E-Paper
Accused says Lawrence Bishnoi's ‘character’ inspired firing at Salman Khan house
Vicky Gupta, one of the six accused for firing at Salman Khan's Bandra residence, has claimed he was inspired by media depictions of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
Vicky Gupta, one of the six accused of firing shots outside Salman Khan's Bandra residence in Mumbai in April, has reportedly claimed that he was influenced by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's character and had meant no harm to the Bollywood superstar.
Appearing before a special court for bail, Vicky Gupta said Lawrence Bishnoi was not involved with the shooting at all, news agency PTI reported. Vicky Gupta further stated that he had not been directly told by the gangster to shoot outside Salman Khan's house.
Also Read: Firing incident, a serious threat to our lives: Salman Khan
He said he was influenced by the character of Lawrence Bishnoi as seen in print, electronic and social media. Vicky Gupta said he was “magnetically attached” to the jailed gangster's principles and his beliefs as a follower of Bhagat Singh.
Also Read: Salman Khan house firing case: ‘Sufficient material against accused,’ says Mumbai court
Earlier Vicky Gupta had faced hurdles in his bail plea, as the prosecution had stated that he would inform Lawrence Bishnoi of the case when he got out and could leak information. Lawrence Bishnoi is currently in Tihar jail, but has been named as an accused in the case of firing outside Salman Khan's Bandra residence.
Also Read: Iulia Vantur holds ‘boyfriend’ Salman Khan close in rare PDA at her birthday bash. See pic
Lawrence's brother, Anmol, has also been named as an accused. Vicky Gupta said, the shooting was only meant to create fear for Salman Khan in response to his involvement in a case of killing two black bucks, an animal considered sacred by the Bishnoi community.
Vicky Gupta also claimed that he only took on the job of shooting with Sagarkumar Pal, as he was unemployed and did not have the money to support his family, thinking this would be a surefire way to earn money.
In a 1,735-page chargesheet filed by the police before the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court, the police named nine people including Gupta, Sagarkumar Pal, Sonukumar Bishnoi, Anmol Bishnoi, Mohd Rafiq Choudhary, and Harpal Singh and Anujkumar Thapan.
