those arrested conducted reconnaissance of actor Salman Khan's farmhouse in Panvel and his residence in Bandra. HT Photo

The police said this is a separate module that was not in contact with the previously arrested individuals - who fired shots at the actor's Bandra home on April 14.

"We have arrested Dhananjay Singh Tape Singh alias Ajay Kashyap, Gaurav Bhatia alias Nyayi, Vaspi Khan alias Vaseem Chikna, and Zeeshan Khan alias Javed Khan, all belonging to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, from Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. They were in touch with various members of the gang," said a police officer from the Navi-Mumbai police.

The case was registered after police inspector Nitin Thakre of the Navi-Mumbai police received a tip-off that some members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, who were in contact with Anmol Bishnoi, Lawrence's brother, and Goldy Brar, had been staying in the Panvel and Kalamboli areas of Navi-Mumbai for the past few days.

The accused had conducted reconnaissance of the actor's Panvel-based farmhouse, his Bandra residence, his daily routes, and his shooting locations.

The informant stated that Ajay Kashyap, a gang member, had been staying in Panvel since August 2023 and had been holding meetings with other members at the Panvel bus stand and other areas.

They planned to import weapons from Pakistan through an individual named Dongar, who supplies weapons for the Bishnoi gang. The weapons were to reach Panvel via the Rajasthan border.

The informant even showed the police high-tech weapons like AK-47s via video calls and told them that their shooters, hiding in Mumbai, Panvel, Gujarat, and Raigad, were waiting for orders from Bishnoi, Rohit Godara, and Anmol Bishnoi to eliminate the actor.

They intended to involve minors in the crime, who would meet in Kanyakumari after the crime and take a sea route to Sri Lanka, with Anmol providing them with everything later.

"The informant further told the police that they are now waiting for orders and weapons from Brar to execute the crime, and their aim is to teach the actor a lesson. Weapons like AK-47, MP-16, AK-92, or Jigana, which was used in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case, will also be supplied, and using bulletproof vehicles won't help," said the police officer.

Preliminary investigations suggest a conspiracy to kill the actor by Goldy Brar, Lawrence Bishnoi, Anmol Bishnoi, and jailed aide Sampat Nehra, who have even sent shooters to conduct reconnaissance of the areas and provided them with fake identities. They are also attempting to import sophisticated weapons to eliminate the actor.

"Based on the information, we have arrested four people, and investigations are ongoing," said the police officer.

The FIR has been registered against 18 people under Sections 115 (abetment of offence punishable), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 506(2) (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, said the police officer.